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When Joy Turns to Trauma: Do You Have a Claim?
A delivery that ends with shoulder dystocia, emergency C section, or a mother’s severe tear often feels like bad luck, yet 95 percent of birth injuries stem from preventable errors such as delayed fetal monitoring or misused forceps. Nationwide research shows 1.5 to 6 percent of mothers develop PTSD after traumatic childbirth, highlighting the hidden cost of negligence. Florida treats birth harm as malpractice when a provider breaches the professional standard of care and that breach directly injures mother or child. Percy Martinez combines 30 years of verdicts with on staff nurses who flag chart deviations within 48 hours, often the difference between relief and years of uncertainty.
What Qualifies as “Traumatic Birth” Under Florida Law?
Courts recognize physical injuries such as brachial plexus damage, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, and fourth degree perineal tears, as well as documented psychological trauma that meets DSM 5 PTSD criteria. Because 85 to 90 percent of cerebral palsy cases link to events before or during birth, juries scrutinize fetal monitor strips and cord blood gases for oxygen deprivation clues. The same negligence test protects mothers: forceps lacerations or anesthesia awareness justify damages when safer options existed. Percy Martinez secures expert affidavits from board certified obstetricians and perinatologists to prove each element long before trial.
NICA vs. Malpractice: Picking the Right Road to Compensation
Florida’s Birth Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA) pays lifetime medical costs for qualifying brain or spinal injuries without proving fault. Yet NICA excludes shoulder dystocia and maternal harm, caps noneconomic aid, and bars later lawsuits, so filing the wrong form can forfeit millions. Traditional malpractice allows recovery for pain, lost income, and home modifications but requires proof of negligence. Percy Martinez’s team screens every case for NICA eligibility, files the presuit notice under §766.106 when negligence fits, and preserves both options until strategy crystallizes.
The Clock Is Ticking: Statutes, Tolling, and Evidence Rules
Parents generally have two years from discovering the injury, never more than four years from the act, but babies injured at birth can sue until age eight. Wrongful death claims drop to a two year limit regardless of age. Hospitals must release complete electronic records within 30 days once requested, yet audit trail metadata vanish after 18 months, making early action vital. Percy Martinez subpoenas fetal monitor backups and anesthesia logs on day one, satisfying the statutory “good faith investigation” certificate and locking in evidence before it fades.
What Damages Cover and How Clean Documentation Maximizes Them
Verdicts and settlements reimburse past and future medical bills, therapy, adaptive housing, parental wage loss, and full noneconomic damages since Florida’s cap was struck down in 2017. Because Medicaid and private insurers can assert liens, our finance team files every Explanation of Benefits letter to create a “clean revenue trail” that withstands audits and prevents claw backs. Parents receive a secure portal to upload receipts, ensuring each expense, from lactation consulting to wheelchair vans, counts toward recovery and survives defense scrutiny.
Percy Martinez: Florida’s Birth Injury Strike Team
From Miami’s Eleventh Circuit to Jacksonville’s Fourth, Percy Martinez has recovered tens of millions for families facing cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and maternal PTSD, winning a $4.8 million shoulder dystocia verdict in Florida’s Thirteenth Circuit that forced hospital policy changes statewide. Our bilingual staff answers calls 24/7, our litigation budgets cover experts upfront, and our success fees drop 5 percent when cases resolve before trial: proof that leadership means sharing risk, not doubling it.
Your Next Step: A Free 30 Minute Birth Trauma Audit
Upload your medical malpractice summary or call (305) 529-0001. Within one business day our nurses flag red alert entries, our attorneys map both NICA and malpractice deadlines, and you leave with an action plan at no cost unless we win. Serving families across Miami, Tampa, Orlando, Tallahassee, and every Florida county, Percy Martinez turns medical chaos into legal clarity.
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