Fighting for Families Harmed by Preventable Medical Mistakes
If your child suffered a serious birth injury, it can have a devastating impact on your life and the life of your child. What’s even more devastating is knowing that many birth injuries are preventable and can happen because of medical negligence during labor and delivery or shortly after.
At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, our Pennsylvania birth injury attorneys are here to help you hold negligent healthcare providers accountable, whether that is a doctor, nurse, midwife, or hospital, and get the compensation you deserve to care for your family now and in the future. Our medical malpractice attorneys have extensive experience handling complicated birth injury lawsuits and will fight for you every step of the way.
What is a birth injury?
A birth injury is physical harm to a baby or mother that occurs before, during, or shortly after delivery. These injuries can range from minor bruising to severe and permanent conditions like cerebral palsy, brain damage, or nerve injuries. Sometimes birth injuries are unavoidable. When birth injuries are caused by medical negligence, families may have a legal claim for compensation.
What Causes Birth Injuries?
Many birth injuries occur when medical providers fail to recognize or act on warning signs during pregnancy, labor and delivery, or after. This can happen through a variety of ways, such as failing to properly monitor the baby and their heart rate, recognize and act on signs of fetal distress, monitor and manage the mother’s health, and failing to deliver the baby properly or quickly enough.
In some cases, a provider may also rush a delivery or misuse medical tools like forceps or vacuum extractors. These actions can cause permanent injuries to your child—including brain injury and other damage that affects their ability to walk, speak, or live independently. Some hospitals even push for vaginal deliveries to reduce costs, despite clear risks to the baby.
When a child is stuck in the birth canal, has placental complications, or suffers oxygen deprivation, delaying a C-section can result in brain damage, cerebral palsy, or physical trauma like shoulder dystocia. In these situations, medical staff may prioritize hospital profit over your child’s life and well-being.
Common Types of Birth Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
Our legal team has extensive experience handling cases involving many different types of birth injuries:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries (Erb’s palsy, shoulder dystocia)
- Fractures during delivery • Forceps or vacuum injuries
- Brain damage due to oxygen deprivation (Hypoxic and Anoxic Encephalopathy)
- Vision or hearing loss
- Intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Facial paralysis
- Nerve injuries
- Uterine rupture
- Bleeding or hemorrhaging
- Neurological injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Stillbirth
- Death of the mother
How do I know if my child’s birth injury was caused by medical malpractice?
Not all birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice—but many are. If a doctor, nurse, midwife, or hospital failed to monitor mom or baby’s condition, ignored signs of distress, delayed a necessary C-section, or improperly used delivery tools, they may be legally responsible. A birth injury attorney can investigate and consult medical experts to determine if malpractice occurred.
Why You Need an Experienced Birth Injury Attorney
Proving birth injury malpractice takes more than just medical records. It requires a skilled legal team who understands both the medical and legal issues involved. At Ostroff Godshall, our birth injury lawyers in Pennsylvania will investigate every detail of your case, consult medical experts, and build a strong claim for compensation.
You Deserve Answers. Your Child Deserves Justice.
Our team has recovered millions for families harmed by birth-related medical malpractice. For over 30 years, our attorneys have represented children and adults across Pennsylvania who were injured because someone else failed to do their job. If your child was harmed during labor or delivery, contact a Pennsylvania birth injury lawyer at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today. We’ll review your case for free, and you don’t pay unless we win.
Call us now or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Filing a Birth Injury Case
What compensation can I recover for a birth injury?
If your child was harmed due to medical negligence, you may be entitled to compensation for:
- Medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Special education and therapy
- Long-term care needs and support services
- Lost future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lifetime care and disability costs
- Loss of quality of life
- Scarring and/or disfigurement
Our attorneys fight to ensure you and your child have the financial support necessary for a lifetime. In rare birth injury cases, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the responsible party and deter similar conduct in the future.
Our experienced attorneys will also help you navigate the best way to manage a birth injury verdict or malpractice settlement in order to set your child up for future success and make sure they have resources for their care and treatment for the rest of their life.
How long do I have to file a birth injury claim in Pennsylvania?
In Pennsylvania, you generally have two years to file a medical malpractice claim. However, in birth injury cases involving minors, the statute of limitations may be extended and begins to run on your child’s 18th birthday. That means your child has until their 20th birthday to file a birth injury claim—but it’s best for parents or guardians to act quickly to preserve evidence and records, witness testimony, and secure necessary care.
What do I have to prove in a birth injury lawsuit?
In a Pennsylvania birth injury lawsuit, you must prove medical negligence caused your child’s injuries, resulting in damages. This involves establishing a duty of care, a breach of that duty, causation, and resulting damages. What this means is that you need to show that a healthcare provider made a mistake that violated the accepted standard of care, and that this mistake directly led to your child’s injuries and financial or emotional losses.
The “standard of care” refers to the level of care and skill that a reasonably competent and prudent professional (like a doctor or nurse) would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.
How will we fight for you?
Your team at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers will build your case from start to finish. We will work together with you to gather medical records and bills, photographic evidence, witness statements and testimony, and to preserve equipment when needed. The more information we can gather, the better we can pursue your claim. We will consult with the right medical experts to assess and perfect your claim.
Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers has a team of attorneys that will be prepared to aggressively negotiate your case or go to trial if needed. We will keep you informed and involved every step of the way. Pursuing a birth injury claim can be a lengthy process. We are here to fight for you in the most efficient and effective way possible.
How much does it cost to hire a birth injury lawyer?
At Ostroff Godshall, we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning:
- We advance any costs necessary to handle your case
- No upfront costs whatsoever
- No hourly fees
- You only pay if we win
We offer free consultations to discuss your potential case and what legal remedies may be available to you. Please fill out our online form or call us to schedule a consultation.
Client Testimonials
- “I cannot recommend Shayna Shorr from Ostroff Godshall Law enough. Navigating my mother’s wrongful death case was very stressful and emotional, but Shayna provided compassion, guidance, and knowledge every step of the way. Her great understanding of both the legal and medical nuances was evident in how thorough she was with our case. She fought and advocated for our family to ensure we were treated fairly and kept me informed with new updates. Thanks to her time, dedication, and negotiation skills, we achieved a successful resolution. If you need a knowledgeable and caring advocate, look no further.” Shayna will treat you like family. My siblings and I consider her a bonus sister! – Rea G
- “I must say that I had no idea how the litigation process worked. But after meeting the team, I soon realized they believed in me and fought as hard as I did seeking justice for myself and my family. Any questions I had, no matter how small or trivial, were answered quickly, with logic, knowledge of the process, and great empathy. Their team was stellar. But my true thanks go to Richard, Fallon, and Susan, and their entire staff. Always a quick response time to any questions I had, which meant so much during such a sad and frustrating time in my life.
In the end, justice was served. And the team at Ostroff Godshall fought to obtain that justice for myself and my family. We are forever grateful. And recommend them highly.” – Lucy C.
- First and foremost, I want to thank the attorneys that worked with me during one of the most difficult times of my life. I am forever grateful to have been represented by such wonderful Attorneys. My Counselors, Shayna and Richard, were incredibly compassionate, understanding, and very patient with me. Their professionalism goes a long way. I loved how they worked with me and treated me as if I were someone in their family. I never felt like a client. I will forever be grateful to Ostroff Godshall because they saw me through one of the most devastating times in my life. I was able to call them, and they were always available. Shayna specifically is one-of-a-kind. I would reach out to her late in the evenings, and she would always respond to me and just be there for me. I will never forget the day I asked her to have breakfast with me on a weekend to discuss some of my concerns, and she did not hesitate to be there for me. I surely will never forget that. I would highly recommend Ostroff Godshall to anyone experiencing difficulties in their lives where they need good people to represent them. You will not regret it. One of my best decisions was hiring Ostroff Godshall to represent me. I am truly glad that I did. – Margarita M.
- “When I first contacted OG, I was a nervous wreck. I’ve never needed legal counsel before, but my experience working with them has been a blessing. They treated us like family and fought every step of the way to seek the justice we deserved. You say why OG? I say, why not? Who would you want in your corner? For me, it was OG.” – Nicole B.
Medical Malpractice Case Summaries
- $7,624,332 – CLARION COUNTY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE JURY VERDICT
Medical Malpractice Verdict for Delayed Cancer Diagnosis
Our firm secured a $7,624,332 verdict for a 33-year-old man following a one-year delay in diagnosing rectal cancer. The delay allowed the cancer to progress to stage IV metastatic disease and resulted in multiple surgeries.
- $3,000,000 – PHILADELPHIA MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
20 Month Delay in Diagnosing Breast Cancer
$3,000,000 settlement in a Philadelphia Medical Malpractice case for a 56-year-old woman who had a 20-month delay in diagnosing breast cancer. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it had progressed to Stage III invasive lobular breast cancer, resulting in a double mastectomy, 16 rounds of chemotherapy, 12 rounds of radiation, and a loss of chance of survival. The case was able to be settled after depositions.
- $1,300,000 – LUZERNE COUNTY SETTLEMENT
Shoulder/Arm Injury
$1,300,000 pre-trial settlement for client injured by doctor’s medical malpractice when he cut a major nerve in her shoulder while performing a simple biopsy on her skin. Her injuries limited her arm movement thereafter.
- $1,000,000 – YORK COUNTY SETTLEMENT
Botched Plastic Surgery
$1,000,000 settlement of lawsuit filed in York County, shortly before trial. Client was seriously harmed by a local doctor who botched a plastic surgery he performed on her.
- $985,000 – PHILADELPHIA SETTLEMENT
Deep Tissue Buttock Injuries
$985,000 settlement during trial for a woman from Delaware who sustained severe, deep tissue injuries to her buttock from a negligently administered injection.
- $485,000 – CRAWFORD COUNTY SETTLEMENT DURING TRIAL
Stroke $485,000 settlement during trial for client from Cambridge Springs who suffered a stroke as a result of medical malpractice.
- $300,000 – CHESTER COUNTY MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Delayed Diagnosis in Young Child
Our firm secured a $300,000 recovery for a young child whose testicular torsion went undiagnosed, resulting in the removal of one testicle. His parents were initially told that he had constipation and were instructed to take him home.
- $225,000 – PHILADELPHIA MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
Medical Malpractice Recovery for NG Tube Misplacement Case
Our firm secured a $225,000 recovery in a case involving the improper placement of an NG tube at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The tube was placed in the lower lobe of the patient’s left lung rather than in her stomach. Shortly after placement, the patient reported that something felt wrong, and her parents observed that the tube appeared abnormal. Despite these concerns, they were allegedly reassured that the placement was proper based on a pH reading, without an X-ray to confirm it. Consequently, our client underwent several surgeries to clear her lung.
