What Compensation Is Available for Birth Injuries in Cleveland, Ohio?

Just realizing that you may have grounds for filing a childbirth injury lawsuit in Cleveland will be devasting. Your newborn suffered harm because someone on the labor and delivery team apparently made an avoidable mistake. You know you have legal rights to hold a health care provider and health care facility accountable, but do you really want to add the burden of a fighting through a lengthy birth injury lawsuit to your already overwhelming job of creating the best life for your baby?

Adding to the stress of answering this difficult question, Ohio enforces a one-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims. As a parent, you must decide whether to take legal action against an OB/GYN, nurse, anesthesiologist, clinic, or hospital during the first 12 months of your injured child’s life—the period that is most stressful for all parents and newborns.

Reaching out to a caring personal injury lawyer at Agee Clymer Mitchell & Portman can help you determine what is best for you and your baby. One thing to consider is which types of compensation and monetary damages will be available if you file a medical malpractice insurance claim or pursue a civil lawsuit.

Ohio permits parents or guardians who seek birth injury compensation to claim economic and noneconomic damages on behalf of their baby and themselves. For the child, settlements or jury awards can include money for:

  • Past medical care,
  • Ongoing medical care,
  • Physical and occupational therapy,
  • Personal assistance,
  • Medical equipment such as a wheelchair or walker,
  • Loss of lifetime earnings,
  • Disfigurement (e.g., scarring, missing a limb),
  • Physical pain,
  • Emotional suffering,
  • Mental anguish, and
  • “Intangible losses,” which the relevant state statute lists as including, but not limited to, “loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education.”

A birth injury attorney can give you the exact definitions of those legal terms for intangible losses. The practical result of losing society and the rest is that the child will not be able to fully or easily enjoy the best things in life, like forming meaningful friendships, excelling in school, or forming a family of his or her own.

Parents or guardians of children who suffer physical or brain injuries during labor and delivery can separately claim compensation and damages for:

  • Expenditures related to securing medical care, therapy, and assistance for the child, including travel and relocation; and
  • Loss of society, consortium, companionship, care, assistance, attention, protection, advice, guidance, counsel, instruction, training, or education.

Meeting with an attorney will let you know if you have a strong claim for birth injury compensation. Your Cleveland birth injury lawyer will also be able to explain how to collect, organize, and present evidence that supports your case.

If you have additional questions about birth injury compensation and childbirth injury lawsuits in Cleveland, call us at (800) 678-3318 to schedule a free consultation. We also take appointments online, and we welcome opportunities to help families hold negligent health providers and health care facilities to account.