Texas Birth Injury Lawyers

If your baby was injured during labor, delivery or newborn care in Texas, your family may have a medical malpractice claim. Texas adds strict notice rules, early expert reports, damages limits and a firm outer deadline, so acting early matters.

What to do now:

1. Request both medical charts. Ask for the mother's labor and delivery records and the baby's newborn and NICU records.
2. Write down what you remember. Note times, names and what staff told you.
3. Get legal advice before deadlines run. Most claims must be filed within 2 years, and a 10-year limit generally applies even to children.

Charles Gilman co-founded Gilman & Bedigian, the trial firm whose Houston and Dallas offices represent Texas families after birth injuries. He was part of the team behind the $182 million birth injury verdict against the University of Pennsylvania (Hagans v. Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania), a Pennsylvania case. No fee unless we win.

Call (800) 529-6162 to talk about what happened. We answer our phone 24/7.

Key Takeaways

• In Texas, a health care liability claim generally must be filed within 2 years of the breach or the end of the treatment at issue, and a 10-year statute of repose generally bars claims even for children injured at birth (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251).
• At least 60 days before filing suit, a Texas family must send written notice by certified mail, with a statutory medical authorization, to each provider (§ 74.051; § 74.052).
• Within 120 days after each defendant files an answer, the family must serve an expert report; if none is served on time, the claim is dismissed with prejudice and the family pays the defendant's attorney's fees and costs (§ 74.351).
• Texas caps non-economic damages at $250,000 per claimant against individual providers combined, plus up to $500,000 against health care institutions; economic damages such as lifetime care are not capped (§ 74.301).
• Bona fide emergency care in an obstetrical unit can require proof of "willful and wanton negligence" (§ 74.153), but the standard has exceptions, including where the provider's negligence caused a stable patient to need emergency care.

What Does Waiting Cost a Texas Birth Injury Family?

A birth injury claim can decide how a child's lifetime care gets paid for. That can include therapies, equipment, nursing help, a modified home and a vehicle, special education and the income the child may never be able to earn. For many families, it also decides whether one parent can keep working.

Waiting can cost you the claim itself, because Texas law sets deadlines that generally run from the date of the medical negligence, not from the date you learn about it. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251, the general limit is 2 years from the breach or tort, or from completion of the treatment at issue. A separate 10-year statute of repose generally bars a claim no matter how young the child is.

Waiting also costs time you need for steps Texas requires before a case can move:

• Pre-suit notice. You must send written notice at least 60 days before filing (§ 74.051).
• Expert work. A qualified expert must review the care and write a report, served within 120 days after each defendant answers (§ 74.351). Experts need complete records to do that.
• Government notice. If a public hospital was involved, written notice may be due within 6 months, and a child's age does not extend it (§ 101.101).

Evidence can fade too. Memories blur, staff move to other jobs, and electronic audit trails and monitoring data are easier to find while questions are fresh.

The rules for injured children in Texas are complex and unsettled, which is a reason to act well before your child's 10th birthday, not a reason to wait.

If you are not sure which clock applies to your family, that is a question worth asking now rather than later.

How We Build a Birth Injury Case Under Texas Law

We start with the medical records and the timeline of labor and delivery, because in Texas a case cannot move forward without a qualified expert's report that explains what went wrong and why it caused harm. Every step below is built around Texas's specific requirements in Chapter 74 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code.

We don't use a branded system. We use a careful process that respects how hard these cases are and how much is at stake for your child.

Step 1: Listening and Gathering Both Charts

A birth injury case usually involves two patients: the mother and the baby. We request both charts in full, not summaries. Patients have a federal right to copies of their records under 45 C.F.R. § 164.524, and Texas adds its own records exchange once notice is sent. Providers must produce records within 45 days of a request (§ 74.051(d)).

What we look for in the chart:

• Fetal heart-rate monitoring strips
• Labor and delivery nursing notes and medication records, including oxytocin (Pitocin) dosing
• Cord blood gas results and Apgar scores
• Placental pathology
• NICU records, newborn imaging and the timing of any MRI

Step 2: Independent Medical Review

Next, we have the care reviewed by independent physicians and nurses in the relevant fields. Typical reviewers include specialists in obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, labor and delivery nursing, neonatology, pediatric neurology and neuroradiology.

Texas sets rules about who can serve as an expert. A standard-of-care expert testifying against a physician generally must be a practicing physician, and a causation expert must be a physician (§ 74.401; § 74.402; § 74.403(a)). We match experts to those rules from the start.

Charles Gilman has given lectures to other lawyers, at his peers' request, on the use of expert witnesses at trial. That focus on expert testimony matters in Texas, where experts shape a case from its first months.

Step 3: Reconstructing the Timeline

Most birth injury cases turn on minutes and hours. We build a timeline that lines up the monitoring strips, nursing notes, medication orders and physician entries.

The timeline also answers legal questions that change the case:

• Did care happen in an emergency department, an obstetrical unit or a surgical suite?
• Was the mother stabilized before the care at issue?
• Did a provider's own negligence create the emergency?
• Was any provider a government employee or a federally deemed clinic?

Step 4: Pre-Suit Notice and Authorization

Before a lawsuit is filed, Texas requires written notice to each provider by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 60 days in advance, along with a statutory medical authorization (§ 74.051; § 74.052). We prepare and send that notice carefully. When it includes the authorization, it tolls (pauses) limitations for 75 days for all parties (Jose Carreras, M.D., P.A. v. Marroquin, 339 S.W.3d 68 (Tex. 2011)).

Step 5: Filing Suit and Serving Expert Reports

After the notice period, we file suit and serve expert reports and CVs on each defendant within 120 days after that defendant's original answer (§ 74.351). We prepare those reports before filing, not after.

Step 6: Proving Lifetime Damages

We work with life care planners and economists to project what your child will need over a lifetime. Then we account for Texas damages limits, periodic payment rules and the protection of public benefits through tools such as a special needs trust.

Step 7: Preparing for Trial From the Beginning

Most claims resolve without a trial. Still, we prepare each case so that a jury can understand it. Charles Gilman has said he started the firm because he and his partner are "fighters who won't hesitate to take cases to trial." That readiness is part of how we approach every case, without any promise about how a particular case will end.

If you want to understand how this process would apply to your child's delivery, call (800) 529-6162 and tell us what happened. You can also read our guide on what to do after a birth injury before you call.

Which Birth Injuries and Delivery Errors Lead to Texas Claims?

A birth injury claim in Texas generally requires proof that a provider's care fell below the accepted standard and that this failure caused the child's injury. A difficult outcome, by itself, is not malpractice. Some conditions have causes unrelated to delivery care, such as genetics, prenatal infection or prematurity. That is why experts, not assumptions, decide causation.

You may notice warning signs months after birth. Our page on the signs of a birth injury covers what parents commonly see.

Brain Injuries From Oxygen Deprivation

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow to a baby's brain around the time of birth. It can lead to seizures, developmental delays and cerebral palsy.

HIE can be linked to delays in responding to signs of fetal distress. Examples include a concerning fetal heart-rate tracing, placental abruption, uterine rupture or cord prolapse.

Therapeutic hypothermia is a treatment that cools a newborn's body for a set period to limit brain damage from HIE. It must begin within the first hours after birth, so a failure to recognize HIE and start cooling can be a separate question of care.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders affecting movement and muscle tone. It may be linked to oxygen deprivation, trauma, infection or other causes. Some cases have no connection to delivery care. When cerebral palsy follows a troubled labor, experts examine the monitoring strips, cord gases, placental findings and newborn imaging to determine timing and cause.

Nerve and Physical Birth Trauma

Shoulder dystocia happens when a baby's shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother's pelvic bone after the head delivers. How the delivery team responds matters. Excessive pulling or improper technique can stretch or tear the brachial plexus nerves in the neck and shoulder.

These injuries include Erb's palsy and Klumpke's palsy. Our page on nerve injury birth injuries explains them in more depth.

Other trauma can include skull fractures and bleeding in the brain, sometimes linked to misuse of vacuum extractors or forceps.

Infections, Jaundice and Low Blood Sugar

Some birth injuries develop after delivery:

• Group B strep and meningitis. Failure to test for or treat a maternal infection can expose the baby to serious infection.
• Kernicterus. Untreated severe jaundice can cause brain damage.
• Neonatal hypoglycemia. Low blood sugar that is not monitored or treated can injure the brain.
• Periventricular leukomalacia. Damage to the brain's white matter, often seen in premature babies.

Common Errors During Labor and Delivery

Care failures that can cause or worsen these injuries include:

1. Failing to recognize and respond to a concerning fetal heart-rate tracing
2. Delaying a needed cesarean delivery
3. Giving too much oxytocin, causing uterine tachysystole (too many contractions, too close together, which can reduce oxygen to the baby)
4. Mismanaging shoulder dystocia
5. Failing to diagnose or manage preeclampsia, gestational diabetes or placental problems
6. Anesthesia mistakes during labor or cesarean delivery (see our page on anesthesia birth injuries)
7. Inadequate newborn resuscitation

Many parents blame themselves after a birth injury. The legal questions are usually about the medical care, not about anything a parent did or failed to do.

Why Are Birth Injury Claims So Hard to Bring in Texas?

Texas requires families to clear more procedural steps, earlier, than many other states, and missing a single step can end the case. Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, available through the Texas Statutes site, sets out these requirements for what Texas calls health care liability claims. That term covers malpractice suits against doctors, nurses, hospitals and other health care providers.

For the complete legal picture, see our Texas medical malpractice laws guide. This section focuses on how those rules play out in birth injury cases.

The 60-Day Notice Requirement

Before filing, the family must send written notice of the claim to each provider by certified mail, return receipt requested, at least 60 days before suit (§ 74.051). The notice must include a medical authorization in the form Texas law requires (§ 74.052).

That authorization matters. If notice goes out without it, the case is abated until 60 days after the authorization is provided. Abated means the case is paused and cannot move forward.

Is there any benefit to sending notice?

Yes. Proper notice with the authorization tolls the limitations period for 75 days for all parties (Marroquin, 339 S.W.3d 68). That pause can matter when a deadline is close. It is not a substitute for acting early.

The 120-Day Expert Report

An expert report in Texas is a written report, with the expert's CV, that fairly summarizes the standard of care, how the provider failed to meet it, and how that failure caused the injury. To survive a challenge, the report must be an "objective good faith effort" to meet that definition (§ 74.351).

The report is due within 120 days after each defendant files its original answer. That deadline can generally be extended only by written agreement of the parties.

But there's a catch.

If no timely report is served, the court, on the defendant's motion, dismisses the claim with prejudice and orders the family to pay the defendant's attorney's fees and costs (§ 74.351). "With prejudice" means the claim cannot be filed again. If a report is served but is deficient, the court may grant one 30-day extension to cure it. Defendants must object within 21 days after the report is served or after they answer, whichever is later, and discovery is largely stayed until the report is served.

Section 74.351 has no exception for children, and the Texas Supreme Court enforced this deadline in a child's birth injury case (Stockton v. Offenbach, 336 S.W.3d 610 (Tex. 2011)).

Key insight: In many Texas birth injury cases, the first real test is not the two-year deadline. It is whether the expert work is done well before the lawsuit is filed, because the 120-day clock leaves little room to start from scratch.

Who Can Testify as an Expert

Texas restricts who qualifies. Against a physician, the standard-of-care expert generally must be a practicing physician, and causation experts must be physicians (§ 74.401; § 74.402; § 74.403(a)). In a birth injury case, that often means several experts, each covering a different part of the story.

Proportionate Responsibility

Proportionate responsibility is Texas's version of comparative fault. Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, a claimant who is more than 50% responsible recovers nothing; otherwise, damages are reduced by the claimant's percentage. Each defendant generally pays only its own share, unless it is found more than 50% responsible, in which case joint and several liability applies (§ 33.013).

Here's why that matters. When several providers share fault, how responsibility is divided among a doctor, a nurse and a hospital can affect what each one pays.

How Does the Texas Emergency Care Standard Affect Labor and Delivery?

In Texas, a claim based on bona fide emergency medical care in a hospital emergency department, an obstetrical unit, or a surgical suite immediately after emergency department care requires proof of "willful and wanton negligence," a higher standard than ordinary negligence (§ 74.153). For suits filed on or after September 1, 2019, that higher standard does not apply to care after the patient is stabilized and being treated as a nonemergency patient, to care unrelated to the emergency, or to a provider whose own negligence caused a stable patient to need emergency care.

This rule is one of the biggest differences between Texas and other states. It is also often misunderstood.

Obstetrical Care Can Be Covered Without an ER Visit

The Texas Supreme Court has held that care in a hospital's obstetrical unit can fall under this standard even when the mother never passed through the emergency department. That case, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Denton v. D.A., 569 S.W.3d 126 (Tex. 2018), involved shoulder dystocia.

For families, this means a labor and delivery case may be judged under the higher standard if the care at issue was a bona fide emergency.

Whether Care Was an Emergency Can Be a Jury Question

The standard does not apply automatically to every delivery. In Glenn v. Leal, No. 18-0344 (Tex. Feb. 21, 2020), the Texas Supreme Court recognized that whether the care was an emergency can be a question for the jury.

The 2019 Exceptions

For suits filed on or after September 1, 2019, the higher standard does not apply when:

• The care came after the patient was stabilized and being treated as a nonemergency patient
• The care was unrelated to the original emergency
• The provider's negligence caused a stable patient to need emergency care

Does this standard mean my case is over?

No. It means the timeline matters even more. A delivery that became an emergency because a heart-rate tracing was ignored for hours raises different questions than a sudden emergency no one could have predicted. That is why we reconstruct the labor minute by minute before deciding how the standard applies.

How Do Texas Damages Limits Affect a Birth Injury Case?

Texas caps non-economic damages in health care liability claims at $250,000 per claimant against all physicians and individual providers combined, plus $250,000 per claimant against one health care institution, or $250,000 each and $500,000 total against two or more institutions (§ 74.301). The most a claimant can recover in non-economic damages is $750,000, and these caps are not adjusted for inflation. Economic damages, such as medical care and lost earning capacity, are not capped by § 74.301.

Non-economic damages compensate for losses that do not come with a bill, such as physical pain, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life. Economic damages compensate for measurable financial losses, such as medical expenses and lost earning capacity. Our pages on economic damages in birth injury cases and non-economic damages explain each category in general terms.

One Cap for the Whole Family

Under Texas law, everyone claiming from one person's injury counts as a single claimant (§ 74.001(a)(2)). So a child and both parents share one cap. They do not each get a separate $250,000.

Damages Under Texas Law: What Is and Is Not Capped

Why Economic Damages Carry Most Birth Injury Cases

Because non-economic damages are capped and economic damages are not, the life care plan often becomes the center of a Texas birth injury case.

A life care plan is a detailed projection, prepared by a qualified planner, of the medical care, therapy, equipment and support a child will need over a lifetime. An economist then calculates the present cost. Our page on how birth injury compensation is calculated walks through these pieces.

Periodic Payments

When future damages have a present value of $100,000 or more, the court shall order periodic payment of future medical and custodial damages if a party requests it (§ 74.502; § 74.503). In practice, that means part of a judgment may be paid over time rather than all at once.

Settlements for Children

Settlements for minors usually need court approval. They are often structured or placed into a special needs trust to help protect a child's eligibility for public benefits. We plan for these steps early, so a resolution is built around the child's long-term needs.

Statute of Limitations: How Long Do Texas Families Have to File?

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251, a Texas health care liability claim generally must be filed within 2 years from the breach or tort, or from completion of the treatment or hospitalization at issue, and a family cannot choose a later start date. A 10-year statute of repose, measured from the act or omission, generally bars claims regardless of the patient's age (Tenet Hospitals Ltd. v. Rivera, 445 S.W.3d 698 (Tex. 2014); see Methodist Healthcare System v. Rankin, 307 S.W.3d 283 (Tex. 2010)). Notice with the required authorization tolls limitations for 75 days.

A statute of repose is an absolute outer deadline. Unlike an ordinary limitations period, it generally runs no matter when the injury is discovered or how young the injured person is.

The Texas Supreme Court has also held that families cannot pick a later starting date for the two-year period (Bala v. Maxwell, 909 S.W.2d 889 (Tex. 1995)). Note that the general two-year personal injury rule in Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003 is not the controlling rule for these claims; Chapter 74 has its own.

Texas Deadlines That Can Apply to a Birth Injury

Why the Rules for Children Are Unsettled

Most people assume an injured child has until adulthood to sue. In Texas, that assumption is risky.

Section 74.251 contains a special rule for young children. However, the Texas Supreme Court struck down an earlier, identical minors clause under the state constitution's open-courts guarantee (Weiner v. Wasson, 900 S.W.2d 316 (Tex. 1995)). An intermediate appellate court later applied Weiner to § 74.251 (Adams v. Gottwald, 179 S.W.3d 101 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2005)). The Texas Supreme Court has not ruled on § 74.251's own minors clause.

What is clear is the 10-year statute of repose, which the Texas Supreme Court upheld against a child injured at birth whose parent was not diligent (Tenet Hospitals Ltd. v. Rivera, 445 S.W.3d 698 (Tex. 2014)), and which generally sets the outer limit for a child injured at birth. Families should act well before the child's 10th birthday, and preferably much sooner.

The Parents' Separate Claim

Parents have their own claim for a child's medical expenses before age 18. That claim belongs to the parents and can expire separately from the child's claim (Sax v. Votteler, 648 S.W.2d 661 (Tex. 1983)). How that rule maps onto Chapter 74 is not fully settled. The safe course is to treat it as a strong reason to act early.

When a Baby Does Not Survive

A Texas wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents (§ 71.004). If none of them sues within three months, the executor or administrator may. The deceased person's own claim can continue as a survival action, which carries the claims the person would have had if they had lived (§ 71.021).

In health care cases, the limitations period generally runs from the negligence, not from the death. We know these are the hardest conversations a family can have. We will go at your pace.

What If a Public Hospital or Federal Clinic Was Involved?

When a government hospital is involved, the Texas Tort Claims Act applies along with Chapter 74, its damages limits control over Chapter 74's, and written notice is generally required within 6 months; that notice is jurisdictional and is not extended because the injured patient is a child (§ 74.002(b); § 101.101; Tex. Gov't Code § 311.034; Martinez v. Val Verde County Hospital District, 140 S.W.3d 370 (Tex. 2004)). The Act also offers only a limited waiver of immunity, caps damages, and bars exemplary damages.

How the Texas Tort Claims Act Changes the Case

Sovereign immunity is the legal doctrine that protects government bodies from lawsuits unless the law waives that protection. The Texas Tort Claims Act waives immunity only in limited situations (§ 101.021).

When it applies, the caps are:

• State: $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence
• Local units of government: $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence
• Municipalities: $250,000 per person and $500,000 per occurrence

These come from § 101.023, with exemplary damages barred by § 101.024. The relationship with Chapter 74 is addressed in § 74.002(b), and Tex. Gov't Code § 311.034 makes notice a jurisdictional requirement in suits against governmental entities.

Whether a particular hospital is a governmental unit is not always obvious from its name. It requires investigation. If there is any chance a public hospital district or government facility was involved, the 6-month window is the deadline to watch first.

Federally Funded Health Centers and Federal Facilities

Some community health centers receive federal funding, and their staff may be deemed federal employees under 42 U.S.C. § 233. Claims involving them, or federal facilities, go through the Federal Tort Claims Act.

That process requires a written administrative claim to the federal agency within 2 years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)) before any lawsuit can be filed (28 U.S.C. § 2675(a)). Many families never realize their prenatal clinic might fall into this category.

Key insight: Who employed the doctor or midwife can matter as much as what they did. We check employment and funding status early, because government and federal claims have different deadlines than private ones.

Proven Results: What Our Birth Injury Verdicts Show and Don't Show

Gilman & Bedigian has won major birth injury verdicts in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and none of the results below are Texas results. Texas law, including its notice rules, expert report deadlines and damages caps, can affect a Texas case very differently. Past results do not predict the outcome of any future case.

We share these results because families deserve to know whether a firm has taken birth injury cases in front of juries. Here are the documented birth injury verdicts from our case results:

Across all practice areas, the firm has over $800 million recovered for clients. You can read more about our Pennsylvania work on our Pennsylvania birth injury lawyers page.

What These Results Do Not Mean

A jury verdict in Philadelphia or Baltimore does not tell you what a Texas case is worth. Texas caps on non-economic damages and the higher standard for emergency obstetrical care are real differences. We will be honest with you about how Texas law applies to your child's facts.

What the results do show is a track record of preparing complex birth injury cases for trial, working with experts on causation, and presenting a child's lifetime needs to a jury.

How Does a Birth Injury Lawsuit Move Through Texas Courts?

A Texas birth injury lawsuit generally moves through a series of statutory deadlines: pre-suit notice, records exchange, filing, the 120-day expert report and then discovery, with settlement possible at any stage. The court where your case is heard depends on where the care happened and other venue rules. Your attorney identifies the proper court, and your case filings show the court assigned to your case. Claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act are heard in federal court.

General information about the Texas judicial system is available from Texas Courts.

Key Stages and Their Texas Deadlines

What Affects How Long a Case Takes

We can't give you a reliable month count, and we won't guess. Timing depends on factors such as:

• How many providers are involved
• Whether a government hospital or federal clinic is part of the case
• Disputes over the expert reports
• How long it takes to understand the child's long-term prognosis
• The court's own schedule

Our article on how long a birth injury lawsuit takes explains these factors in general terms.

Local Help in Houston and Dallas

This page covers Texas law statewide. If you want to meet with our team in person, our offices are at The Plaza at Audley, 3120 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77098, and 3838 Oak Lawn Ave, Suite 1000, Dallas, TX 75219.

For local information, visit our Houston birth injury page or our Dallas birth injury page. You can find an overview of our Texas work on our Texas page.

The Contingency Fee Model: What Does a Texas Birth Injury Lawyer Cost?

We take all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means our attorney's fee comes from a recovery, and you pay no fee unless we win. Case expenses, such as expert review and records costs, are separate from attorney's fees. Ask us how expenses are handled in your case, and we will explain it plainly before you sign anything.

Birth injury cases are expensive to build. Texas requires expert reports early, and these cases often need several experts. A contingency arrangement means families do not have to pay an hourly fee up front to get that work started.

What We Commit To

Here is what we can say with confidence:

• We answer our phone 24/7. You can reach us when questions come up, including nights and weekends.
• You owe no attorney's fee unless there is a recovery. That is how our contingency arrangement works.
• We will explain Texas law honestly. That includes the caps, the emergency care standard and the deadlines, even when the news is hard.

What to Have Ready When You Call

You don't need everything to start. Helpful items include:

1. Names of the hospital, doctors, midwives and clinics involved
2. Dates of prenatal care, delivery and any NICU stay
3. Any records, discharge papers or test results you already have
4. Notes on what you were told, and when
5. Your child's current diagnoses and therapists

To ask how a contingency fee would work for your family, or what expenses a case might involve, call (800) 529-6162.

How Do You Choose a Texas Birth Injury Lawyer?

The right Texas birth injury firm should be able to explain Chapter 74's notice, expert report and damages rules, show a record of birth injury trials, and tell you plainly how it handles fees and expenses. No firm can promise a result. You can, however, ask questions that reveal how a firm works.

Questions Worth Asking Any Firm

• How do you handle the 120-day expert report requirement?
• Which medical specialties do you usually consult in a case like mine?
• How do you decide whether the emergency care standard applies?
• How will the Texas damages caps affect my child's case?
• Have you tried birth injury cases to verdict, and where?
• How are case expenses handled if there is no recovery?
• Who will I talk to when I have questions?

The State Bar of Texas offers general information about lawyers practicing in Texas.

What Gilman & Bedigian Brings to Texas Families

Birth injury is our flagship practice. The firm was co-founded by Charles Gilman and H. Briggs Bedigian in October of 2012; Briggs Bedigian is a member of The Inner Circle of Advocates (inducted 2015).

A few things set our team apart:

• Trial results in birth injury cases, including record verdicts in Pennsylvania and Maryland listed above.
• Defense-side insight. Some of our attorneys previously represented doctors and hospitals in malpractice cases, so they understand how the other side evaluates a claim.
• Licensing across several jurisdictions. Our attorneys are licensed across Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, the District of Columbia and New York.
• Recognition. Our attorneys have been featured on or in The Legal Intelligencer, FOX45 Baltimore, The Daily Record, The Wall Street Journal and WJZ.

In Texas, our practice is limited to birth injury cases, including birth-related medical malpractice. For other medical malpractice matters in Texas, we can work with co-counsel.

A Different Way to Think About Choosing

Many families focus on the size of a firm's past verdicts. That matters, but in Texas, ask a sharper question: how does the firm protect a case in its first year? Notice, records, expert selection and the 120-day report decide whether a jury ever hears your child's story.

A strong Texas birth injury case is usually won or lost on preparation done long before trial.

Talk With Our Texas Birth Injury Team

You came to this page with questions about your child's birth, and possibly with fears about what comes next. Texas law makes these cases harder than in many states. The 2-year general deadline, the 10-year statute of repose, the 60-day notice period and the 120-day expert report all leave less room for delay than families expect. If a public hospital was involved, the 6-month notice window may be even shorter.

You don't have to sort this out alone. Our Houston and Dallas offices represent Texas families in birth injury cases, and you pay no attorney's fee unless we recover for you.

The information on this page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique, and past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Contact a qualified attorney to discuss your specific situation.

Call (800) 529-6162 to talk with our team about your child's delivery and the deadlines that may apply. We answer our phone 24/7.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have a birth injury case in Texas?

You may, if a provider's care fell below the accepted standard and that failure caused your child's injury. A bad outcome alone is not malpractice, and conditions like cerebral palsy sometimes have causes unrelated to delivery. In Texas, a qualified expert must review the records and support the claim in a report served within 120 days after each defendant answers (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.351), so the answer starts with a careful records review.

How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Texas?

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 74.251, the general limit is 2 years from the breach or from completion of the treatment at issue. A 10-year statute of repose generally bars claims even for children injured at birth. The rules for children's own claims are complex and unsettled, so families should act well before the child's 10th birthday, and claims against government hospitals may require written notice within 6 months.

How much does a Texas birth injury lawyer cost?

We take all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, so our attorney's fee comes from a recovery and you owe no fee unless we win. Case expenses, such as expert and records costs, are separate from the attorney's fee. We explain how expenses are handled before you sign any agreement.

What is my birth injury case worth?

No one can give an honest number before the records are reviewed and your child's needs are projected. In Texas, economic damages such as lifetime care are not capped, but non-economic damages are capped under § 74.301 at $250,000 against individual providers combined, plus up to $500,000 against institutions. The child and parents share one cap, so the life care plan often drives the case.

What if the injury happened during an emergency delivery?

Texas requires proof of "willful and wanton negligence" for bona fide emergency care in an emergency department, an obstetrical unit, or a surgical suite right after emergency care (§ 74.153). For suits filed on or after September 1, 2019, that standard does not apply after the patient is stabilized and being treated as a nonemergency patient, to unrelated care, or to a provider whose negligence caused a stable patient to need emergency care. Whether care was an emergency can be a jury question.

Should I accept the hospital's or insurer's first offer?

Not before you understand your child's lifetime needs and how Texas law affects them. An early offer may not account for future care, therapies or lost earning capacity. Settlements for children also usually need court approval, so talk with a lawyer before signing any release.

What if the hospital says I was partly at fault?

Under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, a claimant more than 50% responsible recovers nothing, and otherwise damages are reduced by the claimant's percentage. In birth injury cases, the questions usually focus on the medical team's decisions. Parents often blame themselves, but the main legal issue is whether the care met the standard.

How long does a Texas birth injury case take?

There is no reliable average. Texas sets certain fixed steps, including 60 days of notice before filing and a 120-day expert report deadline after each defendant answers. After that, timing depends on the number of providers, expert disputes, the child's prognosis and the court's schedule.

Do I need a lawyer for a Texas birth injury claim?

Texas law does not require one, but Chapter 74's rules are strict. Missing the expert report deadline leads to dismissal with prejudice and an order to pay the defendant's attorney's fees and costs (§ 74.351). Most families find these requirements difficult to meet without experienced counsel.

What if a public hospital or federal clinic delivered my baby?

Claims against Texas government hospitals fall under the Texas Tort Claims Act, which generally requires written notice within 6 months, is not extended for a child's minority, and caps damages (§ 101.101; § 101.023). Federally funded health centers may fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which requires an administrative claim within 2 years before suit (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). Identifying the provider's status early is critical.

Will my case go to trial?

Most claims resolve without a trial, but some do go to a jury. We prepare each case so it can be presented at trial if needed. That preparation, including the expert work Texas requires, is part of every case from the start.

How do we pay for our child's care while the case is pending?

Families often rely on health insurance, Medicaid or other benefits while a case is pending. Some of those payers may have reimbursement rights out of a recovery, which must be addressed before settlement. Planning tools such as a special needs trust can help protect a child's benefits eligibility after a resolution.

What if my baby died after delivery?

In Texas, a wrongful death claim belongs to the surviving spouse, children and parents, and an executor may sue if none of them does within three months (§ 71.004). The deceased person's own claim can continue as a survival action (§ 71.021). In health care cases, the limitations period generally runs from the negligence, not from the date of death.

Does your firm handle cases outside of birth injury in Texas?

In Texas, our practice is limited to birth injury cases, including birth-related medical malpractice, from our Houston and Dallas offices. Our attorneys handle a broader range of cases in our other jurisdictions.