Boston Birth Injury Attorneys

$39 Million Recovered for Families Harmed During Delivery

When a birth injury changes everything, your family deserves representation that treats the medical evidence with the same rigor as the legal strategy. At Crowe & Harris, LLP, our team includes a practicing nurse-midwife who reviews records in-house, and our senior partners are personally involved at every stage. We’ve recovered more than $39 million for families whose children were harmed during birth, and more than $300 million for clients overall.

We represent families throughout New England, including Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. If your child suffered harm because of errors during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care, we can evaluate whether the records support a claim.

Contact Crowe & Harris, LLP at (617) 404-3417 for a free consultation about your case.

On This Page:

• Do I Need a Birth Injury Attorney?
• Why Should I Choose Crowe & Harris, LLP to Handle My Case?
• Birth Injury Cases We Handle
• Why Should I Seek Compensation?
• Birth Injury Statistics
• Crowe & Harris, LLP Will Fight for You

Do I Need a Birth Injury Attorney in Boston?

Birth injuries can result in permanent physical, cognitive, and developmental challenges. Potential causes include delayed intervention, improper fetal heart monitoring, failures during labor and delivery, or inadequate neonatal response. When healthcare providers fail to follow accepted medical standards, families may have grounds for a claim involving medical negligence or hospital negligence.

Establishing a claim requires evidence that a healthcare provider departed from the applicable standard of care and that the departure caused or contributed to the child’s injury. Relevant issues may include failure to respond to fetal distress, delivery-instrument errors, or inadequate neonatal stabilization. Financial damages can relate to past and future medical care, therapy, assistive equipment, and long-term support, depending on the facts of each case. Our attorneys and nurses evaluate the records and circumstances to determine whether they support a claim.

Why Boston Families Choose Crowe & Harris, LLP

We have been in practice since 1999. Our senior partners bring more than 75 years of combined experience to every case. Founding partner Philip J. Crowe has been licensed since 1969 and is a member of the American Association for Justice and the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys. Michael J. Harris, licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire since 2001, was recognized in 2006 as a Rising Star among top young lawyers in Massachusetts by Boston Magazine.

An entire team of professionals is assigned to every case: attorneys, nurses, paralegals, law clerks, and legal secretaries meet regularly to develop and refine a personalized strategy. Senior partners are personally involved at every stage.

What to Expect in a Boston Birth Injury Claim

A case evaluation begins with a comprehensive review of medical records from the hospital or facility where the delivery occurred. We evaluate fetal monitoring data, physician notes, nursing documentation, prenatal records, neonatal records, and imaging. We then compare the delivery timeline and provider decisions with the medical standards that applied at each stage of care.

If the evidence supports a claim, we prepare a detailed demand accounting for your child’s injuries and anticipated future care needs, including medical treatment, therapy, assistive devices, educational support, and personal assistance. If an insurer declines to offer a fair resolution, we can file a lawsuit and guide your family through discovery, negotiations, and trial if necessary. Throughout the process, we explain timelines, potential outcomes, and how decisions such as accepting a settlement may affect your child’s financial future.

Birth Injury Cases We Handle

Claims may arise from medical errors during prenatal care, labor, delivery, or newborn treatment. The legal theory depends on the injury, the care provided, the parties involved, and the evidence connecting a medical departure to the harm. We evaluate cases involving:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong neurological condition affecting movement, muscle tone, coordination, speech, and development. In some cases, oxygen deprivation, delayed emergency delivery, or inadequate resuscitation during birth may be connected to a later diagnosis. A diagnosis alone doesn’t establish medical negligence; causation requires careful review of the child’s delivery records and medical history.

Although symptoms may not become apparent until later, signs of a possible birth-related injury can include:

• Muscle weakness
• Unusual movements
• Limited mobility
• Poor coordination
• Tremors
• Paralysis on one side of the body

Brachial Plexus & Erb’s Palsy

Damage to the brachial plexus nerves during delivery can lead to weakness or paralysis in an infant’s arm. These injuries are often associated with shoulder dystocia or excessive traction during delivery. A legal evaluation may address the maneuvers used, the timing of intervention, and the child’s post-delivery findings. Families affected by Erb’s palsy may have a claim for compensation if improper delivery techniques caused the injury.

Cephalohematoma

Cephalohematoma is a collection of blood between the scalp and skull bone that can follow pressure or trauma during delivery. It may occur without negligence, so a claim requires evaluation of the delivery circumstances, instruments used, medical records, and resulting harm. Complications and treatment needs vary according to the child’s condition and medical findings.

Fetal Heart Monitoring Interpretation Errors

Fetal monitoring provides a timeline of changes in a baby’s condition during labor and is central to recognizing signs of fetal distress. When concerning patterns appear, the clinical question is whether they were recognized, communicated, escalated, and addressed within the circumstances of the delivery. A potential claim may examine whether providers failed to act on a non-reassuring pattern and whether that contributed to harm. Interpreting fetal monitoring data requires qualified medical review, which is why our team includes nurses alongside attorneys when evaluating these cases.

Prenatal Testing Errors

Prenatal testing can identify conditions that affect pregnancy management or delivery planning. Errors may occur when healthcare providers fail to order appropriate testing, delay follow-up, miss findings, or interpret results incorrectly. When those errors contribute to an injury, a claim may arise from care provided before delivery, not only from events in the delivery room.

Failure to Perform Cesarean Section

Changes in a mother’s or baby’s condition before or during birth may indicate the need for a cesarean section. A claim may examine fetal distress, labor progression, maternal or fetal complications, provider communications, and the timing of an emergency cesarean decision. Whether a cesarean section was required depends on the clinical record and expert analysis of the circumstances at the time.

Traumatic Deliveries

Traumatic delivery claims may involve allegations that delivery handling, instrument use, or the response to complications fell below accepted medical standards. Resulting injuries may include birth fractures, head injuries such as cephalohematoma, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, facial paralysis, spinal cord injuries, or infections. The legal analysis depends on the delivery circumstances, the technique used, the child’s findings, and qualified medical assessment of the care provided.

Brain & Spinal Damage

Brain and spinal damage may affect a child’s movement, communication, cognition, development, and independence. These injuries may be associated with oxygen deprivation, delayed response to fetal distress, improper use of forceps or vacuum instruments, or inadequate newborn stabilization. Long-term needs may include medical treatment, therapy, assistive equipment, educational support, and personal assistance.

Effects of Infant Brain Damage

The effects of infant brain damage vary according to the diagnosis, severity of the injury, and areas of the brain involved.

Possible effects on a child and family include:

• Frequent medical visits
• Physical, occupational, or speech therapy
• Assistive devices
• Continuing dependence on caregivers
• Ongoing medical expenses

These needs can place significant emotional and financial demands on a family. Their presence or severity doesn’t by itself establish that negligence occurred.

Newborn Infections

Newborns can be vulnerable to infection. A claim may examine whether symptoms were recognized, appropriate testing was ordered, treatment began promptly, and the child’s condition was monitored adequately.

Possible newborn infections include:

• Viral respiratory infections
• Group B streptococcus
• Toxoplasmosis
• Herpes simplex
• Cytomegalovirus
• Bacterial infections

Some infections require prolonged treatment and may have lasting effects. Liability depends on evidence that a healthcare provider or institution failed to provide appropriate care and that the failure caused or contributed to the child’s harm.

Traumatic Brain Injury in Newborns

Traumatic brain injury in a newborn requires careful medical evaluation of the history, examination, imaging, and other clinical evidence. When a newborn suffers a serious head injury in a clinical setting, the cause should be established through reliable medical and factual evidence before conclusions are drawn. We evaluate each case according to the specific conduct and medical evidence involved.

Symptoms that may indicate a serious neurological injury in a newborn include:

• Difficulty breathing properly
• Irregular eating habits
• Frequent vomiting
• Irritability
• Tremors
• Seizures
• Coma

Our review considers whether a provider’s conduct fell below the required standard of care and caused or contributed to the injury.

Contact a Boston birth injury lawyer at (617) 404-3417 for a free consultation about your child’s medical records and legal options.

Why Should I Seek Compensation?

Your family shouldn’t have to pay for the consequences of a medical error. Birth injuries can lead to a lifetime of medical bills, and you may be eligible for compensation if the injury resulted from negligent care. Potential damages may include past and future medical expenses, therapy, assistive devices, rehabilitation, and other support related to your child’s condition. The availability and value of those damages depend on proof of negligence, causation, injury, and legally recognized losses.

Birth Injury Statistics

Birth injuries can have serious, lasting effects on children and families, though reported prevalence figures vary according to the definitions, reporting methods, and sources used. For additional context, see Birth Injury Guide.