Birth Injury Blog

Posts Tagged ‘medical care’

A birth injury fund is a financial fund that provides care for children who suffered a birth injury. It’s a compensation program for infants injured at birth, offering lifetime services and benefits for injured infants and their families, including:
• medical care
• hospitalization
• rehabilitation, physical therapy
• residential or custodial care
• compensation for lost earnings
• healthcare equipment
• legal fees
• medically necessary travel

A birth injury fund is often a no-fault program, giving compensation to the families of birth-injured children and foregoing the need for litigation regarding birth injury malpractice by OB/Gyns, other physicians and hospitals. The creation of birth injury funds began in the 1980s, when medical malpractice insurance premiums had gotten so high that OB/Gyns were being forced out of their medical practice because they simply couldn’t afford the insurance.

Examples of birth injuries often eligible for birth injury fund awards are:
• brain damage
• cerebral palsy
• brachial plexus palsy
• Erbs palsy
• temporary paralysis
• Group B strep

There are criteria that an injured child must meet to be eligible for an award from a specific birth injury fund. When the family of a child with a birth-related injury accepts an award from a birth injury fund, they are prevented from seeking any other compensation through a lawsuit.