King County Birth Injury Attorney
A birth injury claim in Washington often has two clocks running, and one of them belongs to the child. Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that represents families hurt by medical negligence across King County, the Eastside, Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound region, and birth injury cases are among the most demanding work in our medical malpractice practice. If you are searching for a King County birth injury attorney, you are likely trying to learn whether what happened in the delivery room was a known risk of childbirth or a mistake that should have been caught.
The difference matters. Hospitals and obstetric providers cannot promise a perfect outcome, but they are required to meet the accepted standard of care before, during, and after delivery. A missed infection screen, a fetal heart rate tracing that was not acted on, or a delayed decision to perform a cesarean can change a child’s life or end it. Our attorneys spent decades on the insurance defense side, and we know how hospitals and their insurers evaluate these claims from the inside.
Birth injury cases rarely resolve quickly. They require medical experts, a close reading of the labor and delivery chart, and a realistic plan for what a child may need over a lifetime. Below we walk through how these cases typically unfold, which injuries tend to be involved, and what families can do right now.
How a King County Birth Injury Case Typically Unfolds
It starts with the records. Before anyone talks about fault, we gather the mother’s prenatal chart, the labor and delivery records, the fetal monitoring strips, the newborn’s chart, and any NICU records. The monitoring strips often tell the story of what the care team saw and when.
Next comes expert review. Medical malpractice claims in Washington depend on qualified physicians and nurses who can explain what a reasonably careful provider would have done and whether the departure from that standard caused the injury. Causation is frequently the hardest question. A baby may have a serious condition that traces to something other than the delivery, and the defense will say so. A candid expert review at the front end tells a family whether a claim is worth pursuing.
If the claim is viable, we put the hospital and providers on notice and investigate further. Many cases are filed in King County Superior Court, which hears civil cases of this size. Depending on where the family lives, the matter may be heard in Seattle or at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Washington law also allows a written, good-faith request for mediation before filing, and that request pauses the malpractice limitation period for one year.
Discovery follows: depositions of the obstetrician, nurses, and hospital staff, and exchange of records and expert opinions. Most cases settle somewhere in this process, often after the defense experts have seen how well the case is built. We prepare every claim as though it will be tried, because defense insurers pay more fairly when they believe the lawyer across the table will go to a jury.
Why Families Choose Injury Law Group NW for Birth Injury Claims
Injury Law Group NW is a Washington personal injury firm serving King County and the greater Seattle area. We work for people hurt by someone else’s negligence, and we handle medical malpractice, wrongful death, and traumatic brain injury cases that often overlap with birth injury claims. Consultations are free and confidential, and we work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
Founding partner Troy Hunter spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, defending insurers and their corporate clients against injury and wrongful death claims. Attorney David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at the Seattle defense firm Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, trying wrongful death and catastrophic injury cases before judges and juries across Washington. Both are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator, which gives him a practical view of how these cases settle. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold are part of the team, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court.
Our results include more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep. That case also led the hospital to change its procedures, which meant something to the family beyond the recovery. David is fluent in Russian and has represented Russian and Ukrainian speaking families, and Warren speaks Spanish. Our case managers return calls and texts promptly, and if injuries or a hospital stay make travel difficult, we will come to you. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a future outcome.
Birth Injuries and Obstetric Errors We Investigate
- Infection screening failures: Group B Strep can pass from mother to newborn during delivery and cause sepsis, meningitis, or death. When a hospital fails to test or fails to treat a positive result, the outcome can be devastating, and we have recovered over $1 million in a case of this kind.
- Oxygen deprivation and hypoxic brain injury: Delayed response to fetal distress, umbilical cord problems, or placental abruption can starve a baby’s brain of oxygen. Resulting conditions can include cerebral palsy and lasting cognitive impairment.
- Delayed or avoided cesarean delivery: When monitoring shows a baby in trouble, the decision to move to surgery has to be made quickly. Delays of even a short period can matter, and the fetal monitoring record usually shows who knew what and when.
- Shoulder dystocia and brachial plexus injuries: Excessive traction on a baby’s head or neck during a difficult delivery can damage the nerves running to the arm, leaving weakness or paralysis.
- Instrument-related injuries: Forceps and vacuum extraction are accepted tools, but misuse can cause skull fractures, bleeding in the brain, and facial nerve injuries.
- Missed maternal conditions: Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and infections in the mother that go unmonitored or untreated can harm both mother and child.
- Newborn care errors: Untreated jaundice, missed low blood sugar, and delayed recognition of infection in the first days of life can cause brain injury even when the delivery itself went well.
- Medication and anesthesia errors: Wrong doses of labor-inducing drugs, epidural complications, and prescription mistakes can injure mothers and babies.
What to Do Right Now if You Suspect a Birth Injury
Request the medical records first, for both mother and baby. You are entitled to them, and the hospital’s patient records office handles the request. Ask for the complete chart, including fetal monitoring strips and NICU records, not a summary. Keep every discharge paper, bill, and insurance statement.
Keep your child in treatment. Follow-up care with pediatricians, neurologists, and therapists protects your child and creates the medical record that will later document the injury’s effects. Write down what you were told in the delivery room and afterward, while your memory is fresh. Note names where you can.
Be careful with hospital risk management and insurers. Hospitals often reach out after a bad outcome, and their goal is to understand and limit exposure. You are not required to give a recorded statement to an insurer, and it is wise to speak with a lawyer first. Avoid posting details about the delivery or your child’s condition on social media.
Mind the deadlines. Washington’s general injury deadline is three years, but medical malpractice claims fall under a separate statute that combines a three-year limit, a one-year discovery rule, and an eight-year outer limit. Washington’s rule that once paused the clock for injured children in malpractice cases was struck down by the Washington Supreme Court in 2014, so families cannot assume a child’s age will protect a claim. Wrongful death claims are also generally subject to a three-year limit counted from the date of death. If a public hospital or other government entity is involved, a formal claim must be presented first, followed by a 60-day waiting period before suit. Talk to a lawyer early, because the sooner the records are secured, the stronger the investigation.
What Compensation Can Cover in a Birth Injury Case
The largest element in a serious birth injury case is usually the cost of lifetime care. That can include medical treatment, surgeries, therapy, medical equipment, home modifications, and in-home nursing or attendant care. Future costs are projected with the help of life care planners and economists, and the defense will challenge those projections, so the numbers need real support.
Compensation can also reach lost earning capacity if the injury will limit your child’s ability to work, and the pain, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life your child will live with. Parents may have their own claims, including medical expenses they paid and, in some cases, their own losses. Washington gives parents a cause of action for a child’s injury or death.
When a baby dies, Washington’s wrongful death statutes allow the personal representative to bring a claim for the benefit of the surviving family members the statute names. The recoverable losses can include medical and funeral expenses and the loss of the relationship. These claims are handled with patience, and we move at the pace the family sets.
Fault is also part of the picture. Washington applies comparative fault, which reduces recovery by a claimant’s share of fault but does not bar it. In birth injury cases the defense usually argues that the outcome was caused by a pre-existing condition or an unavoidable complication, not by the mother, so the real battle is over causation.
Birth Injury Questions Families Ask
How do I know if my child’s condition was caused by medical negligence?
Often you cannot tell without a records review by a qualified medical expert. Some birth injuries are no one’s fault. Others trace to a missed warning sign or a delayed response. Our attorneys can arrange an expert review to give you a straight answer.
How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Washington?
Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within three years of the negligent act, or within one year of when the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered, whichever is later. There is also an eight-year outer limit. Washington’s courts struck down the rule that paused the clock for minors in malpractice cases, so do not assume a child’s age extends the deadline.
Does a written mediation request affect the deadline?
Yes. A written, good-faith request for mediation made before filing pauses the malpractice limitation period for one year. This is a technical rule, and you should discuss timing with a lawyer before relying on it.
Can I sue if my baby died during or shortly after birth?
Yes. Washington allows a wrongful death claim through the personal representative for the benefit of the family members named in the statute, and parents also have their own claim for a child’s death. The general deadline is three years from the date of death, though malpractice-specific timing rules may also apply.
What does it cost to hire Injury Law Group NW?
The first consultation is free and confidential. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Will I have to go to trial?
Not necessarily. Many cases settle, often after expert discovery. But we prepare every case as if it will be tried, and the credible prospect of a trial is part of what drives fair settlements.
The hospital says it was an unavoidable complication. Does that end the case?
No. That explanation is a common defense position, not a finding. Whether the complication was truly unavoidable, or whether it should have been anticipated, detected, or treated sooner, is what the chart and the experts will answer.
Can a claim be brought if the delivery was at a public hospital?
Possibly, but claims against government-run facilities have special rules. A formal tort claim must be presented first, generally on the state’s standard form, and suit cannot be filed until 60 days after presentment. Email and fax are generally not accepted as presentment for local government claims. Missing these steps can jeopardize the case.
Will my health insurance or Medicaid cover my child’s treatment while the claim is pending?
Your child’s care should not wait on the lawsuit. Health insurance and public programs may cover treatment, and those payers may later assert reimbursement rights from a recovery. We help coordinate these issues so bills are managed while the claim moves forward.
Is it worth talking to a lawyer if the injury seems mild?
Often yes. Some birth injuries, especially brain injuries and developmental problems, do not show their full effects for months or years. Insurers frequently dispute injuries that do not show up clearly on a scan, so an early consultation helps protect the record and the deadlines.
I was partly responsible for something that happened. Can I still recover?
Washington follows comparative fault, so your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault but is not barred. In birth injury cases, the claim usually rests on the conduct of the providers, not the family.
Do you represent Russian or Spanish speaking families?
Yes. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and has represented Russian and Ukrainian speaking families, and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish.
Serving Birth Injury Families Across King County
Our work for families starts in King County and extends across the region. From Seattle neighborhoods and the surrounding urban core, we represent families who delivered at hospitals throughout the area. On the Eastside, we serve clients in Bellevue, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, and Kirkland. To the south, we assist families in Kent and Renton, and we help clients throughout greater King County and the broader Puget Sound region.
Birth injury cases often involve families who are caring for a child with significant needs, and travel can be hard. If you cannot come to us, we will meet you at your home or at the hospital.
Talk With a King County Birth Injury Lawyer Today
If you believe your child was harmed by a preventable mistake, speak with a King County birth injury lawyer before records go missing and deadlines narrow. Call or text Injury Law Group NW for a free, confidential consultation. We will listen to what happened, tell you honestly whether the facts support a claim, and explain what comes next. We give hope. We get results.
