Birth injuries can have lifelong financial and emotional consequences for a child and family. In many cases, it is a medical provider’s negligence that injures a child. If your child suffered a birth injury in the womb, during delivery, or shortly after birth, you may be entitled to multiple types of compensation through a Philadelphia birth injury lawsuit, including economic, non-economic, and wrongful death damages (if the birth injury was fatal).
A Birth Injury Claim May Cover Your Economic and Non-Economic Damages
Philadelphia medical malpractice claims typically allow families to pursue economic damages and non-economic damages. These two categories compensate families for both the financial costs and the personal impact of a child’s birth injury.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover the direct financial costs associated with a birth injury. These are usually proven with receipts, invoices, and bills. They can even cover losses you anticipate incurring in the future.
Common economic damages may include:
- Medical expenses
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and/or speech therapy
- Medical equipment (e.g., wheelchairs, braces, or assistive devices)
- Home modification
- In-home or long-term care assistance
- Special education services
- Future care costs
- Lost earning capacity if the child’s disability prevents them from working later in life
These damages are intended to ensure the child receives the medical treatment, care, and support they may require throughout their lifetime. Economic losses form a huge portion of a birth injury award.
Non-Economic Damages
Birth injuries also create significant emotional and personal hardships. Although these losses do not have a direct dollar value, they can affect a family’s quality of life and should be compensated.
Examples of non-economic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering experienced by the child
- Loss of enjoyment of life resulting from permanent disabilities
- Emotional distress suffered by the child and family
- Loss of normal life experiences or developmental opportunities
- Disfigurement or permanent impairment
These damages can be especially high in birth injury cases and can even exceed your economic damages award.
Wrongful Death Damages May Also Be Available
When a birth injury results in the death of a newborn or infant, families may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim under Pennsylvania law.
Surviving family members can pursue wrongful death damages for losses such as:
- Funeral and burial expenses
- Medical costs related to the child’s final treatment
- Loss of companionship
- Emotional suffering experienced by family members
These claims allow families to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable while seeking financial relief for the devastating losses they have suffered.
You May Need Experts to Help Establish Your Child’s Damages
Birth injury cases often involve complex medical and financial analysis. Establishing the full value of a child’s damages usually requires input from multiple experts, especially when it comes to future losses and non-economic damages.
You may need help from medical experts, life-care planners, and financial specialists to determine the full range of damages you’re entitled to. An experienced Philadelphia wrongful death attorney can coordinate testimony from these experts and build a complete damages projection to support your claim.
If your child suffered a birth injury in Pennsylvania, contact Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. to learn more about your legal options and how we may be able to help. We offer free consultations.