MAUI TRAGEDY: For over 40 years, Davis Levin Livingston has represented our friends and neighbors on all the islands and they will be there for you in this hour of tragedy. Click here for more information.

Skip to Content
Top
Tell Us About Your Experience we've been helping families that experienced a birth trauma for over 4 decades.

Four Decades of Record Breaking Victories

  • $15,000,000 Vacuum/Forceps Injury

    Hospital improperly attempted to deliver a post-date baby via a traumatic second stage vacuum extraction. The extraction and delay in delivery resulted in permanent brain damage.

    Read More

  • $12,500,000 Fetal Distress

    Tripler Army Medical Center staff failed to respond properly to repeated cardiac alarms causing a two-month-old infant to suffer a cardiac arrest and prolonged oxygen deprivation, resulting in permanent brain damage. A $12,500,000 judgment was obtained after trial and two appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

  • $11,000,000 C-Section Errors

    Tripler Army Medical Center physicians failed to respond properly to signs of fetal distress, resulting in a delayed c-section. At birth, the baby was unable to breathe, and required intubation. The breathing tube was incorrectly placed in the baby’s esophagus instead of her trachea. These two medical errors combined to cause the baby to suffer an extended period of oxygen deprivation, which caused severe brain damage. An $11,000,000 settlement was obtained just before trial.

    Read More

  • $9,975,000 Brain Injury

    Hospital’s failure to monitor an infant’s rising bilirubin caused the baby to suffer bilirubin encephalopathy and kernicterus, resulting in severe and permanent brain damage. A $9,975,000 settlement was obtained.

  • $9,000,000 Cerebral Palsy

    Hospital mismanaged the labor of a woman suffering from an infection called chorioamnionitis. The hospital staff failed to respond properly to signs of fetal distress from an electronic fetal monitor, causing the baby to experience a prolonged period of oxygen deprivation. The baby required resuscitation and intubation at birth, but sustained a severe brain injury resulting in Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) and Cerebral Palsy.

  • $7,900,000 Fetal Distress

    Hospital’s delay in performing a c-section in response to signs of fetal distress caused an infant to suffer permanent brain injuries and spastic quadriplegia. A $7,900,000 settlement was obtained.

Hawaii Birth Injury Attorneys

Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Recovered by Our Honolulu Firm

When your newborn child sustains a birth injury, it can be devastating—especially when you realize that the injury was preventable. Our firm is here to help you pursue legal action against irresponsible medical providers. You may not be able to take the injury back, but you can get the compensation you need to help care for your child.

Birth injury cases can be incredibly complex and require a level of understanding of the medical field that not everyone possesses. Having helped numerous victims of medical malpractice and birth injuries, we know what it takes to build a successful case. The battle may not be easy, but at Davis Levin Livingston, we have the skills necessary to get the job done.

Contact our Hawaii birth injury lawyers at (808) 740-0633 for a free consultation. We serve clients in Honolulu and throughout the Hawaiian Islands.

  • Best Law Firms 1
  • Best Law Firms 2
  • Inner Circle 7
  • 500 Law Dragon
  • Best Lawyers 2022
  • Super Lawyers
  • Best Lawyers Year 2022
  • International Academy
  • Honolulu Mag
  • National Law Journal
  • American College Trial Lawyers
  • AV Preeminent
  • American Assoc for Justice
/

Investigating Birth Injuries & Proving Negligence

Any birth injury can permanently alter the course of your child’s life, and they often require significant amounts of money to provide ongoing medical treatment. Even a slight spinal injury may be enough to keep a child from ever reaching his or her full potential, much less a neurological disorder like cerebral palsy.

If your child has suffered what you believe might be a birth injury, you should consult an experienced Hawaii birth injury attorney who will be able to determine whether your child’s injury was the result of negligence during the delivery process. The question of whether a birth defect or a birth injury is the result of medical negligence is often extremely complicated, requiring a careful review of the medical records and other relevant information. The highly experienced attorneys and medical staff at Davis Levin Livingston can provide a prompt and thorough consultation, at absolutely no cost to you, to determine whether your child and family have a viable legal claim arising out of your child’s injury.

What Causes Birth Injuries?

A variety of medical errors can cause birth injuries. Birth injury cases are considered medical malpractice cases. To prove a birth injury case, the plaintiff must prove that the care provided by the medical professional fell below the applicable “standard of care” and that this breach of the standard of care caused an injury to the patient. Both of these elements of proof must be established through the opinions of medical experts. The birth injury attorneys and medical staff at Davis Levin Livingston work with leading medical experts from across the United States in order to develop and present the expert testimony needed to satisfy these burdens of proof.

The following are examples of negligent conduct that may cause birth injuries:

  • One common cause of birth injury is a lack of oxygen. A distracted or inattentive doctor could miss signs that the baby needed more oxygen.
  • Another common cause of birth injury is delivering a baby vaginally when the baby should have been delivered by cesarean section or improperly delaying a needed cesarean section.
  • A doctor can also fail to take note of the fact that a mother is likely to have a larger baby because the mother has a condition like diabetes. The failure to note the size of the baby could prevent the doctor from discussing, planning for, or ordering a cesarean section, which could put the baby and mother at risk.
  • The medical staff may miss the signs and symptoms of an obstetrical emergency such as a uterine rupture or a placental abruption and, therefore, improperly delay in diagnosing and treating these life-threatening conditions.
  • An obstetrician may make improper decisions during the delivery process that expose the baby (and sometimes the mother) to avoidable risks. For example, the physician may err in the use of medications to induce labor, such as Pitocin.
  • Birth injuries may result from a failure by the medical professionals properly and timely to diagnose or treat a maternal infection (i.e., chorioamnionitis).
  • Birth injuries can result from mistakes made by the medical staff during an attempt to resuscitate a newborn who is having difficulty breathing.
  • Blindness can result from a failure to properly and timely diagnose and treat retinopathy of prematurity.
  • Birth injuries can result from an improper delegation of responsibility to a medical professional who lacks the education, training, or experience to provide the type and level of medical care required by the mother or baby.
  • Birth injuries can result from failures by a member of an obstetrical team to communicate needed information with other members of the team or with other professionals involved in caring for the mother and child, resulting in medical errors that injure the child.

There are many other possible ways in which the negligence of medical professionals may cause a birth injury. Indeed, every birth injury case is unique. In most cases, the treating physicians and other medical staff involved in your child’s delivery will not share with you any concern they might have that your child’s injury was caused by their own negligence. For this reason, it is wise for you to have an experienced attorney review your unique case to determine whether your child’s injury was the result of medical negligence.

This usually will require a thorough review of the pertinent medical records, together with whatever additional information is available, and almost always will require an analysis of extremely complicated medical and legal issues.

What Is The Difference Between Birth Injuries & Birth Defects?

Birth injuries should be distinguished from birth defects. Birth defects generally involve harm to the baby that occurred before the birthing process, as a result of something that took place before or during the pregnancy. By contrast, birth injuries typically involve something that goes wrong during the delivery of the child. Because birth defects sometimes can result from such things as exposure to environmental toxins or inappropriate medications during pregnancy, inadequate prenatal care, or improperly treated viral or bacterial infections during pregnancy, it is wise to consult an attorney if your child is born with what is diagnosed as a birth defect.

Infants are vulnerable by nature, but it is during the birth process that the majority of birth injuries occur. Either through poor judgment on the part of a doctor or nurse, harmful hospital policies, or other reasons, your child can sustain serious injuries entering the world.

Taking Legal Action after a Birth Injury

When a doctor or other medical provider injures a patient through negligence, it is considered medical malpractice. They failed to observe the standard of care—the basic rules that ensure the safety of their patients. When medical providers take on the job of caring for others, they commit themselves to providing adequate care to all patients. Unfortunately, not all doctors are as attentive to their duties as they should be.

While everyone has bad days at work, there are some jobs where you cannot afford to make a mistake—the delivery of children being one of them. When a doctor or nurse fails to do his or her job correctly and your child suffers as a result, taking legal action is the only reasonable response.

Caring for a seriously injured newborn is an enormous challenge, both physically and emotionally. It also can be a time of great confusion and even anger. Rarely is there a simple and clear-cut explanation for your child’s injury; indeed, parents often have great difficulty obtaining a satisfactory explanation of the cause of the injury from their healthcare provider. By consulting an experienced birth injury attorney, the parents of an injured child can take comfort that they are protecting their child’s legal rights while freeing themselves to devote their full energy to their child’s life care needs.

Our firm understands that pursuing a medical malpractice case will never take back what happened. What it will do, however, is ensure that you have the money you need to cover a lifetime of medical bills and that those responsible never make the same mistake again.

Continue Reading Read Less

Contact Davis Levin Livingston Today!

  • Please enter your first name.
  • Please enter your last name.
  • Please enter your phone number.
    This isn't a valid phone number.
  • Please enter your email address.
    This isn't a valid email address.
  • Please make a selection.
  • Please enter a message.
  • By submitting, you agree to be contacted about your request & other information using automated technology. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Text STOP to cancel. Acceptable Use Policy

Dedicated Legal Counsel You Can Count On

Helping Families throughout hawaii for over 40 years
  • "Professional, KIND, and understanding"
    They are most professional, KIND, and understanding. Thank you Matt Winter for all your help.
    - Clare T.
  • "We wouldn't have chosen any other team!"
    Mathew Winter and the whole staff of Davis Levin Livingston guided us every step of the way and made sure we understood everything that was going on. They were always so welcoming and compassionate. Communication was never a problem and emails were answered super fast, especially when we had so many questions. They
    - Maariel
  • "The absolute best firm in Hawaii. Compassion and professionalism at its best!"
    Truly a wonderful experience with everyone at the firm. I can't thank you enough for helping provide closure for my family and me during this process. The absolute best firm in Hawaii. Compassion and professionalism at its best!
    - Daniel
  • "After doing extensive research I knew that Davis Levin Livingston was the firm for me due to the success they have had in cases like mine."
    After doing extensive research I knew that Davis Levin Livingston was the firm for me due to the success they have had in cases like mine. What surprised me was their personal touch. In the 3
    - Anthony
/