While the stakes can vary considerably in personal injury litigation, they are seldom higher than in cases involving a significant birth injury. The injuries can be devastating to the child and have repercussions for the child and family members that will persist for generations. The potential damage awards ensure that the cases are aggressively defended by experienced defense counsel backed by large institutional clients who are willing to spare no expense and hire premier experts to defend their reputation and prevent a multimillion-dollar jury verdict.
There are a myriad of injuries that can occur to a baby during the birthing process including brain damage (leading to cerebral palsy), brachial plexus injuries, nerve damage and orthopedic injuries. In almost every birth injury case you can expect the health care provider to argue the injury was not their fault, was not preventable, was not from the birthing process, happened long before the mother arrived at the hospital or all of the above. This article will focus on some of the common causation defenses relied upon in birth injury cases involving cerebral palsy and the important evidence needed to refute them.
