The Treasure Coast — St. Lucie, Martin, and Indian River Counties — is one of Florida's fastest-growing regions. The hospitals serving this region include Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital, Cleveland Clinic Martin North and South, Indian River Medical Center (now Cleveland Clinic Indian River), and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center. These facilities deliver thousands of babies every year in a region that has experienced rapid population growth and, in some cases, staffing and resource challenges that can contribute to birth injury risk.

When a birth injury results from preventable medical error at a Treasure Coast hospital, Florida law gives families the right to seek justice. At Juan Cordero Lawyers, we represent families throughout St. Lucie, Martin, and Indian River Counties in birth injury and HIE cases, with the experience and resources to take on large hospital systems and their insurers.

HIE is brain damage caused by oxygen and blood flow deprivation to the baby's brain around the time of birth. It is one of the most serious and most preventable birth injuries. Common causes include:

• Failure to recognize and respond to abnormal fetal heart rate patterns on electronic fetal monitoring
• Delayed emergency cesarean section when fetal distress is identified
• Umbilical cord prolapse or compression that is not promptly managed
• Placental abruption that is not recognized and treated in time
• Uterine rupture in VBAC deliveries

HIE can cause cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy, vision and hearing impairment, and death. The severity of the outcome depends in part on how quickly the oxygen deprivation is recognized and treated — including whether therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy) is initiated within six hours of birth.

Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders caused by brain damage before, during, or shortly after birth. Children with cerebral palsy may require lifelong physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, adaptive equipment, and personal care assistance. The lifetime cost of care for a child with severe cerebral palsy can exceed $10 million.

Brachial plexus injuries occur when the nerves controlling the arm and hand are stretched or torn during delivery, typically in shoulder dystocia cases. These injuries are often caused by excessive traction applied by the delivering physician.

Failure to screen for Group B streptococcus (GBS) and administer prophylactic antibiotics can result in neonatal sepsis and meningitis — serious infections that can cause brain damage, hearing loss, and death.

Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital is the primary acute care hospital in western Port St. Lucie and one of the busiest delivery centers on the Treasure Coast. As a private institution (part of the Cleveland Clinic health system), Tradition Hospital is not subject to Florida's sovereign immunity statute. Birth injury claims against Cleveland Clinic Tradition proceed under standard Florida medical malpractice law.

Cleveland Clinic Martin North (Stuart) and Martin South (Port St. Lucie) serve Martin County and southern St. Lucie County. Both are private institutions not subject to sovereign immunity. Birth injury claims in Martin County are filed in the 19th Judicial Circuit (Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, and Okeechobee Counties).

Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce is a private hospital operated by HCA Healthcare. As a private institution, Lawnwood is not subject to sovereign immunity. Birth injury claims against Lawnwood proceed under standard Florida medical malpractice law.

Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital (formerly Indian River Medical Center) serves Indian River County and the Vero Beach area. As a private institution, it is not subject to sovereign immunity.

Florida's medical malpractice statute (§766.106, Fla. Stat.) requires a mandatory pre-suit investigation before a birth injury lawsuit can be filed:

1. Notice of intent to initiate litigation — served on all prospective defendants
2. 90-day investigation period — during which the defendant's insurer investigates the claim
3. Verified written medical expert opinion — a qualified expert must review the records and provide a written opinion that the standard of care was breached

The pre-suit process must be initiated before the statute of limitations expires. For birth injuries to minors, the statute of limitations is tolled until the child's eighth birthday, but the absolute four-year cap from the date of the incident still applies in most cases.

Florida's NICA program (§766.301–766.316, Fla. Stat.) provides no-fault compensation for certain birth-related neurological injuries at participating hospitals. Whether a birth injury qualifies for NICA — and whether NICA is the exclusive remedy — is a complex legal question. In many cases, families have the right to pursue a civil lawsuit even when NICA is involved. An experienced birth injury attorney can evaluate whether NICA applies to your case.

Therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy) is the standard of care for newborns with moderate to severe HIE. To be effective, cooling must be initiated within six hours of birth. Failure to initiate cooling therapy within the required window — or failure to maintain the correct temperature protocol — is a form of medical negligence that can worsen the outcome for a baby with HIE.

Smaller Treasure Coast hospitals may not have the NICU resources to provide cooling therapy on-site and must arrange timely transfer to a facility that can. Delays in arranging transfer can constitute medical negligence.

Recoverable damages in birth injury cases include:

• Past and future medical expenses — NICU care, surgeries, therapies, medications, adaptive equipment
• Future care costs — personal care attendants, residential facility costs, lifetime medical management
• Lost earning capacity — the child's projected lifetime earnings
• Pain and suffering — the child's physical pain and emotional distress
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Parental damages — in wrongful death cases, mental pain and suffering of the parents

Juan Cordero Lawyers represents Treasure Coast families in birth injury and HIE cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we win. If your baby suffered a birth injury at a Treasure Coast hospital, call 305-525-8957 for a free consultation.

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