The birth of a child should be a time of celebration, but a traumatic delivery and lingering injuries can make it the beginning of a lifelong journey filled with medical, emotional, and financial challenges. Medical treatment and specialized care can create a lasting economic impact. Careful financial planning, supported by experienced legal counsel, can help ensure stability and quality of life for both the child and family.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is physical harm sustained by an infant before, during, or shortly after delivery, often caused by medical error or complications such as oxygen deprivation or excessive force during delivery. Common long-term conditions linked to birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy (CP): a neurological disorder that affects muscle tone, movement, and posture. It is most often caused by brain damage before, during, or shortly after birth resulting from oxygen deprivation or trauma during delivery
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): a form of brain injury that occurs when an infant’s brain is deprived of oxygen and blood flow during labor or delivery. HIE is one of the leading causes of long-term neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, and developmental delays.
- Brachial plexus injuries: injuries that occur when the network of nerves that controls movement and sensation in the shoulder, arm, and hand is stretched or torn during birth. Erb’s palsy, the most common type, can lead to weakness or paralysis in the affected arm.
- Developmental and cognitive delays: slower-than-expected progress in skills such as movement, speech, learning, or problem-solving. These delays are not specific disorders but are often secondary effects of birth injuries, including cerebral palsy or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
Financial Impacts of a Birth Injury
Birth injuries affect far more than a child’s health, they reshape an entire family’s financial reality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the lifetime medical costs associated with caring for a child with cerebral palsy can exceed $1 million. This does not include lost wages or non-medical costs such as specialized transportation or in-home care. Expenses may include:
- Initial hospitalization, surgeries, and diagnostic testing
- Ongoing therapy (physical, occupational, or speech)
- Adaptive medical equipment, such as wheelchairs or feeding devices
- Home modifications (ramps, lifts, widened doorways)
- Educational and developmental support services
Key Financial Planning Steps
Assess Immediate and Future Care Needs
Begin by documenting both current and anticipated expenses related to your child’s condition. This could include:
- Therapy frequency and costs
- Medical devices or assistive technology
- Transportation and home adjustments
- Anticipated care needs through childhood and adulthood
A social worker, case manager, or financial planner can help forecast long-term costs and build a realistic budget.
Collaborate With Financial and Legal Professionals
Families benefit most from a coordinated team approach:
- Financial advisors can structure savings, investment, and insurance plans.
- An attorney experienced in birth injury law can evaluate whether medical negligence contributed to the injury, potentially unlocking vital financial resources through litigation.
A coordinated approach between financial planners and legal counsel provides families with the structure, resources, and legal standing necessary to secure their child’s long-term future.
Review Insurance and Government Programs
Health insurance rarely covers every aspect of long-term care. Parents should review:
- Coverage limits, therapy caps, and provider networks
- State Medicaid waiver programs for children with special needs
- Supplemental insurance plans for therapies, respite care, or durable medical equipment
In Florida, some families may qualify for Medicaid waivers that provide in-home support or equipment assistance for children with permanent disabilities.
Establish a Special Needs Trust (SNT)
A Special Needs Trust allows parents to set aside funds for their child’s care without affecting eligibility for Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Funds in an SNT can be used for:
- Education and vocational training
- Transportation or adaptive equipment
- Recreational and social activities that improve quality of life
An experienced estate or trust attorney can help ensure that the SNT is properly structured and compliant with state and federal regulations.
Consider Long-Term Care and Life Insurance
Parents of children with disabilities often face two financial priorities: providing lifelong care for their child and protecting their own financial security as they age. Certain insurance options can help support both goals.
- Life insurance can ensure continuity of care for a dependent child after a parent’s death. By naming your SNT as the policy’s beneficiary, parents can continue to provide financial support after they’re gone.
- Long-term care insurance helps cover a parent’s future medical or personal care needs such as: in-home nursing, assisted living, or rehabilitation. This coverage helps ensure that retirement savings aren’t consumed by end-of-life expenses. As a result, more of the family’s resources can be dedicated to the child’s continued care and comfort.
Other strategies may also help preserve financial stability, such as permanent life insurance with a cash value component, annuities structured to fund a trust, or estate planning documents that name successor trustees or guardians. Together, these tools create a safety net that ensures continuity of care and financial protection for the entire family.
Legal Action and Secure Financial Stability: When Negligence Causes a Birth Injury
Birth injuries sometimes result from medical negligence, such as:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress
- Delayed or improper C-section
- Misuse of delivery tools (forceps or vacuum extractor)
- Medication or anesthesia errors
In such cases, a birth injury lawsuit can help families obtain the financial resources necessary to secure lifelong care. A successful birth injury claim may include compensation for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Therapy and rehabilitation costs
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Lost parental wages or future earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life
These funds can help cover both immediate and lifelong care needs, helping to create financial security and stability.
Why Legal Counsel Matters
Without experienced legal representation, families may accept early settlements that fall far short of what their child will need over a lifetime. Most birth injury and medical malpractice cases are settled before trial, often for much less than the true value of the claim. Many law firms do not take cases to court, preferring quick settlements that save them time but leave families undercompensated. It’s easy for lesser firms to settle a $20 million case for $1 million. At Schlesinger Law Offices, our attorneys have the time, perseverance, and resources to secure the full compensation your child deserves.
An experienced attorney can help prevent under-settlement by:
- Consulting medical experts to prove negligence and causation.
- Working with life-care planners and economists to calculate true lifetime costs.
- Taking the case to trial when necessary to demand full compensation, not just a quick payout.
Need Help Planning for Your Child’s Future?
At Schlesinger Law Offices, P.A., we have more than 70 years of courtroom experience and have secured record-setting verdicts and life-changing settlements for children and families harmed by medical negligence. We represent families throughout Florida and across the United States in complex birth injury cases, including those involving cerebral palsy, HIE, and oxygen deprivation at birth.
If you believe medical negligence played a role in your child’s condition, contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can help secure the financial resources your child deserves.