Rockville Birth Injury Lawyers

Bringing a child into the world should be one of the happiest moments in a family’s life. But when doctors, nurses, or hospitals fail to meet the standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, that joy can turn into heartbreak, and an entire family can be left facing a lifetime of medical needs, uncertainty, and financial strain.

Birth injuries are among the most devastating types of medical malpractice. A single mistake during delivery can mean a child faces permanent disability or developmental challenges. Parents may feel overwhelmed, helpless, and unsure where to turn for answers or how to hold a powerful hospital accountable.

Our Rockville birth injury lawyers stand beside families who discover too late that a preventable error changed the course of their child’s life. We understand Maryland’s unique medical malpractice laws, know how local hospitals defend these claims, and fight relentlessly for the compensation families need to provide the best possible care for their child.

Maryland Injury Lawyers – Protecting Rockville Families When Medical Negligence Harms Newborns

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is a physical injury or medical complication a baby suffers before, during, or immediately after delivery due to mistakes by medical professionals. Some birth injuries heal on their own with time and care. But many leave permanent damage, especially when a doctor’s error cuts off oxygen, causes brain damage, or leads to trauma during delivery.

Common examples of birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy caused by a lack of oxygen during birth
• Brachial plexus injuries (like Erb’s palsy) from excessive pulling during delivery
• Skull fractures or brain bleeds from misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors
• Failure to detect or respond to fetal distress
• Untreated jaundice leading to kernicterus
• Infections due to unsanitary conditions or failure to diagnose maternal infections

How Do Birth Injuries Happen?

Many birth injuries result from unavoidable complications. But when a well-trained doctor or delivery team follows accepted medical standards, the risks are usually low and manageable.

Birth injuries often happen in situations like the following:

• Doctors fail to monitor fetal heart rate or signs of distress
• A necessary C-section is delayed or not performed at all
• Forceps or vacuum extractors are used incorrectly or unnecessarily
• Medical staff fail to recognize and treat maternal infections
• Doctors ignore high-risk factors like breech birth or umbilical cord problems

When a medical team fails to act quickly and correctly, the consequences can be life-changing.

Maryland Birth Injury Law: The Basics

A birth injury claim is a type of medical malpractice case under Maryland law. Like other malpractice claims, you must show that a doctor, nurse, or hospital fell below the accepted standard of care of what a reasonably competent professional would do in a similar situation, and this failure caused your child’s injury.

Maryland also requires a Certificate of Qualified Expert, signed by a licensed medical professional, confirming that malpractice occurred. You must file this certificate within 90 days of bringing a claim.

These claims are also subject to the Maryland Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (HCADRO) process. Before going to court, families must first file the claim through this system or formally waive out of it.

Long-Term Costs of a Birth Injury

The emotional toll of a birth injury is immeasurable. But the financial impact can be just as overwhelming. Many families face costs that continue for the child’s entire life, including surgeries, hospitalizations, and frequent specialist visits, physical, occupational, and speech therapy, special education and adaptive technology, mobility aids and home modifications, and in-home nursing or personal care assistance.

Insurance may cover some of these expenses, but not all. A strong birth injury claim can help secure the resources your child needs to reach their fullest potential. Maryland law allows families to recover both economic and non-economic damages in birth injury cases. This can include, for example, past and future medical expenses, lost earning capacity if a child will never be able to work, costs of therapy, special education, and assistive care, pain and suffering for the child’s physical pain and emotional challenges, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Maryland caps non-economic damages (like pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases but does not limit actual economic damages. In severe cases involving gross negligence or reckless disregard, punitive damages may also be possible.

How a Rockville Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help

Hospitals and doctors rarely admit they made a mistake. They may claim the injury was unavoidable or due to natural complications. They will bring in expert witnesses to defend their care, and their insurance companies are well-funded and aggressive.

When we take on a birth injury case, we gather complete medical records and delivery room notes so we can understand what happened. We work with trusted medical experts to review what went wrong and certify that negligence was to blame. Our team takes care to calculate your child’s full lifetime needs with life-care planners. We handle the HCADRO filing process and all deadlines, and our lawyers negotiate a settlement with the hospital’s legal team and take them to court if needed.

Most importantly, we give your family space to focus on your child’s care while we handle the legal fight.

What To Do If You Suspect a Birth Injury in Rockville

If you believe your child’s condition may have been caused by medical negligence, acting quickly can help support your child and a potential legal claim. You may want to consider the following steps:

1. Request and keep copies of all prenatal and delivery records.
2. Get a second medical opinion about what happened.
3. Document your child’s condition and any diagnoses or treatments.
4. Avoid signing any release or settlement from the hospital or insurance company.
5. Talk to an experienced birth injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Maryland’s statute of limitations for birth injury cases is five years from the date of the injury or three years from when the injury was discovered, whichever is earlier. But early action can protect your rights and preserve critical evidence.

Local Knowledge Makes a Difference

Rockville families deserve lawyers who understand not just the law but the local medical community and the tactics hospitals use to defend these cases. We know the experts, the courts, and the pressure points that can make a difference for your family’s future.

No Fees Unless We Win

A birth injury can bring enormous financial stress. We handle all birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing upfront and nothing unless we win compensation for your child.

Talk to a Rockville Birth Injury Lawyer Today

You did everything right — you trusted your medical team to keep you and your child safe. When that trust is broken through preventable mistakes, you deserve answers, accountability, and the resources to give your child the best life possible.

Call Maryland Injury Lawyers today for a free, confidential consultation with a Rockville birth injury attorney. We’ll listen to your story, answer your questions, and fight for the justice your family deserves.

Your child’s future is worth fighting for — and so are you.