Can You Sue for Infections Passed to a Baby During Labor?

August 18, 2025

Yes, you can sue a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider if their negligence allowed your baby to contract a preventable infection during labor and delivery, leading to injury. A successful claim requires proving that the medical team failed to follow established safety standards for screening, monitoring, or treating maternal infections, and this failure directly caused your child’s harm.

Proving this connection involves a detailed analysis of complex medical records and an understanding of the legal “standard of care.” This isn’t a simple process, and it comes at a time when your family is already facing immense emotional and financial pressure.

The purpose of a lawsuit is to secure the financial resources necessary to provide for your child’s future. This may include lifelong medical treatments, specialized therapies, adaptive equipment, and in-home care.

If you’re looking for answers about your unique situation, call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 for a free, confidential discussion about the events that led to your child’s injury.

How a Preventable Infection Can Cause Lifelong Harm During Birth

A newborn’s immune system is still developing, making them incredibly susceptible to infections that might be harmless to an adult. During the birthing process, a baby can be exposed to bacteria and viruses present in the mother’s body. While many of these are managed without issue, some pose a significant threat if not properly identified and addressed by the medical team.

Common Infections That Pose a Risk

Certain maternal infections are well-known risks in obstetrics. A failure to screen for or treat them can form the basis of a medical malpractice claim.

Group B Streptococcus (GBS): This is a common bacterium found in about 25% of healthy adult women. While usually harmless to the mother, it can be passed to the baby during a vaginal delivery. If not treated with antibiotics during labor, GBS can cause devastating infections in the newborn.
Chorioamnionitis: This is an infection of the amniotic fluid and membranes that surround the fetus. It is often caused by bacteria traveling from the vagina into the uterus, especially after the water has broken. It requires prompt antibiotic treatment and sometimes immediate delivery to prevent harm to the baby.
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV): A maternal herpes infection can be transmitted to the baby during a vaginal delivery, particularly if the mother has an active outbreak. This can cause neonatal herpes, a severe and potentially life-threatening condition that leads to neurological damage. A C-section is recommended to prevent transmission.
Chlamydia: This common sexually transmitted infection can be passed to a newborn during delivery. If left untreated in the mother, it could lead to neonatal pneumonia or serious eye infections (conjunctivitis) in the baby.

The Connection to Devastating Injuries

When these infections are transmitted to a newborn, they frequently escalate into life-altering conditions. The infection might spread through the baby’s bloodstream, a dangerous condition known as neonatal sepsis, or infect the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, causing meningitis. Both sepsis and meningitis can cause permanent brain damage, which may lead to conditions like cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and seizures.

What Was the Medical Team Supposed to Do? Defining the Standard of Care

In any medical malpractice case, the central question is whether the healthcare provider followed the accepted “standard of care.”

Think of the standard of care as a pilot’s pre-flight checklist. It contains specific, recognized safety steps that a reasonably prudent professional is expected to perform every time to maximize the chances of a safe outcome.

The Checklist for Preventing Birth Infections

For preventing newborn infections, this “checklist” includes several non-negotiable actions:

Proper Prenatal Screening: This involves routinely testing the mother for infections that are known to pose a risk to the baby. A key example is screening for GBS, which is typically done between 36 and 38 weeks of pregnancy.
Reviewing the Mother’s Complete Medical History: A thorough review of the mother’s health records should identify pre-existing conditions, such as a history of HSV, that require a specific and careful birth plan to protect the newborn.
Careful Monitoring During Labor: Medical staff must watch for any signs of infection in the mother or distress in the baby. This includes monitoring for a maternal fever, a rapid heart rate in the mother or baby, or foul-smelling amniotic fluid, which can all signal chorioamnionitis.
Timely and Appropriate Intervention: Identifying a risk is only the first step. The medical team must act on that information promptly. This includes:
- Administering IV antibiotics during labor for a mother who tests positive for GBS.
- Recommending and performing a C-section when an active genital herpes outbreak is present at the time of delivery.
- Immediately starting antibiotics to treat suspected chorioamnionitis to prevent the infection from spreading to the baby.

If you suspect that any of these steps were missed or delayed during your delivery, it may be beneficial to have the medical records reviewed by a legal professional.

When Does a Medical Error Become a Malpractice Case?

To build a successful case, we must establish four specific elements. Think of these as the four pillars that must support the entire claim.

Pillar 1—A Duty of Care: This is the most straightforward element. When a hospital, doctor, or nurse agrees to treat a patient, they automatically assume a professional duty to provide competent care to both the mother and the baby.
Pillar 2—A Breach of That Duty: We must prove that the medical team deviated from the accepted standards of care. For example, they knew the mother was GBS-positive but failed to start antibiotics in time, or they ignored clear signs of maternal infection during labor.
Pillar 3—Causation: This pillar connects the mistake to the injury. We must show that the medical team’s specific failure—the breach of duty—was a direct cause of the baby’s infection and the resulting harm. Simply having an infection is not enough; we must prove the negligence led to the injury.
Pillar 4—Damages: Finally, we must demonstrate that the injury resulted in actual, quantifiable harm. This includes not only the immediate medical bills but also the projected costs of future care, therapy, and the child’s pain and suffering.

The Burden of Proof

In a civil case like this, the standard of proof is known as a “preponderance of the evidence.” In simple terms, this means we must show that it is more likely than not (even just 51% likely) that the healthcare provider’s negligence caused the injury. It is a much lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal cases.

How We Build a Case to Secure Your Child’s Future

The journey from suspecting a medical error to proving it in a legal setting is complex and requires a methodical approach. Our role is to take the burden of the investigation off your shoulders and build a strong foundation for your claim.

The Investigation Process

Obtaining and Analyzing Medical Records: The story of what happened is contained in the medical charts. We gather every relevant document—prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, and the baby’s neonatal charts—to construct a detailed, minute-by-minute timeline of events.
Working with Independent Medical Professionals: We collaborate with respected, independent obstetricians, neonatologists, and infectious disease specialists. These professionals review the records and provide a formal opinion on whether the care provided fell below the accepted medical standards.
Creating a Life Care Plan: For children who have suffered severe, lifelong injuries, we work with life care planners. These professionals create a comprehensive, data-driven projection of every medical and non-medical need the child will have for the rest of their life. This document, which details everything from future surgeries and therapies to home modifications and adaptive equipment, becomes a cornerstone of the damages claim.

Calculating the Full Scope of Damages

Compensation in a birth injury case is intended to provide for a lifetime of needs. Damages are typically divided into two categories:

Economic Damages: These are the tangible, calculable costs associated with the injury. This includes all past and future medical bills, the cost of physical and occupational therapy, adaptive equipment, necessary home modifications, and the child’s lost future earning capacity.
Non-Economic Damages: This category addresses the intangible, human losses. It provides compensation for the child’s physical pain, emotional suffering, scarring, disfigurement, and the loss of the ability to enjoy life’s pleasures.

The Statute of Limitations: A Deadline You Cannot Miss

A statute of limitations is a law that sets a strict deadline for filing a lawsuit. If you miss this deadline, you may lose your right to pursue compensation forever, regardless of how strong your case is.

Rules for Minors in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Both Pennsylvania and New Jersey have special protections for children injured by medical malpractice. In Pennsylvania, the standard two-year statute of limitations is “tolled” during childhood, meaning a lawsuit can be filed up until the child’s 20th birthday. In New Jersey, the law is similar: the statute of limitations for minors is paused until the child turns 18, and then the child has two years after their 18th birthday to file a lawsuit—typically up to age 20.

Why Waiting is a Mistake

While the law allows for this extended timeframe, waiting years to investigate a potential claim is a significant disadvantage. Over time:

Evidence can be lost: Hospital record-keeping policies may change, and documents can become harder to locate.
Witness memories fade: The recollections of nurses and doctors involved in the delivery will become less clear with each passing year.
Building a strong case becomes more difficult: A prompt investigation allows for a more accurate and powerful reconstruction of the events that led to the injury.

Acting sooner rather than later gives your legal team the best opportunity to gather the necessary evidence and build the strongest possible case on your child’s behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Infection Lawsuits

How much does it cost to hire a birth injury lawyer?

We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no fees upfront. We only receive a fee if we successfully recover compensation for you and your child. Our firm advances all the costs of the investigation and litigation.

Will we have to go to court?

Many birth injury cases are resolved through a settlement before a trial becomes necessary. Hospitals and their insurance companies are motivated to negotiate when faced with a well-prepared and thoroughly documented case. However, we prepare every case as if it will go before a jury to ensure we are in the strongest possible negotiating position.

Can I sue the hospital, the doctor, or both?

Liability might rest with multiple parties. A lawsuit could name, for example, the obstetrician for failing to screen for an infection, the labor and delivery nurses for failing to monitor the mother and baby properly, and the hospital for systemic failures in its policies, procedures, or staffing. Our investigation will work to identify all parties who may be responsible for your child’s injury.

A Path Forward for Your Family

Holding a negligent medical provider accountable provides a measure of justice and, more importantly, secures the resources your child needs to live the fullest life possible.

Let us take on the legal fight so you can focus on your family. Call Wapner Newman today at (215) 569-0900 to begin the conversation.