Indiana Birth Injury Settlements

• Thousands of families throughout the United States are impacted by birth injuries every year, but you may be able to alleviate the economic burden of a serious birth injury by seeking a settlement.
• However, a birth injury settlement is never a sure thing in Indiana, where you will generally have to show that a birth injury was caused by medical malpractice in order to be compensated for it.
• To get the Indiana birth injury settlement you deserve, turn to Hensley Legal Group, PC, which has a history of success with catastrophic injury cases, including $25 million* for a collision with an ambulance.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

Just like there may be no better feeling for a parent than the birth of a healthy child, perhaps nothing feels worse than a birth gone wrong, a terrifying nightmare that is painfully real for the parents of the approximately 30,000 babies nationwide who suffer birth injuries every year.

Mothers can get hurt during labor too, and the steep medical expenses associated with a difficult birth can stretch the average family’s bank account to the breaking point. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that medically caring for a child with a serious birth injury like cerebral palsy can cost ten times more than caring for a child without a disorder.

Fortunately, you may be able to obtain compensation when somebody else is at fault for a birth injury in Indiana by filing a lawsuit or simply negotiating a settlement. Moreover, you can increase your chances of getting the birth injury settlement or verdict you deserve by turning to the highly skilled birth injury lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Hensley has a history of securing noteworthy results in catastrophic injury cases, such as:

• $25 million* for a collision with an ambulance.
• $8 million for a delivery truck crash.
• $4.25 million for a pedestrian accident.

In recognition of achievements like these, HLG has been named one of the Best Law Firms in the United States by Best Lawyers®, while its attorneys have been honored with inclusion in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and the National Trial Lawyers’ lists of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40.

Yet as proud as we are of these accolades, we’d be equally proud to get you justice and hope that you call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a free case review with a knowledgeable Indiana birth injury attorney at our firm.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury (or “birth trauma”) is an injury that arises from an adverse event during or immediately following childbirth.

Some of the main birth injuries affecting infants in Indiana are:

• Caput succedaneum (swelling of the scalp from pressure on the cranium)
• Damage of the brain, facial nerve, or spinal cord
• Shoulder dystocia
• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy
• Broken bones
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Stillbirth

Common maternal birth injuries include:

• Perineal tearing
• Uterine rupture
• Pelvic floor trauma
• Substantial bleeding or hemorrhaging
• Emergent hysterectomies
• Blood clot complications
• Infections/sepsis
• Fractures
• Urinary or fecal incontinence
• Preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome
• Organ damage or failure
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

In some instances, both the child and the mother could sustain significant birth injuries, and they can be as devastating economically as they are physically and emotionally. This is especially true when the injuries are long-lasting or permanent and force the family to cope with the costs of:

• Pharmaceuticals, assistive equipment, and supplies
• Home modifications
• Treatment by specialists
• Physical and occupational therapies
• Outpatient or institutional care

These costs can be even harder to manage when there is a loss of income because the mother is too injured to work herself or because the child’s birth injury calls for constant attention from a parent. However, a birth injury settlement that could alleviate some of these financial burdens might be attainable if the injury was caused by medical malpractice.

Proving Medical Malpractice in a Birth Injury Case

Because no matter how punishing or expensive a birth injury is, you’ll usually have to prove there was medical malpractice in order to be compensated in Indiana, where most birth injury cases are basically medical malpractice cases (or wrongful death cases when the injuries are fatal).

But a negative outcome in and of itself isn’t proof of medical malpractice. Instead, malpractice may only be said to occur when a practitioner deviates from the protocols of the medical community (known as the “standard of care”) by not providing the same care that other reasonable practitioners would have.

When a deviation like this injures a mother or a baby during or shortly after childbirth, a birth injury case might be viable, assuming that it can further be shown that:

1. The practitioner owed a duty of care – By accepting the mother and her baby as patients, the practitioner took on a duty of care.
2. The practitioner breached this duty – The practitioner’s deviation from the standard of care constituted a violation or “breach” of this duty.
3. The breach inflicted a birth injury – A birth injury was inflicted because the practitioner breached the duty of care.
4. Damages were incurred – As a direct consequence of the birth injury, the mother and/or the baby incurred damages.

If these four factors can be demonstrated, an Indiana birth injury settlement could be sought from anyone who committed the underlying malpractice, and the list of defendants could be much more extensive than you might think and may include:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Midwives
• Paramedics
• Technicians
• Anesthesiologists
• Pharmacists
• Hospitals
• Medical facilities
• Ambulance services
• Drug and device makers

Very often, multiple defendants will share liability for the same birth injury, and you could be forever barred from full fiscal recovery if you don’t go after them all within the time allotted by law.

Generally – though not necessarily – this will entail filing an Indiana birth injury lawsuit, and it may not be the first step you will have to complete thanks to the state’s Medical Malpractice Act.

Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?

Under the Act, you must begin the settlement process for a birth injury (or any other kind of medical injury) by filing a complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance, after which you will have to wait 20 days before you can request the formation of a medical review panel.

Consisting of a non-voting chairperson and three independent healthcare professions, the panel is tasked with issuing an opinion on whether your claim is justified, typically within about 30 days. The opinion is non-binding, meaning that you should be allowed to move forward with an Indiana birth injury case however the panel votes (although the opinion can be admitted at a later date).

That might involve filing a lawsuit, pursuing a claim, or some combination thereof, since filing suit doesn’t prohibit you from negotiating an Indiana birth injury settlement prior to trial, something that a large percentage of plaintiffs in the state are able to do.

Nonetheless, you will have to abide by the Statute of Limitations, which gives you “until the minor’s eighth birthday” to file or otherwise resolve a claim for an infant birth injury and two years to do so for a maternal birth injury, and other challenges may also have to be overcome.

It can be a lot to handle, but you don’t have to handle it alone when you have the seasoned Indiana birth injury lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC by your side.

How Hensley’s Indiana Birth Injury Attorneys Can Help

If you join the ranks of the many Hoosiers every day who choose to hire Hensley, our Indiana birth injury attorneys will identify the defendants responsible for the injury and establish valid claims against them well before the Statute expires, and a lawsuit may be filed as well if warranted.

Next, we will move swiftly to amass irrefutable evidence of medical malpractice, potentially subpoenaing critical documents and coordinating our efforts with experts in their fields who can shed light on relevant birthing methods and procedures.

After a rock-solid case has been put together against each of the defendants, our Indiana birth injury lawyers will enter into comprehensive negotiations with their insurance companies for a birth injury settlement that takes the totality of your losses into consideration.

And while an Indiana birth injury case can reach an amicable conclusion at the negotiating table, we are more than willing to bring your case before a judge and jury if a fair offer isn’t put forth. This sets our firm far apart from far too many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, see the inside of a courtroom and may miss out on the opportunity to put more money in their clients’ pockets because of it.

Every case is unique, but Hensley’s tenacious Indiana birth injury attorneys will always strive to maximize your birth injury settlement so that you and your loved ones can start to become whole again.

Get in Touch with Our Indiana Birth Injury Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been tirelessly protecting the rights of the innocent victims of negligence for nearly three decades, and no victims are more innocent than a mother and child at the moment of birth, so get in touch with our Indiana birth injury lawyers to explore your settlement options.

You can schedule a complimentary consultation with an accomplished Indiana birth injury attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a birth injury?

A birth injury (or “birth trauma”) is an injury that arises from an adverse event during or shortly after labor.

Both babies and their mothers can be at risk of getting hurt in childbirth, sometimes simultaneously, and the economic damages inflicted can be as devastating as the physical and emotional ones.

What is a birth injury settlement?

A birth injury settlement is a sum that the parties responsible for a birth injury agree to pay to the victim or victims who suffered it.

The ideal settlement will reflect the losses incurred because of the birth injury, including, but not limited to, the costs associated with the past, present, and future medical care required as well as any corresponding loss of income.

Am I eligible to receive an Indiana birth injury settlement?

An Indiana birth injury settlement is generally only available when a birth injury is caused by medical malpractice.

Malpractice occurs when a practitioner deviates from the protocols of the medical community (known as “standard of care”) in treating a patient, and you may be eligible to receive a birth injury settlement if your baby or your baby’s mother was injured by a deviation like this in Indiana.

Do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit?

You don’t necessarily have to file a birth injury lawsuit in order to secure an Indiana birth injury settlement, although many settlement seekers in the state do file them.

The process of obtaining a birth injury settlement may involve filing suit, merely pursuing a claim, or some combination of the two, since filing a lawsuit doesn’t prohibit you from negotiating a settlement prior to trial.

How long do I have to reach a settlement in Indiana?

The amount of time you have to reach a settlement in Indiana is primarily determined by the state’s Statute of Limitations.

The Statute usually gives you until the child’s eighth birthday to either settle a claim or file suit over an infant birth injury and two years to do so over a maternal birth injury, but you may want to talk to an Indiana birth injury lawyer sooner rather than later to avoid missing critical deadlines.