Recently, a number of large verdicts and settlements involving birth injuries have been thrust into the media spotlight. Many of these high-profile cases have resulted in eight-figure compensation awards. Although there has been a recent stream of large claims, legal experts state that birth injury cases are still relatively uncommon and that they are among the most challenging for lawyers, plaintiffs, and defendants. Birth injury cases demand the attention of proven medical malpractice lawyers.
Several of the high-profile cases awarding eight-figure verdicts have come from Pennsylvania, including a $55 million verdict in Lehigh County and a $32.8 million verdict in Chester County. These cases, according to legal professionals, are not the norm. In fact, the number of birth injury cases may even be declining nationally – in part due to increased safety protocol and improved medical technology. Some experts claim that there are fewer birth injury cases than in the previous decade.
What’s as equally attention grabbing as the large verdicts themselves are the profound and tremendously troubling stories of the victims and families who are forced to endure the often long-term consequences of a birth injury. The recent cases which have fetched the largest verdicts have all involved permanent damages to newborns which forever change the futures of these families. The fact that these injuries and repercussions were preventable also makes them all the more troubling.
Viewed through the filter of fairness and justice in the law, the recent stream of large verdicts – as well as the fact that these tragedies are not as common as the media may lead one to believe – is somewhat positive. A victory for victims and families affected by these tragedies and increased awareness from their publicity can play a significant role in creating change that leads to better health care practices and fewer birth injuries.
For more information about pursuing a birth injury claim with an experienced Washington, DC medical malpractice attorney, call The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson, M.D., J.D. & Associates at 202.223.4488.
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Dr. Michael M. Wilson is an attorney and a physician who earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his legal and medical degrees from Georgetown University. He has focused in the area of medical malpractice for more than three decades and secured more than $100 million in settlements and verdicts on behalf of clients throughout the country. He is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New York as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is listed in America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.
