The birth of a child should be one of the most joyful moments of a family's life. When something goes wrong during labor and delivery — when a baby is deprived of oxygen, suffers brain damage, or is diagnosed with cerebral palsy — the joy turns to fear, grief, and an overwhelming set of questions.

One of the most important questions families ask is: Was this preventable? Was this someone's fault?

The answer is not always yes. Some birth complications are unavoidable. But a significant number of birth injuries — including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy, and other neurological conditions — result from preventable medical errors during labor, delivery, or the immediate newborn period.

When that is the case, Florida law gives families the right to seek justice and the compensation their child will need for a lifetime of care.

A birth injury is any harm suffered by a baby during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the immediate newborn period. Birth injuries range from minor and temporary (such as a broken collarbone that heals quickly) to severe and permanent (such as brain damage that causes lifelong disability).

The most serious birth injuries involve oxygen deprivation to the brain — a condition that can cause permanent neurological damage within minutes.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a type of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow to a baby's brain around the time of birth. "Hypoxic" means insufficient oxygen; "ischemic" means insufficient blood flow; "encephalopathy" means brain damage.

HIE is one of the most serious birth injuries a baby can suffer. Depending on its severity, HIE can cause:

• Cerebral palsy — a group of movement disorders caused by brain damage
• Intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Epilepsy and seizure disorders
• Vision and hearing impairment
• Feeding and swallowing difficulties
• Death in the most severe cases

HIE occurs when the baby's brain is deprived of oxygen. Common causes include:

• Umbilical cord complications — cord prolapse (cord comes out before the baby), nuchal cord (cord wrapped around the neck), or cord compression
• Placental abruption — the placenta separates from the uterine wall prematurely
• Uterine rupture — a tear in the uterine wall during labor
• Prolonged or obstructed labor — failure to progress that is not addressed with a timely C-section
• Maternal hypotension — dangerously low blood pressure in the mother
• Fetal distress not recognized or acted upon — failure to monitor fetal heart rate and respond to signs of distress

Many of these causes are recognizable warning signs that a trained obstetric team should detect and respond to. When they fail to do so, the result can be preventable brain damage.

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of permanent movement disorders caused by damage to the developing brain, most often occurring before, during, or shortly after birth. It is the most common motor disability in childhood.

Cerebral palsy affects muscle tone, movement, and motor skills. Depending on the type and severity, it can also affect speech, cognition, vision, and hearing. Many children with cerebral palsy require lifelong medical care, therapy, adaptive equipment, and personal assistance.

Not all cerebral palsy is caused by medical negligence. Some cases result from genetic conditions, infections during pregnancy, or other factors outside anyone's control. But when CP results from oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery that could have been prevented with proper monitoring and timely intervention, it may be the result of medical malpractice.

Electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) is the standard of care during labor. Abnormal fetal heart rate patterns — called "non-reassuring fetal status" — are warning signs of fetal distress and oxygen deprivation. Failure to recognize these patterns, failure to respond appropriately, or failure to escalate to a physician can result in preventable brain damage.

When fetal distress is identified, the standard of care often requires an emergency C-section. Delays in performing a C-section — whether due to failure to recognize the emergency, communication failures, or logistical delays — can result in prolonged oxygen deprivation and permanent brain damage.

Forceps and vacuum extractors are tools used to assist delivery when the baby is not progressing through the birth canal. Improper use can cause skull fractures, brain hemorrhage, nerve damage (including Erb's palsy), and other serious injuries.

Group B streptococcus (GBS), chorioamnionitis, and other maternal infections can cause serious harm to the baby if not diagnosed and treated promptly. Failure to screen for GBS, failure to administer prophylactic antibiotics, and failure to recognize signs of infection are common sources of liability.

Pitocin (oxytocin) is commonly used to induce or augment labor. Excessive Pitocin can cause uterine hyperstimulation — contractions that are too frequent or too strong — which reduces oxygen supply to the baby. Failure to monitor and adjust Pitocin dosing is a recognized cause of birth injuries.

Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby's shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother's pubic bone after the head is delivered. It is an obstetric emergency. Improper maneuvers to free the shoulder can cause brachial plexus injuries (Erb's palsy) and oxygen deprivation.

When HIE is identified in a newborn, the current standard of care is therapeutic hypothermia — cooling the baby's body temperature to slow the progression of brain damage. This treatment must be initiated within 6 hours of birth to be effective.

Failure to recognize HIE and initiate cooling therapy within the treatment window is itself a form of medical negligence that can worsen the baby's outcome.

As with all medical malpractice cases in Florida, you must prove:

1. A doctor-patient (or hospital-patient) relationship existed
2. The provider deviated from the accepted standard of care — what a reasonably competent obstetrician, nurse, or hospital would have done under the same circumstances
3. The deviation caused the birth injury — this requires expert medical testimony establishing that the negligence, not an unavoidable complication, caused the harm
4. The child (and family) suffered damages

Birth injury cases require expert testimony from qualified obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, and life care planners. Choosing an attorney with the resources and experience to retain and present these experts is essential.

Like all medical malpractice cases in Florida, birth injury claims require:

• A pre-suit investigation by a qualified medical expert
• A Notice of Intent to Initiate Litigation served on all defendants
• A verified expert opinion corroborating the claim

This process takes time — typically 3–6 months before a lawsuit can be filed. Combined with the statute of limitations, this means families must act quickly.

The statute of limitations for birth injury malpractice in Florida is 2 years from the date the injury was discovered or should have been discovered — with an absolute 4-year statute of repose from the date of the negligent act.

Critical exception for minors: For children under 8 years old at the time of the injury, the statute of repose does not expire until the child's 8th birthday. This gives families of young children more time — but the clock is still running, and the pre-suit process takes months.

Do not wait. Contact an attorney as soon as you suspect a birth injury may have been caused by medical negligence.

Birth injury cases often involve the largest damages of any personal injury claim — because the child's injuries are permanent and the costs of care extend over a lifetime.

Recoverable damages include:

• Past and future medical expenses — including surgeries, hospitalizations, therapies, and medications
• Costs of adaptive equipment — wheelchairs, communication devices, home modifications
• Lifetime personal care and assistance
• Lost future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life

• Emotional distress
• Loss of the child's services and companionship (in some cases)

A life care planner — an expert who calculates the cost of a lifetime of care — is essential in serious birth injury cases. The numbers are often in the millions of dollars, and an experienced attorney will ensure every future cost is accounted for.

Florida has a unique program called the Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA) that provides no-fault compensation for certain birth-related neurological injuries. If a baby suffers a qualifying brain or spinal cord injury during labor and delivery at a participating hospital, the family may be required to seek compensation through NICA rather than through a civil lawsuit.

NICA benefits are limited — and significantly less than what a successful malpractice lawsuit might recover. An experienced birth injury attorney can evaluate whether NICA applies to your case and whether there are grounds to pursue a civil claim instead.

If your child suffered a birth injury, HIE, cerebral palsy, or another condition that you believe may have been caused by medical negligence, you deserve answers — and your child deserves justice.

Attorney Juan J. Cordero has the experience, resources, and dedication to take on hospitals, obstetricians, and their insurers on behalf of injured children and their families. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we win.

Call or text us 24/7 at 305.525.8957. We serve clients throughout Miami, North Bay Village, Hialeah, Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and all of Florida. Bilingual service available in English and Spanish.

• Birth Injury Lawyer Florida — Practice area overview and free consultation
• Medical Negligence Lawyer Florida — Medical malpractice claims
• Wrongful Death Lawyer Florida — When birth injuries are fatal
• Personal Injury Attorneys in Miami — Serving Miami-Dade County
• Florida Personal Injury Statute of Limitations — Birth injury filing deadlines