Washington Birth Injury Lawyer

Common Birth Injuries in Washington

A birth injury is any type of harm or injury that a child suffers right before, during, or after they are born — typically during the labor and delivery process.

Birth injuries are often the result of preventable medical errors caused by a health care professional. This is known as medical malpractice.

Common birth injuries in Washington include:

• Bleeding in the brain
• Brachial plexus injury
• Brain damage or swelling
• Cephalohematoma (accumulation of blood above the skull but under the scalp)
• Cerebral palsy (CP)
• Erb’s palsy
• Facial nerve injury or paralysis
• Fetal distress or lack of oxygen in the brain
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE (when the brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen or blood flow)
• Injuries from forceps or vacuum extraction
• Intracranial hemorrhages
• Jaundice and kernicterus (brain damage from untreated jaundice)
• Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC)
• Nerve damage
• Shoulder dystocia (when one or both of the baby’s shoulders get stuck in the mother’s pelvis during delivery)
• Skull fractures or bone fractures
• Spinal cord injuries
• Stillbirths and wrongful death
• Umbilical cord strangulation

While some birth injuries may heal completely, others may require your child to receive lifelong medical care and assistance.

“Our baby has cerebral palsy. After she was born, the resuscitation team faced serious issues with their equipment, which led to a lack of oxygen. She’s gone through therapy, and although she still struggles, we feel incredibly fortunate for the support we got from Sokolove Law.”
– Washington Parent & Firm Client

If you believe your child’s birth injury was caused by medical malpractice, our Washington birth injury attorneys may be able to help you hold negligent health care providers accountable for the harm they caused.

Let Sokolove Law Fight for You

Since 1979, Sokolove Law has secured over $1.1 Billion for families affected by birth injuries.

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How Does Malpractice Cause Birth Injuries?

Birth injuries can often be avoided with proper medical care — but if a medical professional makes a careless mistake during the birthing process, the baby and their family may suffer as a result.

Common medical mistakes that may lead to birth injuries include:

• Excessive force during delivery
• Failure to properly assess risk factors beforehand
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
• Misdiagnosis or failure to recognize a serious medical condition

Sokolove Law has nurses on staff who can help you understand your child’s injury and whether malpractice or negligence may be to blame.

“We look for red flags, things that might not be what you'd expect as far as the labor or the delivery process. Maybe the labor took a really long time or the pushing stage took longer, or maybe there was both a vacuum and forceps used, which can be concerning.”
– Kristin Proctor, Registered Nurse with Sokolove Law

Our Past Washington Birth Injury Settlements

At Sokolove Law, we’ve recovered over $1.1 Billion for birth injury victims, including children and families in Washington.

Some of our past birth injury settlements and verdicts include:

• $6.5 Million for a Burlington family whose child has cerebral palsy from a delayed delivery
• $3.5 Million for a Kennewick woman whose daughter suffered injuries at birth
• $7.8 Million to a child who developed cerebral palsy from a birth injury
• $6 Million to a child with untreated jaundice
• $4.42 Million for a family impacted by medical malpractice at birth
• Over $2 Million to a child with a brachial plexus injury
• $2.75 Million for a family impacted by Erb’s palsy
• $5 Million for a child who suffered brain damage during delivery
• $5.9 Million to a child who received delayed medical care and developed CP

While Washington birth injury settlement amounts depend on various factors, like the severity of the injury and the cost of the child's care, our attorneys will fight for the most compensation possible in your case.

Money from a birth injury lawsuit in Washington can help to lessen the burden of ongoing medical treatments and other costs related to your child’s injury.

$23.9 Million Washington Birth Injury Lawsuit Verdict

In one case, a Washington jury awarded $23.9 Million to a Port Townsend family whose daughter suffered permanent brain damage at birth.

Staff at Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center allegedly failed to recognize signs of fetal distress after mistakenly monitoring the mother’s heartbeat instead of the baby’s. The distress was caused by an umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck, resulting in oxygen deprivation.

The $23.9 Million Washington birth injury verdict is intended to help pay for the child's medical bills and care throughout her lifetime.

Steps to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Washington

Compensation from a birth injury lawsuit can help cover the cost of your child’s treatments and improve their overall quality of life.

If you have a case, our Washington birth injury lawyers will handle every step of the legal process for you, so you can focus on your child’s well-being.

1. Contact Sokolove Law

At Sokolove Law, we provide free case reviews to determine if you may be eligible to file a Washington birth injury claim.

During this time, we’ll ask you a few questions about your child’s injury, so we can better understand the specifics of your situation.

2. We’ll Gather Evidence of Malpractice

If you have a case, we’ll collect medical records, statements from experts, test results, and anything else needed to show that your child’s birth injury was preventable.

We also have a team of registered nurses on staff who can help make sense of what may have happened to your child.

“Our team talks with families to determine what happened. We work closely with our experts who will form opinions on that, and then we present that evidence to whoever the defendants are.”
– Ricky LeBlanc, Managing Attorney of Sokolove Law

3. We’ll File Your Washington Birth Injury Claims

Your Washington birth injury lawsuit must be filed within the statute of limitations, which limits how long you have to file a claim. The Washington birth injury statute of limitations is 3 years after their child’s birth or the discovery of their injury.

Once these deadlines pass, you won’t be able to file a claim or pursue compensation for your child’s injury ever again.

Contact Sokolove Law as soon as possible in order to ensure that your claim is filed on time.

4. We’ll Negotiate Birth Injury Settlements on Your Behalf

Our attorneys will negotiate a Washington birth injury settlement with the defendant(s), which would be the hospital or medical professionals responsible for your child’s birth injury.

The majority of cases end in a settlement, which means you may not have to set foot in court.

If a settlement is unable to be reached, our birth injury lawyers in Washington are prepared to present your case in a trial and fight for a verdict on your behalf.

Let Our Washington Birth Injury Attorneys Fight for You

As a national birth injury law firm with decades of experience, Sokolove Law has the resources and experience necessary to help you seek justice for your child.

Our Washington birth injury attorneys are compassionate, knowledgeable, and committed to providing you with the personal attention your case deserves.

We'll take the time to understand the specifics of your child’s injury and tailor our approach to meet your needs.

Let us fight for the compensation on your behalf, so you can focus on your family’s health and well-being.

Call (800) 995-1212 now or fill out our contact form to get started with a free, no-obligation case review.

Washington Birth Injury Attorney FAQs