Birth injuries caused by medical negligence are more common than most parents realize, and the signs are not always obvious right away. Some injuries show up in the delivery room; others emerge over months or years as a child misses developmental milestones. In Washington State, if your child’s injury resulted from a provider’s failure to follow the accepted standard of care, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
The birth of your child should be one of the best days of your life. When something goes wrong in the delivery room or when you start noticing that something isn’t right in the months that follow, it changes everything. The question you probably keep asking yourself is, did this have to happen?
Not every difficult birth is the result of negligence. But some injuries that parents are told were “just one of those things” were entirely preventable, and the difference matters enormously for your child’s future and your family’s rights.
At Gilbert Law Firm, our medical malpractice attorneys help families in Spokane and across Washington State understand what happened during birth and whether negligence played a role. Here is what we know, and what you should know too.
How Common Are Birth Injuries Caused by Negligence?
According to Cleveland Clinic, research estimates that approximately 29 birth injuries occur for every 1,000 live births in the United States. Not all of these result from medical negligence. Some are the unavoidable result of difficult labors or pre-existing conditions.
But those that were exposed to malpractice? Each case represents a real family. Parents who brought their child into the world expecting to take a healthy baby home and children whose opportunities, abilities, and quality of life were shaped by something that happened in that delivery room. When a provider’s failure to monitor, respond, or follow proper protocols played a role in that outcome, those families deserve answers.
Washington’s medical malpractice framework under RCW 7.70.030 establishes that a provider is liable when injury results from a failure to follow the accepted standard of care. In birth injury cases, that standard covers everything from fetal monitoring and oxygen management to the proper use of delivery instruments and the timing of a C-section decision.
Signs of Birth Injury Present at Delivery
Some birth injuries are visible or detectable immediately after birth. Signs that warrant careful attention in the delivery room and in the first hours after birth include:
- Low APGAR scores: The APGAR assessment measures a newborn’s heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and skin color at one and five minutes after birth. Consistently low scores, particularly below 6, can indicate oxygen deprivation or neurological compromise
- Difficulty breathing: Labored, irregular, or absent breathing in a newborn requires immediate investigation and may indicate oxygen deprivation during delivery
- Seizures: Seizures in the first hours or days of life are a serious warning sign of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation) and require urgent evaluation
- Limpness or poor muscle tone: A newborn who is unusually limp, floppy, or unresponsive may be showing signs of neurological injury
- Facial paralysis: Asymmetry in facial movement, particularly when crying, can indicate nerve damage from excessive pressure during delivery, sometimes caused by improper forceps use
- Arm weakness or limpness: If a newborn holds one arm still while the other moves normally, this may indicate a brachial plexus injury, which is damage to the network of nerves that controls movement in the shoulder, arm, and hand
- Skull fractures or swelling: Visible swelling, bruising, or deformity of the skull can result from traumatic delivery, including improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Pale, blue, or discolored skin: Persistent discoloration beyond the immediate delivery period can indicate circulatory or respiratory problems requiring investigation
Signs of Birth Injury That Emerge Over Time
Some of the most serious birth injuries, particularly those involving the brain, are not obvious in the delivery room. They become apparent gradually as a child grows and fails to reach developmental milestones that other children reach. Parents who notice these signs months or years after birth should not dismiss them as unrelated to the delivery.
In the first months:
- Difficulty feeding, latching, or swallowing
- Excessive or inconsolable crying without apparent cause
- Unusually stiff or unusually floppy limbs
- Sensitivity to light or sound
- Persistent arching of the back
- Failure to make eye contact or respond to voices
At 6 to 12 months:
- Not sitting independently by 9 months
- Not bearing weight on legs when supported
- Not reaching for objects or transferring them between hands
- Absent or significantly delayed babbling
At 12 to 24 months:
- Not walking independently by 18 months
- Not saying single words by 12 months or two-word phrases by 24 months
- Loss of previously acquired skills (this is particularly significant and always warrants evaluation)
- Persistent hand preference before 18 months can indicate weakness or impairment on the other side
At school age:
- Learning disabilities, attention difficulties, or behavioral challenges that emerge without explanation
- Coordination problems, balance issues, or motor delays
- Speech and language difficulties
If your child is showing these signs and you have concerns about how the delivery was managed, it is worth having those concerns evaluated by an attorney with experience in birth injury cases.
Medical Negligence That Causes Birth Injuries
If any of the following were part of your delivery experience, it may be worth having your case reviewed:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress
- Delayed C-section decision
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Failure to manage umbilical cord complications
- Prolonged labor without intervention
- Medication errors during labor
The Difference Between a Birth Complication and Birth Injury Negligence
Hospitals and providers often describe what happened as an “unfortunate complication” or tell parents that the outcome was unavoidable. Sometimes that is true. But sometimes it is not.
The legal question under Washington’s malpractice framework is, would a reasonably competent provider in the same specialty, given the same information, have acted differently? If the answer is yes and if a different decision about monitoring, intervention timing, or instrument use would have prevented the injury, then negligence may have occurred regardless of what the hospital tells you.
This determination requires expert medical review of the delivery records, fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, and operative reports. It is not something a parent can evaluate alone, and you should not have to.
What Compensation May Be Available?
If your child’s birth injury resulted from medical negligence in Washington State, your family may be entitled to compensation for:
- Current and future medical expenses, including specialist care, therapy, and assistive devices
- Special education and developmental support costs
- Lost earning capacity for your child over their lifetime
- Pain and suffering (your child’s and your own)
- Caregiving costs if your child requires ongoing support
Washington sets no limit on non-economic damages, meaning a jury can award the full amount your family’s circumstances warrant. For a child with a serious birth injury, the lifetime costs of care can be substantial, and those costs should be borne by the party whose negligence caused them, not your family.
How Long Do You Have to File?
Washington’s medical malpractice statute of limitations is three years from the date of the negligent act, or one year from discovery, whichever is later. For birth injury cases, acting sooner rather than later preserves evidence and gives your family the strongest possible foundation for a claim.
Talk to Gilbert Law Firm About Your Child’s Birth Injury
If your child has signs of a birth injury and you have questions about what happened during delivery, you deserve a straight answer. At Gilbert Law Firm, we will listen to your story, review what we know, and tell you honestly whether we think negligence may have played a role. If we take your case, we will go to war for you. Settlement or trial, whatever it takes to recover just compensation for your family.
Send us a message today to book a no-obligation, no-pressure consultation. Free of charge.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injury and Medical Negligence in Washington State
1. How do I know if my child’s birth injury was caused by negligence?
The honest answer is that you often cannot know without a detailed review of the delivery records, including fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, operative reports, and anesthesia records. What looked like an unavoidable complication sometimes turns out to be a missed warning sign or a delayed decision. Gilbert Law Firm can help you get those records and have them reviewed by a qualified medical expert.
2. What are the most common birth injuries caused by medical negligence?
The most common are hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) caused by oxygen deprivation, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, skull fractures from improper instrument use, and facial nerve damage. Many of these result from delayed C-section decisions, failure to respond to fetal distress, or improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors.
3. Can I still file a claim if my child’s birth injury wasn’t diagnosed until years later?
Possibly yes. The one-year discovery rule means the clock may not start until you knew or reasonably should have known that the injury was caused by negligence. The specific timing rules for birth injury cases involving minors are complex, so contact Gilbert Law Firm as soon as possible to understand where you stand.
4. What if my child’s injury was caused by a temporary doctor covering the delivery?
It doesn’t matter. Whether the delivering physician was your regular Ob/Gyn, a locum, a resident, or a covering doctor, the hospital has a responsibility to ensure that whoever is in that delivery room is qualified and properly supervised. If a temporary provider made a critical error during your child’s birth, both that provider and the hospital may share liability. Bill Gilbert can help you understand who is responsible and what your options are.
5. The hospital apologized but didn’t admit fault. Do we still have a case?
Possibly yes. An apology is not a denial, and the absence of an admission is not the same as the absence of negligence. What matters is what the delivery records actually show. Tell us what happened and we will give you an honest answer.
6. What compensation is available for a child with a serious birth injury in Washington?
Your family may be entitled to compensation for current and future medical costs, specialist care, therapy, assistive devices, special education, lost lifetime earning capacity, and pain and suffering. Washington sets no limit on non-economic damages, meaning a jury can award what the full circumstances warrant. For a child with a serious permanent injury, lifetime care costs can be substantial, and those costs should fall on the party responsible, not your family.