What are the "damages" in a childbirth malpractice case?

Damages in a childbirth malpractice case can constitute losses and harms sustained by both the parents of a child (specifically the mother) and the infant. The following are some of the more notable causes of action in malpractice cases involving birth injuries: medical malpractice and cerebral palsy, failure to deliver treatment, failure to diagnose, medical malpractice and facial paralysis, medical malpractice and Erb’s palsy, and in the worst cases, death of the infant.

Under tort law, damages are a legal right entitled to wronged parties suffering losses as the result of professional medical negligence. Damages in a childbirth malpractice case typically fall under the following categories:

• Economic damages: Economic damages in birth malpractice cases include costs of medical treatment, costs of corrective medical treatments, and any future rehabilitative or corrective care both mother and infant may require as the result of the injuries sustained during negligent childbirth care. 

• Non-economic damages: This form of damages covers compensation for non-pecuniary losses incurred by mother and infant, including pain, suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement, disability, and other harms or losses.

• Lost income: In childbirth malpractice cases, lost income relating to a mother may become a relevant damage claim, if the mother would have earned an income otherwise, should the birth injury malpractice not have occurred. Likewise, in cases involving permanent damage or disability to the child, the parents may make a lost income claims, for a lifetime of lost income, on behalf of a disabled child.

A number of factors play a role in damages in childbirth malpractice cases. For starters, the extent of damages sustained by a child, as well as the medical opinions on the future abilities of a child, will determine the extent or amount of damages recoverable for the infant concerning non-economic damages and lost income, in certain cases. In a similar train of thought, the implications of a given birth injury may also require lifelong medical treatment, aid, or care throughout the life of a child, and in turn, economic damage claims should include demands for compensation for these expected future losses.