Average birth injury lawsuit settlements in Maryland range from $250,000 to $20,000,000 or more. The value of birth injury cases depends largely on several critical factors:
- Severity of the injury
- Lifetime care costs
- Loss of future income
- Clarity of medical negligence
- Hospital recordkeeping and monitoring failures
When your child suffers a birth injury due to medical negligence, the emotional and financial toll can be devastating. Without proper legal representation, you may struggle with mounting medical bills while healthcare providers deny responsibility for your child’s condition. We understand the challenges families face when pursuing justice for preventable birth injuries in Maryland.
Our Baltimore birth injury lawyer will fight tirelessly to secure the compensation your family deserves for your child’s future care.
Some of our child, labor and delivery malpractice settlements
The following birth injury case results demonstrate our track record of successfully advocating for families affected by medical malpractice during childbirth:
- $2,500,000 – A baby injured at birth in Washington, DC.
- $1,500,000 – A child in Baltimore with an Erb’s Palsy injury.
- $1,300,000 – Jury verdict in West Virginia for an Erb’s Palsy injury to a baby.
Common types of birth injuries that lead to lawsuits
Birth injuries in Maryland can range from temporary conditions to permanent disabilities requiring lifelong care. The most common birth injuries that result in malpractice lawsuits include:
- Cerebral palsy: A motor disability often linked to oxygen deprivation.
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain injury due to a lack of oxygen to the brain.
- Brachial plexus injuries: Nerve damage from difficult delivery or shoulder dystocia.
- Erb’s palsy: A specific brachial plexus injury affecting the shoulder and arm.
- Skull fractures or brain bleeds: May result from assisted deliveries or unmanaged pressure.
- Spinal cord injuries: Rare but severe, caused by excessive traction during delivery.
- Fetal acidemia and fetal acidosis: Terms for excess acid in a newborn’s blood, often indicating distress or hypoxia. Respiratory acidosis in a newborn may also occur if doctors fail to properly resuscitate or ventilate the baby after delivery, potentially leading to further complications or brain injury.
- Chorioamnionitis: Infection of fetal membranes leading to early labor, brain damage, or sepsis. Infant chorioamnionitis lawsuits often arise when this condition is missed or misdiagnosed during pregnancy or labor.
- Kernicterus – Preventable brain injury caused by untreated high bilirubin (jaundice) in newborns.
⚠️ Several of these injuries are preventable with timely monitoring, testing, or intervention during labor and delivery. These conditions are frequently cited in malpractice claims due to their severity and long-term impact on a child’s development and quality of life.
Average birth injury settlements in Maryland
In Maryland, birth injury settlement amounts typically range from $250,000 to $3 million. If you’re wondering how much is the average medical malpractice settlement is, these figures offer general benchmarks but vary widely based on the severity of injury, negligence involved, and long-term costs.
Severe cases with evidence of significant hospital negligence have resulted in verdicts reaching $10–$20 million, particularly when the child requires lifelong specialized care.
| Injury Type | Typical Settlement Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Skull fractures/brain bleeds | $250K–$1M | Can lead to seizures or disability |
| Brachial plexus / Erb’s palsy | $400K–$1.5M | Common in shoulder dystocia cases |
| Fetal acidemia/acidosis | $500K–$5M | Sign of delayed response to distress |
| Chorioamnionitis | $500K–$3M | Misdiagnosis or ignoring can lead to HIE |
| Kernicterus | $1M–$5M+ | Preventable with proper bilirubin monitoring |
| Spinal cord injuries | $1M–$5M+ | Rare, but usually catastrophic |
| HIE | $2M–$10M | Often linked to delayed delivery |
| Cerebral palsy | $3M–$20M+ | Lifetime therapy, 24/7 care |
⚠️ Maryland places a cap on non-economic damages (such as pain and suffering), but there is no cap on economic damages, including future medical care, therapy, home modifications, and lost earning capacity.
Many birth injury cases settle before trial, but whether resolved in or out of court, compensation often reflects the anticipated lifetime costs of caring for a child with permanent disabilities.
Our lawyers can help estimate where your case may fall based on the nature of the injury and the documentation available.
Call our Maryland birth injury attorney today for a free consultation and find out if you have a claim.
What affects birth injury compensation amounts?
The settlement value of birth injury medical malpractice claims varies significantly based on several key factors that attorneys and insurance companies evaluate:
- Severity of the injury (e.g., CP, HIE requires lifelong care)
- Lifetime care costs documented in life care plans
- Loss of future income (child and parent caregivers)
- Clarity of medical negligence
- Hospital recordkeeping and monitoring failures
💡 Clear fetal monitor tracings, ignored C-section indicators or missed jaundice signs often tip the scales in malpractice cases. Hypothetically, a lawsuit might allege that the medical team failed to act on signs of fetal distress, resulting in preventable brain damage and a diagnosis of spastic cerebral palsy.
Birth negligence compensation: When is it awarded?
Birth injury compensation is awarded when a plaintiff in a birth injury case can prove that healthcare providers failed to meet the standard of care, causing preventable harm to the mother or baby. Under Maryland law, victims of medical negligence must demonstrate that healthcare professionals deviated from accepted medical practices during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
Compensation is often awarded when a clear link can be established between medical negligence and the child’s injury. Common examples include:
- Untreated jaundice → kernicterus
- Delayed delivery → hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) or cerebral palsy
- Improper management of shoulder dystocia → brachial plexus injury / Erb’s palsy
📌 If your child was diagnosed with any of these conditions, our team can help determine whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim.
How we evaluate birth injury malpractice cases
When families come to us after their child’s birth injuries, we conduct a thorough investigation to determine if medical malpractice occurred. Our approach includes:
- Reviewing fetal monitoring and labor timelines to identify missed warning signs
- Analyzing records for signs of ignored infection (chorioamnionitis)
- Verifying bilirubin testing protocol to identify preventable kernicterus
- Examining the timing of decisions, delays, or missed interventions during labor and delivery
- Consulting with medical experts from institutions like the University of Maryland or Johns Hopkins to evaluate the case
💡 Tip — Save all medical records, test results, and discharge instructions. These can be critical evidence in your birth injury malpractice lawsuit.
Contact Frank Spector today to find out how we will fight for your child’s future.
Long-term costs that drive high settlement amounts
When calculating the expected settlement for a birth injury claim, we consider the substantial long-term expenses families face. These costs often drive the high value of birth injury lawsuits:
- In-home nursing or 24/7 support for severely disabled children
- Adaptive vehicles or housing modifications for accessibility
- Medical equipment (wheelchairs, feeding tubes, etc.)
- Special education or therapy costs throughout childhood and beyond
- Loss of parental income due to caregiving responsibilities
💡 Settlements often reflect not just current bills, but decades of future medical expenses and care.
In a 2023 Baltimore County jury verdict, nearly $24 million in economic damages were awarded to the family of a child with severe birth injuries. This included $20 million for future medical care and support, following an alleged premature delivery without clear signs of fetal distress
What to include in your medical records request
If you’ve hired our team or are preparing to file a medical malpractice claim, collecting complete and relevant medical documentation is a vital part of building your case.
When you work with us, our birth injury lawyers will guide you through the record-gathering process and help ensure nothing is overlooked.
If you’re requesting records yourself, ask your healthcare provider for the following:
- Labor and delivery notes that detail the timeline, interventions, and condition of the mother and baby
- Fetal monitoring strips showing heart rate patterns and signs of distress
- Cord blood gas analysis results that may indicate oxygen deprivation
- Neonatal Apgar scores to assess the baby’s condition at 1 and 5 minutes after birth
- Bilirubin test results, especially if jaundice may have contributed to complications
- NICU and discharge summaries that document the baby’s treatment and prognosis
These records often reveal whether signs of distress were missed, whether standard protocols were followed, and whether earlier intervention could have changed the outcome.
📌 The Maryland Department of Health provides resources on patient rights regarding medical records access, which can help you obtain this critical documentation.
Reach out today for a free consultation!
If your child suffered a birth injury in Maryland, you don’t have to face the legal and emotional challenges alone. At Frank Spector Law, we understand how devastating these situations can be—and we’re here to help.
Our firm provides the focused, compassionate support your family deserves. Every case is personally reviewed by attorney Frank Spector, who brings decades of experience and an unwavering commitment to holding negligent providers accountable.
Let us help you understand your legal options and fight for the resources your child will need now and in the future.
Call us today at 443-845-1456 or reach out through our secure contact form to schedule your free consultation.
FAQs
What is the difference between fetal acidemia and acidosis?
Fetal acidemia refers to an abnormally low pH level in a baby’s blood, while fetal metabolic acidemia describes the clinical condition resulting from prolonged acidemia. Testing cord blood after delivery can reveal acidemia, which may indicate oxygen deprivation during birth that could lead to brain injuries if not addressed promptly.
What makes kernicterus a preventable condition?
Kernicterus is considered preventable because it results from untreated severe jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia). With proper monitoring of bilirubin levels and timely intervention with phototherapy or blood transfusions when indicated, the condition should never progress to permanent brain damage, making it a strong indicator of potential medical negligence.
Is a brachial plexus injury always malpractice?
Not all brachial plexus injuries constitute malpractice, as some can occur despite appropriate care during difficult deliveries. However, many injuries are preventable when doctors properly anticipate complications, avoid excessive force during delivery, or opt for C-section when shoulder dystocia is likely based on fetal size or maternal factors.
Are Maryland birth injury settlements capped?
Maryland caps non-economic damages (compensation for pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases. As of 2025, this cap is $905,000. However, there is no cap on economic damages, which include medical expenses, lost wages, and costs of future care, allowing for high-value verdicts in severe cases.
How long do I have to file a claim?
In Maryland, you generally have five years from the date of injury or three years from when the injury was discovered, whichever comes first, to file a medical malpractice claim. For most birth injuries, the statute of limitations is extended until the child turns 21 years old, but waiting too long can make it harder to gather vital records and expert testimony.
*Past success is no guarantee of future results
