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Medical Malpractice

Birth Injuries in Oklahoma

When doctors and hospitals fail to protect babies during labor and delivery, families pay the price for a lifetime. We hold them accountable.

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Key Takeaways

  • Causation requires proof: Cerebral palsy has multiple possible causes; a birth-related hypoxic event must be established from the clinical evidence
  • Fetal monitoring: Key evidence of whether medical team responded to distress
  • Age-specific deadline: Section 96 generally gives an under-12 medical-malpractice claim seven years from injury; the rule for a minor age 12 or older is one year after majority, but never less than two years after injury
  • Lifetime costs: Cases often involve millions in future care needs

On This Page

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is harm arising around labor, delivery, or the immediate postnatal period. Unlike a birth defect that develops before birth, an injury may involve events during delivery or newborn care. The label alone does not establish negligence or causation.

Some birth injuries may be preventable. A viable malpractice claim requires medical evidence that the care fell below the applicable standard and that the breach caused or worsened the harm.

The Stakes

Birth injuries can result in lifelong disabilities requiring constant care. Children with cerebral palsy, for example, may need nursing care, physical therapy, special education, and adaptive equipment for their entire lives—costs that can exceed $1 million.

Types of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries range from minor bruising to devastating brain damage:

Cerebral Palsy

A group of movement and posture disorders with multiple possible causes. A birth-related hypoxic event accounts for only a subset of cases and requires case-specific proof.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

Brain injury from lack of oxygen and blood flow. Can cause seizures, cognitive impairment, and death.

Brachial Plexus Injuries / Erb's Palsy

Nerve damage causing arm weakness or paralysis, typically from shoulder dystocia mismanagement.

Skull Fractures & Intracranial Hemorrhage

Head trauma from improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, causing bleeding in the brain.

Facial Nerve Damage

Pressure during delivery causing facial paralysis, often from forceps use.

Spinal Cord Injuries

Rare but devastating injuries from excessive pulling or twisting during delivery.

Common Causes of Birth Injury Malpractice

Failure to Monitor

Not properly monitoring fetal heart rate; ignoring signs of distress (decelerations, bradycardia).

Delayed C-Section

Waiting too long to perform emergency cesarean when vaginal delivery is failing or baby is in distress.

Improper Instrument Use

Excessive force with forceps or vacuum extractors causing skull fractures, brain bleeds, or nerve damage.

Mismanaged Shoulder Dystocia

Pulling too hard on baby's head when shoulder is stuck, causing brachial plexus injuries.

Medication Errors

Pitocin overdose causing hyperstimulation; failure to reverse problematic medications.

Cord Problems

Failure to recognize umbilical cord prolapse or nuchal cord; delayed intervention.

Proving Birth Injury Malpractice

The key evidence in birth injury cases is the fetal monitoring strip—a continuous recording of the baby's heart rate during labor. This strip tells us:

  • When the baby first showed signs of distress
  • How the medical team responded (or failed to respond)
  • How long the baby was deprived of adequate oxygen
  • Whether timely intervention would have prevented injury

We work with OB/GYN experts, neonatologists, and pediatric neurologists to analyze the medical records and establish what should have been done—and when.

Lifetime Damages in Birth Injury Cases

Birth injury cases often involve the largest damages of any medical malpractice claim because they affect the child's entire life:

Economic Damages

  • Lifetime medical care
  • Surgeries and hospitalizations
  • Physical, occupational, speech therapy
  • Special education costs
  • Home modifications
  • Adaptive equipment
  • Personal care attendants
  • Lost future earning capacity

Non-Economic Damages

  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Loss of normal childhood
  • Emotional distress
  • Disfigurement

Life Care Planning

We work with life care planners to calculate the child's future needs over their expected lifespan. These experts document every anticipated cost: medical care, therapy, equipment, housing, and personal assistance. This ensures any settlement or verdict provides for the child's lifetime needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

A birth injury is harm arising around labor, delivery, or the immediate newborn period. Natural complications, underlying conditions, and medical care can all be relevant. A malpractice claim requires proof that a provider breached the standard of care and that the breach caused or worsened the injury.
Birth defects develop before birth and may have genetic, environmental, or unknown causes. A birth injury refers to harm arising around labor, delivery, or the immediate newborn period. Not every birth injury is preventable or caused by malpractice; medical records and expert review are needed to determine what happened and whether the standard of care was breached.
Cerebral palsy has multiple potential causes, and the cause is often unknown. An acute hypoxic-ischemic event around birth can cause cerebral palsy in a small subset of cases, but the diagnosis alone does not establish oxygen deprivation or malpractice. Records, cord gases, imaging, placental findings, and qualified expert review are needed to assess causation.
HIE is brain damage caused by lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby's brain during birth. It can result from placental problems, umbilical cord compression, uterine rupture, or delayed delivery. HIE can cause cerebral palsy, developmental delays, seizures, and death. Cooling therapy (therapeutic hypothermia) within 6 hours can reduce damage.
Signs include: low Apgar scores, seizures shortly after birth, difficulty feeding or swallowing, excessive crying or lethargy, stiffness or floppiness, favoring one side of the body, and developmental delays. Some injuries aren't apparent until the child misses developmental milestones months or years later.
Possibly, but Oklahoma has medical-malpractice-specific rules rather than a general pause until age 18. Under 12 O.S. § 96, a claim for a child under age 12 arising from medical malpractice must be brought by a parent or guardian within seven years after the injury was inflicted. A minor age 12 or older must bring the action within one year after attaining majority, but never has less than two years from the injury date. The child's age, injury date, and claim type should be reviewed promptly.
Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby's shoulder gets stuck behind the mother's pubic bone during delivery. It requires immediate intervention. Improper maneuvers (excessive traction on the baby's head) can cause brachial plexus injuries, Erb's palsy, or permanent nerve damage. Doctors should recognize risk factors and be prepared.
Erb's palsy is paralysis of the arm caused by damage to the brachial plexus nerves during delivery, usually from shoulder dystocia. The baby cannot move the affected arm. Severity ranges from temporary weakness to permanent paralysis requiring surgery. Erb's palsy often results from excessive pulling on the baby's head during delivery.
We work with OB/GYN and neonatology experts to review fetal monitoring strips, labor records, and delivery notes. Key questions: Did the medical team properly monitor the baby? Did they recognize signs of fetal distress? Did they respond appropriately and timely? Was a C-section unreasonably delayed? Did they use proper techniques?
Birth injury damages often include lifetime costs: medical care (surgeries, therapies, medications), special education, home modifications, adaptive equipment, personal care attendants, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. A life care planner helps calculate future needs. Settlements are often structured to provide ongoing care.
Yes. The delivering physician (OB/GYN or midwife), hospital, anesthesiologist, and nurses may all be liable depending on who was negligent. Hospitals are liable for employee negligence and may be liable for failing to have proper protocols, adequate staffing, or functioning equipment.
We work on contingency—you pay nothing unless we win. Birth injury cases require significant investment in medical experts, life care planners, and economists. We advance all costs. Our fee comes only from the recovery we obtain for your family.

Was Your Baby Harmed at Birth?

Birth injuries change families forever. We fight to hold hospitals accountable and secure the resources your child needs for a lifetime of care.

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