Indianapolis Birth Injury Lawyer

Were you or your child harmed by a birth injury in Indianapolis?

At Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers, we are recognized birth injury attorneys who pursue full recovery for injured families throughout Indianapolis.

No parent expects to leave the delivery room with more questions than answers. But when a child is injured during labor or delivery because a doctor, nurse, or hospital failed to follow the standard of care, the consequences can last a lifetime. Cerebral palsy. Nerve damage. Oxygen deprivation that leaves permanent cognitive impairment. The medical bills start immediately, and the long-term costs of therapy, equipment, and specialized education can run into the hundreds of thousands. Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers has represented injured families across Indiana for more than three decades. If your child suffered a preventable birth injury in Indianapolis, speak with an Indianapolis, IN birth injury lawyer during a free consultation.

Birth Injury Lawyer Indianapolis, IN

A birth injury is physical harm sustained by a newborn during labor, delivery, or the immediate postpartum period. Some birth injuries are unavoidable. Many are not. When a healthcare provider fails to monitor fetal distress, misuses forceps or a vacuum extractor, delays a necessary C-section, or administers incorrect medication, the resulting harm may constitute medical negligence. The CDC identifies cerebral palsy as the most common motor disability in childhood, affecting approximately 1 in 345 children in the United States. A significant share of those cases are linked to preventable birth complications.

A birth injury attorney in Indianapolis helps families pursue civil claims against the physicians, nurses, and hospitals responsible. Indiana imposes specific procedural requirements on medical malpractice actions, including a mandatory review panel process, which makes early legal guidance critical. These claims are complex. They require medical records, physician testimony, and a clear connection between the provider’s conduct and the child’s injury.

Types of Birth Injury Cases We Handle in Indianapolis

Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers represents families across Indianapolis and Marion County whose children were harmed by preventable medical errors during the birth process. The types of birth injury cases we handle include the following.

• Cerebral palsy claims. Cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation during delivery is one of the most common birth injuries we see. The NINDS describes it as a group of neurological disorders affecting movement, balance, and posture. When a provider fails to recognize risk factors such as fetal distress, prolonged labor, or umbilical cord complications, the resulting brain damage can be permanent.

• Erb’s palsy and brachial plexus injuries. Nerve damage to the shoulder, arm, or hand occurs in approximately 1 to 2 of every 1,000 live births. Improper handling during a difficult delivery, particularly when shoulder dystocia is present, is a leading cause.

• Brain injuries. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, results from reduced blood flow and oxygen to the baby’s brain. It can cause seizures, developmental delays, and long-term cognitive disability when medical staff fail to intervene in time.

• Wrongful death. Some birth injuries are fatal. When a child dies because of medical negligence during delivery, Indiana law allows the family to file a wrongful death claim for funeral expenses, medical costs incurred before death, and the loss of the child’s life.

• Forceps and vacuum extraction injuries. Improper use of delivery instruments can cause skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, and facial nerve damage. These injuries often result from a provider rushing the delivery or applying excessive force without adequate justification.

• C-section delay injuries. When fetal monitoring shows signs of distress, a timely C-section can prevent catastrophic harm. Delays caused by understaffing, miscommunication, or failure to read the monitor correctly have produced some of the most serious birth injury cases we have handled.

• Medication errors during labor. Administering the wrong drug, the wrong dose, or failing to account for the mother’s medical history can cause fetal complications including heart rate abnormalities and oxygen deprivation.

• Hospital negligence. Understaffing, inadequate training, failure to maintain equipment, and breakdowns in communication between providers all contribute to preventable birth injuries. The hospital itself may bear liability in addition to the individual providers involved.

Why Choose Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers as My Birth Injury Lawyer in Indianapolis, IN?

More Than a Century of Combined Trial Preparation

Birth injury cases require attorneys who understand both the medicine and the law. Charles P. Ward graduated cum laude from Butler University before earning his J.D. from Indiana University in 1989. He clerked for Justice Richard M. Givan on the Indiana Supreme Court and has practiced plaintiff-side personal injury law for 37 years. Donald W. Ward has practiced for 72 years, including time as a Deputy Trial Prosecutor for Marion County and Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Indianapolis.

Both attorneys hold AV Preeminent Peer Review Ratings from Martindale-Hubbell. Charles has been named to Super Lawyers every year since 2005 and is listed among the Best Lawyers in America. Donald received the Indiana Bar Foundation Legendary Lawyer Award in 2015 and served as President of the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association. Those credentials reflect the kind of sustained, plaintiff-focused preparation that personal injury cases in Indianapolis, IN demand.

Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers has helped clients recover millions of dollars across all categories of injury claims. 

What Is Important to Understand About a Birth Injury Case?

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Birth Injury Cases

The damages in a birth injury case often dwarf those in other personal injury categories because the injured party is a child who may require care for the rest of their life.

• Lifetime medical costs. Surgery, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, assistive devices, home modifications, and specialized education. For a child with cerebral palsy, these costs can exceed a million dollars over a lifetime.

• Lost future earnings. If the injury prevents the child from earning a living as an adult, the claim includes the income they would otherwise have earned across their working life.

• Pain and suffering. The child’s physical pain, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life are compensable. Parents may also recover for their own emotional suffering in certain circumstances.

• Wrongful death damages. When a birth injury causes death, the family may seek funeral costs and compensation for the loss of the child’s companionship and future contributions.

Liability turns on whether the healthcare provider met the accepted standard of care. In Indiana, birth injury claims are filed as medical malpractice actions. The plaintiff must prove that the provider deviated from what a competent practitioner would have done under the same circumstances, and that the deviation caused the child’s injury. Informed consent issues may also arise when the provider failed to discuss risks associated with a particular delivery method.

What Are Important Aspects of a Birth Injury Case?

Birth injury litigation raises medical, legal, and procedural questions that most families have never encountered before. Several aspects set these cases apart from standard personal injury claims.

• Indiana’s medical review panel. Before a birth injury lawsuit can be filed in Indiana’s courts, the claim must first be submitted to a medical review panel. This panel, composed of three physicians, evaluates the evidence and issues an opinion on whether the provider breached the standard of care.

• Identifying the right defendants. The at-fault provider may be the obstetrician, the anesthesiologist, a nurse, the hospital, or a combination. Each defendant’s conduct must be evaluated separately.

• Birth injury versus birth defect. Not every condition present at birth is a birth injury. A birth defect is a structural or functional abnormality that develops during pregnancy, while a birth injury is harm caused during labor or delivery. The distinction is critical because it determines whether a malpractice claim exists.

• Statute of limitations. Indiana requires medical malpractice claims to be filed within two years of the date the injury was discovered, or should have been discovered, under Ind. Code § 34-11-2-4. For minors, the deadline may be extended, but families should consult an attorney as early as possible.

What Is the Birth Injury Case Timeline?

Birth injury cases in Indiana follow a more structured timeline than most civil lawsuits because of the mandatory medical review panel process. According to the National Institutes of Health, ongoing research into neonatal brain injuries and treatment options continues to shape how these cases are evaluated medically.

• Initial consultation and record review. The attorney reviews the mother’s prenatal records, labor and delivery records, and the child’s medical history to identify where the standard of care may have been breached.

• Medical review panel filing. The claim is submitted to Indiana’s medical review panel. The panel reviews the records, hears from both sides, and issues a written opinion.

• Filing the lawsuit. After the panel issues its opinion, the plaintiff may file suit in the appropriate Indiana court. The panel’s opinion is admissible at trial but is not binding on the jury.

• Discovery and depositions. Both sides exchange medical records, hire physicians to provide opinions, and take depositions of the providers involved.

• Settlement or trial. Many birth injury cases settle after the review panel process or during discovery. Ward & Ward prepares every case as though it will go before a jury, because that preparation is what produces fair settlements.

What Should You Bring to Your Birth Injury Consultation?

The sooner you gather these materials, the sooner your attorney can begin evaluating the strength of your claim.

• The mother’s prenatal care records and hospital admission documents

• Labor and delivery records, including fetal monitoring strips if available

• The child’s neonatal and pediatric medical records

• Any diagnoses or evaluations related to developmental delays, cerebral palsy, or other conditions

• Correspondence from the hospital or insurance provider regarding the birth

Your consultation with Ward & Ward is free and confidential. We will review what you bring and explain your options.

Reach Out to Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers to Schedule a Consultation

Ward & Ward Personal Injury Lawyers represents families pursuing birth injury claims throughout Indianapolis and across Indiana. We understand the medical complexity of these cases and the financial pressure families face when a child needs long-term care. If you believe your child was harmed by medical negligence during delivery, we want to hear from you. Contact us to schedule a case review with an Indianapolis, IN birth injury attorney.