Birth Injury Lawyer in Ann Arbor, Michigan
When you walked into a labor and delivery suite in Ann Arbor, you trusted that the staff monitoring your baby would catch the warning signs. If the team missed those signs or waited too long to act, what should have been the beginning of your family’s story can feel like the beginning of a different one. Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. has spent decades helping Washtenaw County families understand whether what happened in the delivery room crossed the line from a bad outcome into preventable harm. Our Birth Injury Lawyer in Ann Arbor practice is led by nurse-attorney Eileen E. Kroll and trial lawyer Terry L. Cochran, and our record includes a $15.8 million birth injury verdict secured for a Michigan family. Call 1-866-MICH-LAW or request a free case review when you are ready.
Key Takeaways
- Michigan extends the filing window for birth injury claims involving minors, but evidence becomes harder to recover as time passes.
- Oxygen deprivation during labor, mismanaged shoulder dystocia, and delayed cesarean decisions are among the most common causes we investigate.
- Our nurse-attorney reads fetal heart strips, labor curves, and NICU notes the way an experienced clinician would.
- Compensation can fund lifetime medical care, therapy, special education, and adaptive equipment for your child.
- Every consultation is free. There are no attorney fees unless we recover money for your family.
How Do Birth Injuries Happen in Ann Arbor Delivery Rooms?
Ann Arbor delivers thousands of babies a year between Michigan Medicine’s Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital and St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor. Most of those deliveries go well. When something goes wrong, the cause usually traces back to a missed warning sign, a delayed decision, or a deviation from accepted obstetric practice.
Common patterns we investigate include failure to monitor fetal heart tones properly, delayed escalation to an emergency cesarean, mismanaged shoulder dystocia, improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction, miscommunication during shift change, and medication errors during labor induction. Each of these scenarios has its own evidentiary fingerprint inside the chart.
A birth injury claim is not built on hindsight. It is built on what the labor team actually saw at the time, and what a reasonable provider in that same specialty should have done with that information.
Cerebral Palsy Linked to Oxygen Deprivation at Birth
Cerebral palsy caused by birth-related oxygen deprivation, often called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE, is among the most serious injuries we handle. When fetal heart tracings show non-reassuring patterns, and the response is delayed, even minutes can shape a child’s neurological future.
Our firm secured a $15.8 million verdict for a Monroe County family in a cerebral palsy case. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but the case illustrates how clinical detail in the labor record can drive a meaningful recovery.
Erb’s Palsy and Brachial Plexus Damage
Erb’s palsy occurs when nerves in the brachial plexus are stretched or torn during delivery, most often during shoulder dystocia. Some infants recover full strength within months. Others live with permanent weakness or paralysis in one arm.
We investigate whether the dystocia was anticipated, what maneuvers were used, and whether the documented force was consistent with what a careful provider should have applied.
Why a Nurse-Attorney Changes the Outcome of a Birth Injury Claim
Most plaintiff firms outsource clinical record review to a third-party nurse consultant after the case is signed. We begin clinical review during the very first conversation. Eileen E. Kroll brought registered nurse training to the partnership before she earned her Michigan law license.
She reads the fetal heart strip line by line: baseline, variability, accelerations, decelerations. She compares the timeline against what was charted by the labor nurse and what the attending physician documented. Discrepancies between those two voices in the record often become the spine of the case.
That early read also protects families. If the clinical record genuinely supports the hospital’s defense, we say so during the free consultation rather than dragging a grieving family into litigation that cannot succeed.
What Compensation Is Available for Families Working With a Birth Injury Lawyer in Ann Arbor?
Birth injury damages are different from most personal injury claims because they look forward across a child’s lifetime. Awards in successful cases can fund medical care, therapy, special education, adaptive equipment, home modifications, paid caregiving, and lost future earning capacity.
Our firm has recovered $15.8 million, $3.8 million, and $2.2 million in past birth injury matters, results that do not guarantee any particular outcome but provide a sense of the scale these cases can reach. Detailed case summaries are available on our verdicts archive.
Approximately 95% of cases at our firm settle out of court. The remaining few proceed to a Washtenaw County jury, and we prepare every case as if it will. Settlements rarely come from softness; they come from the defense recognizing that the trial preparation has been thorough.
Michigan Birth Injury Laws Every Parent Should Understand
Michigan’s statute of limitations is different for minors than for adults. The state allows additional time for children, but the practical window is shorter than parents often assume because evidence quality fades quickly. Nurses move on, hospital systems migrate to new electronic records, and memories shift.
Pre-suit, every birth injury case requires a Notice of Intent served at least 182 days before filing, and an Affidavit of Merit signed by a qualified obstetric expert at the time of filing. Michigan also caps non-economic damages, with a higher cap for catastrophic injuries that include paralysis and brain damage.
Waiting on the calendar is the single most common reason a viable case gets refused. Talking with a lawyer the year you suspect something is not the same as filing the lawsuit.
Our Approach to Ann Arbor Birth Injury Cases
Intake begins with listening. We ask you to walk us through the pregnancy, the day of delivery, and the months that followed. We do not interrupt. We do not push for a quick yes or no.
If there is enough on the surface to investigate, we request the prenatal records, the labor and delivery chart, the NICU summary, and any pediatric follow-up. Eileen Kroll reviews them clinically. We then consult an outside specialty expert, usually a maternal-fetal medicine physician or pediatric neurologist, to confirm liability and causation.
From that point, we serve the Notice of Intent, prepare and file the Affidavit of Merit with the complaint, and move into discovery. Most birth injury cases conclude through mediation in the 18 to 30 month range, although complex cases involving life-care planning often take longer.
Early Signs Your Child May Have Suffered a Birth Injury
Not every birth injury is obvious in the first days. Some parents only suspect a problem when their child misses developmental milestones at six, nine, or twelve months. Pediatricians sometimes reassure families to wait, which is reasonable medically but can be costly legally.
Patterns worth raising with both a doctor and a lawyer include muscle stiffness or floppiness, asymmetric movement of one limb, persistent feeding difficulties, seizures, an Apgar score that was unusually low at birth, an unplanned NICU stay, or a delivery that involved emergency intervention.
If any of those sound familiar, our team can review the records before you commit to anything. A free consultation does not start a lawsuit. It just answers a question.
Contact Our Birth Injury Lawyers in Ann Arbor
If your child suffered a birth injury, the road ahead can feel uncertain and overwhelming. When medical negligence plays a role, families deserve answers, justice, and the resources to give their child the best possible care.
Contact us at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, explain your options, and map out the strongest path forward. Remember, we don’t get paid unless you win.
Call us at 1-866-MICH-LAW anytime, 24/7, to schedule a free case evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injuries in Ann Arbor
How do I know if my child's birth injury was caused by medical malpractice?
You cannot know from the records alone, and a pediatrician usually cannot tell you either. Malpractice requires showing that the labor and delivery team deviated from accepted obstetric standards and that the deviation caused the injury. Our nurse-attorney review of the chart, combined with a qualified outside expert, is what establishes or rules out that connection.
How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Michigan?
Michigan extends the statute of limitations for minors, but the practical window is shorter than the calendar suggests because witnesses move and records degrade. The Notice of Intent must be served well in advance of any filing. We recommend scheduling a free consultation as soon as you suspect something, even if you plan to wait.
What is the average settlement for a birth injury case?
There is no average that meaningfully predicts your case. Our past results in this practice area have ranged from $2.2 million to $15.8 million, but every claim is evaluated on its own facts: severity, life expectancy, future care needs, and the strength of the liability proof. We give honest valuations after reviewing the records, not before.
Can I afford a birth injury lawyer?
Yes. Our firm works on a contingency fee, which means there is no attorney fee unless we recover money for your family. Litigation costs, such as expert review and depositions, are advanced by the firm. The free consultation costs nothing and does not commit you to filing.
What if my child's injury was not diagnosed right away?
Many birth injuries, including some forms of cerebral palsy, are not formally diagnosed until well after delivery. That delay does not destroy your claim. Michigan’s discovery rule and the longer minor-tolling provisions exist for exactly this kind of situation. Bring the records you have, including pediatric follow-up notes, and we will help you understand the timeline.
Who can be held liable for a birth injury?
Potential defendants can include the attending obstetrician, the labor and delivery nursing staff, the hospital or health system that employs them, any consulting specialist, and, on occasion, the manufacturer of a defective device. Our investigation identifies every defendant who contributed to the chain of causation.
