Seattle Birth Injury Lawyers 

When preventable mistakes in the delivery room cause harm, families deserve answers and accountability. A birth injury can leave a child facing lifelong medical care and a family carrying immense financial and emotional burdens. If you suspect medical negligence contributed to your child’s birth injury in Seattle or anywhere in Washington State, The Cochran Firm Seattle is ready to help.

Backed by the national resources of The Cochran Firm and decades of combined experience, our Seattle birth injury attorneys handle complex litigation with the depth it demands. Our Seattle law firm will coordinate with leading OB/GYN, neonatology, neurology, and life-care experts, and build damage models that account for a child’s  lifelong care and a family’s economic losses.

​​Serving Tacoma, Seattle, and communities statewide, our birth injury lawyers offer free consultations and work on a contingency fee. You won’t pay any attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family.

Compensation After A Birth Injury

When a birth injury occurs due to medical negligence, families may be entitled to significant compensation to cover the extensive costs associated with their child's care and their own suffering. The damages recoverable in a birth injury lawsuit in Washington State are typically categorized into economic and non-economic damages.

Economic Damages After a Birth Injury

These are quantifiable financial losses that can be calculated. For birth injury cases, economic damages are often substantial due to the long-term care needs of a child with a permanent injury. They can include:

Past and future medical care

You can recover the full cost of hospitalizations, surgeries, NICU care, medications, specialist visits, and ongoing medical treatment that the injury makes necessary.

Rehabilitation and Therapy Costs

Expenses for physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other rehabilitative services are essential for a child's development and quality of life.

Lost Earning Capacity

If the birth injury results in a permanent disability that affects the child's ability to earn a living as an adult, compensation can be sought for their diminished earning potential.

Special Education and Care Costs

Funds for specialized educational programs, in-home care, or live-in assistance may be required throughout the child's life.

Home Modifications

These are costs associated with adapting your home to accommodate your child's needs, such as ramps, widened doorways, or accessible bathrooms.

Non-Economic Damages After a Birth Injury

These damages compensate for intangible losses that lack a direct monetary value but significantly impact the child's and family's quality of life. These are often substantial in birth injury cases due to the significant and permanent harm.

Pain and Suffering

Compensation for the physical pain and discomfort endured by the child due to the injury and ongoing medical procedures.

Emotional Distress

This covers the psychological impact on both the child and the parents, including anxiety, depression, grief, and trauma.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

This is compensation for the child's inability to participate in activities and experiences that typically bring joy and fulfillment.

Loss of Consortium

In some cases, parents may seek compensation for the loss of companionship, affection, and support from their child due to the injury.

In a Washington birth injury lawsuit, timing and liability rules matter.  Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within three years of the act/omission or within one year of discovery, whichever is later, under Washington law. Washington follows pure comparative fault, which reduces, but does not bar, recovery based on any proven percentage of the plaintiff’s responsibility. The state does not cap personal-injury damages, and punitive damages are not available in ordinary medical negligence cases. An experienced Seattle birth injury lawyer will apply these rules to protect your claim and maximize compensation.

What Are the Steps in a Birth Injury Case?

Birth injury lawsuits involve stringent legal requirements and procedural hurdles. Your Seattle birth injury lawyer will handle all aspects of the litigation process, including:

• Investigation and Evidence Gathering: This first step involves collecting and preserving evidence, interviewing witnesses, and obtaining expert opinions.

• Filing the Lawsuit: Our birth injury attorneys will make sure all legal documents are correctly prepared and filed within the strict deadlines imposed by Washington State law.

• Discovery: Discovery involves managing the exchange of information between parties, including depositions and interrogatories.

• Negotiation and Settlement: We press defense counsel and insurers for a full and fair settlement. If they refuse to pay what the case is worth, we are prepared to take the case to trial.

• Litigation: If a fair settlement cannot be reached, your attorney will be prepared to take your case to trial, presenting a compelling argument to a judge and jury.

Common Types of Birth Injury Lawsuits We Handle

Our Seattle birth injury lawyer team has extensive experience handling a wide array of birth injury cases, including those involving:

Cerebral Palsy (CP)

Cerebral palsy is a permanent motor disorder that can result from brain injury before, during, or shortly after birth. Litigation often focuses on whether providers recognized fetal distress, responded to nonreassuring tracings, or timely performed an indicated C-section. We analyze EFM strips, cord gases, and neonatal records to determine whether substandard care caused hypoxic or ischemic injury.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

HIE occurs when a newborn’s brain is deprived of oxygen and blood flow. Negligence theories commonly involve failure to act on placental abruption, uterine tachysystole, or umbilical cord compression, as well as delays in newborn resuscitation or therapeutic hypothermia when criteria are met. Our team retains neonatology and neurology experts to connect the timing and mechanism of injury to specific departures from the standard of care.

Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries (Erb’s and Klumpke’s Palsy)

Brachial plexus injuries are nerve injuries to the shoulder and arm that are frequently associated with shoulder dystocia. Liability often turns on whether clinicians executed accepted maneuvers, avoided excessive traction, and considered operative delivery when appropriate. We evaluate labor notes, and provider testimony to assess technique and force.

Perinatal Stroke

Perinatal stroke involves disrupted blood flow to the infant’s brain around the time of birth. Claims may arise from failures to recognize and manage maternal risk factors, infection, coagulation disorders, or postnatal neurologic signs requiring urgent imaging and treatment. Causation is highly fact-specific and depends on expert interpretation of timing and etiology.

Other Preventable Birth Injuries

We also prosecute cases involving skull fractures, facial nerve palsy, spinal cord trauma, fractures from difficult deliveries, and kernicterus resulting from untreated severe jaundice. Each allegation is grounded in a careful review of the standard of care, the clinical timeline, and whether prompt intervention would have changed the outcome.

Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer Today For A Free Consultation

Act quickly if you suspect a preventable medical error harmed your child. Lawsuits are governed by strict time limits under Washington’s medical malpractice limitations statute, and evidence like EFM strips, delivery records, and NICU charts can be lost or altered. An experienced Seattle birth injury lawyer can preserve the record, retain the right experts, and position your case for maximum recovery.

At The Cochran Firm Seattle, we pair decades of combined trial experience with the national resources needed to take on hospital systems and insurers. We handle cases involving cerebral palsy, HIE, brachial plexus injuries, perinatal stroke, and other preventable birth injuries throughout the state.

Call or fill out our online form today to speak with a Seattle birth injury attorney about your family’s options.