Understanding Your Rights After a Birth Injury in Philadelphia

September 5, 2025

The day your child is born is meant to be one of the most joyful days of your life. You’ve spent months preparing, dreaming, and eagerly anticipating the moment you would finally meet them. But when complications arise during labor and delivery, that expected joy can be overshadowed by fear, confusion, and profound heartbreak.

If your child suffered an injury during the birthing process, you are likely consumed with questions and worried about what the future holds. We are here to help. This guide is intended to provide a gentle starting point, helping you understand the basics of what a birth injury is and what your rights are here in Philadelphia.

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is any type of harm that a baby or mother sustains during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediately after birth. These injuries can range from mild and temporary to severe and life-altering.

Some common examples include:

Cerebral Palsy: A group of disorders affecting movement and muscle tone, often caused by brain damage or abnormal brain development. A lack of oxygen to the brain during delivery (hypoxia) is a common, preventable cause.
Erb’s Palsy (Brachial Plexus Injury): This occurs when the nerves in the baby’s upper arm are damaged, often when the baby’s shoulder gets stuck during delivery. It can lead to weakness or paralysis in the arm.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation and limited blood flow to the brain.
Bone Fractures: Fractures to the collarbone (clavicle) or other bones can occur during a difficult delivery.
Facial Paralysis: Caused by pressure on the baby’s face during birth, sometimes from the improper use of forceps.

It is a devastating reality that while some birth complications are unavoidable, others happen because a medical professional failed to provide the proper standard of care.

What Constitutes Medical Negligence

A birth injury falls under the broad umbrella of personal injury law, a very specific type of case known as medical malpractice.

The core of any medical negligence lawsuit is proving that a healthcare provider—be it a doctor, nurse, or hospital—breached the “medical standard of care.” This standard refers to the level and type of care that a reasonably competent and skilled healthcare professional, with a similar background and in the same medical community, would have provided under the same circumstances.

It isn’t just about a bad outcome. To rise to the level of medical malpractice, two things must be proven:

Negligence: The healthcare provider made a mistake or failed to act in a way that met the accepted medical standard of care.
Causation: This negligence directly caused the injury to your child or the mother.

Medical malpractice hinges on proving a breach of a professional duty. This is why these cases are so complex and require deep investigation by professionals who understand both the law and the medicine involved.

Signs That an Injury May Have Been Preventable

How can you know if the standard of care was breached? While only a thorough legal and medical review can determine this, certain situations often indicate that negligence may have occurred. These can include:

Failure to monitor and respond to signs of fetal distress.
Delaying a necessary Cesarean section (C-section).
Improper use of delivery tools like forceps or a vacuum extractor.
Failure to diagnose or treat a maternal infection or condition, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes.
Administering the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage to the mother or baby.
Failure to anticipate complications with a large baby or a tangled umbilical cord.

If you recognize any of these circumstances from your own experience, it is a sign that you should explore your options further.

Your Right to Secure Your Child’s Future

Pursuing a claim is not about blame; it is about securing the resources your child will need to live the fullest life possible. A successful birth injury claim can provide compensation for a lifetime of needs, including:

All current and future medical bills.
Specialized therapies, such as physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Adaptive equipment, like wheelchairs, braces, and communication devices.
Home modifications to make your living space accessible.
Special education resources.
In-home nursing or attendant care.
Your child’s pain and suffering.
Lost wages if a parent must stop working to become a full-time caregiver.

This compensation is a lifeline that ensures your child has access to the very best care, support, and opportunities, long into the future.

Wapner Newman: Our Birth Injury Lawyers Are Here for You.

A birth injury case is a journey no parent should walk alone. The legal system is complex, and the stakes are incredibly high. You need a compassionate advocate on your side who understands what your family is going through and has the experience to fight for the justice you deserve.

At Wapner Newman, our team of Philadelphia personal injury lawyers has been speaking out for victims of medical malpractice for decades. We know that your case is about so much more than a file number—it’s about your child, your family, and your future. We treat our clients like members of our own extended family, offering the compassionate support you need while aggressively pursuing the maximum compensation available. Our proven record of multimillion-dollar results in complex cases shows our commitment to winning for our clients.

Your fight is our fight. You don’t have to have all the answers right now. You just need to take the first step. Let us help you understand your rights and explore your options in a free, confidential, and no-obligation consultation.

For all these reasons and more, please give our Philadelphia personal injury attorneys a call today at (215) 569-0900. We are here to help you get the help you need so you can focus on what matters most: your family.