A state senator for Maryland is proposing a no-fault birth injury fund, which could affect the future of birth injury lawsuits in that state. If it passes, it could disrupt the traditional litigation between birth injury attorneys and hospitals in medical malpractice cases.
The plan is for each hospital in Maryland to pay $25 million to the fund annually. This monetary amount leaves enough for an estimated seven successful birth injury cases a year, which may not be enough if several major birth injury lawsuits occur in a given year. In fact, the Maryland Association for Justice estimates that there can be as many as 150 birth injury cases a year.
If this passes, it could influence other states to attempt a similar measure.
Do Other States Have No-Fault Birth Injury Funds?
Currently, two other states, Florida and Virginia, have similar no-fault birth injury funds. However, the funds in these states do not eliminate the legal process between trial lawyers and the hospitals.
Opponents of Maryland’s proposal argue that the tort system works and that the funds collected each year will not be nearly enough to fund all the cases the state will see.
As any medical malpractice attorney can tell you, damages from a birth injury case are often needed to pay for expensive surgeries, lifetime hospital care, renovations to make a house and vehicle safe for a disabled child and more. Families should not have to be burdened with healthcare costs if their child’s injuries were caused by the negligence of a healthcare provider.
Farrell & Patel defend the rights of injured children and their families. You can see how we assist families in Florida by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
Farrell & Patel – Birth Injury Lawyers
