A birth injury can shape a Houston family’s life for decades. When a baby is harmed during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, the effects can reach far beyond the hospital stay: a child may need therapy, ongoing medical care, and educational support for years, and parents often rearrange their work, finances, and daily routines around that care. Most births go as planned, but when an unexpected and traumatic birth injury occurs, the questions a family faces change at every stage of the child’s life.
At Davis & Davis, our Houston medical malpractice attorneys represent families after a serious birth injury that may have been caused by a preventable medical error. Because these cases are about a child’s whole future, we look closely at the long-term picture: what the injury means for the child’s health, the family’s resources, and the legal deadlines that Texas law sets.
Birth Injuries That Can Have Lifelong Effects
Birth injuries can take many forms, including brain injury, nerve damage, fractures, and lung injury. Some heal fully with time and treatment. Others, such as cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (brain injury from reduced oxygen and blood flow), and brachial plexus injuries, can cause permanent physical or cognitive disabilities, including intellectual disability in some children.
Oxygen deprivation around the time of birth is one recognized cause of brain injury. It can occur when signs of fetal distress are not recognized or acted on, when a needed cesarean delivery is delayed, when a baby remains in the birth canal too long, or when delivery tools such as forceps or a vacuum extractor are used improperly. Medical research also shows that many cases of cerebral palsy have causes other than events during labor. A 2008 systematic review in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology estimated that about 14.5 percent of cerebral palsy cases were associated with intrapartum hypoxia-ischemia. That is why each family’s situation calls for a careful review of the medical records before anyone can say whether an injury was preventable. You can read more about cerebral palsy claims and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy on our practice pages.
How a Birth Injury Can Affect a Family Over Time
When a baby is born, parents are full of hopes for their child’s future. A serious birth injury does not erase those hopes, but it can change the path. Families often describe the impact in stages.
The First Months
Many injured newborns spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit. Parents may face long hospital stays, follow-up appointments with several specialists, and early decisions about treatment, all while recovering from delivery themselves.
The School Years
As a child grows, needs often become clearer. Physical, occupational, and speech therapy may continue for years. Some children need assistive devices, mobility equipment, or home modifications, and many qualify for special education services. One parent may reduce work hours or leave a job to coordinate care.
Adolescence and Adulthood
For children with permanent disabilities, families may need to plan for care that continues after high school, including supported living, attendant care, and, in some cases, guardianship. These long-range costs are often the largest part of what a birth injury claim must account for.
What Texas Law Requires in a Birth Injury Claim
Birth injury cases in Texas are health care liability claims governed by the Texas Medical Liability Act, found in Chapter 74 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Several of its rules affect families directly:
- Pre-suit notice: Under Section 74.051, written notice of the claim, with a signed medical authorization, must be sent to each provider at least 60 days before a lawsuit is filed.
- Expert report: Under Section 74.351, the family must serve a qualified medical professional’s report on each defendant no later than 120 days after that defendant files its answer, or the claim can be dismissed.
- Filing deadlines: Section 74.251 sets a general two-year limitations period. A child injured before age 12 generally has until their 14th birthday, but a 10-year statute of repose sets an outer limit regardless of age.
- Damages caps: Section 74.301 limits noneconomic damages, such as pain and mental anguish, to $250,000 per claimant against all physicians and individual providers combined, and to $250,000 per health care institution, with no more than $500,000 against all institutions.
Economic damages, such as past and future medical care, therapy, and lost earning capacity, are not subject to the Section 74.301 caps, which is one reason careful life care planning matters so much in these cases. We explain more about how damages caps work in Texas birth injury lawsuits in a separate article. Texas also applies a heightened standard of proof to certain emergency care, and whether it applies to a particular labor and delivery depends on the facts.
Steps Families Can Take Now
If you believe your child’s injury may have been caused by a medical error, a few practical steps can protect both your child’s care and your options. Request complete copies of the mother’s prenatal, labor, and delivery records and the baby’s newborn and NICU records, including fetal heart monitoring strips. Keep a simple journal of appointments, diagnoses, therapies, and out-of-pocket costs. Save bills and insurance statements. Most importantly, keep your child’s medical care on track; a legal review can run alongside treatment without interrupting it.
How Davis & Davis Helps Houston Families
Our firm focuses on medical malpractice, and birth injury cases are a core part of that work. We review the records with qualified medical professionals to determine whether the care met accepted standards and whether a different course could have prevented the injury. When the evidence supports a claim, we work to document the full lifetime cost of care so that any recovery reflects what your child may need for years to come.
Every case is different, and no attorney can promise a particular result. If you have questions about what happened during your child’s birth, we can talk with you about the records and your options. Contact Davis & Davis to request a consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injuries in Texas
How long do we have to file a birth injury claim in Texas?
Texas generally allows two years for a health care liability claim. For a child injured before age 12, the child generally has until their 14th birthday to file, but a 10-year statute of repose sets an outer limit. Parents’ own claims, such as for medical expenses they pay, can follow different timing, so it is wise to have an attorney review the dates early.
Is every case of cerebral palsy caused by a medical mistake?
No. Cerebral palsy has many possible causes, including prematurity, infection, and problems during pregnancy. Some cases are linked to oxygen deprivation around birth that may have been preventable with proper monitoring and timely delivery. A review of the prenatal, labor, and newborn records by qualified medical professionals is needed to tell the difference.
What costs can a birth injury claim include?
A claim may include past and future medical care, therapies, assistive equipment, home modifications, attendant care, and the child’s lost earning capacity, along with noneconomic damages such as pain and mental anguish. Texas caps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases, but economic damages are not limited by those caps.
Do we need a medical professional’s report before suing?
Texas requires the family to serve a report from a qualified medical professional on each defendant within 120 days after that defendant answers the lawsuit. The report must explain the standard of care, how it was breached, and how the breach caused the injury. Missing this deadline can lead to dismissal, so the review usually starts well before a suit is filed.
What records should we request after a birth injury?
Ask for the mother’s prenatal records, the complete labor and delivery chart including fetal heart monitoring strips, anesthesia records, and the baby’s newborn nursery and NICU records. Patients have a legal right to their records, and an attorney can help request them if a provider is slow to respond.
