When a child is born with a birth defect or birth injury caused by medical negligence, the financial impact on the family can be overwhelming. Parents often face a lifetime of medical bills, therapy sessions, and special care needs. Texas law allows families to pursue compensation for these costs under the category of economic damages.
Unlike emotional damages, which are capped under Texas law, economic damages are not capped. This means families may recover the full value of the financial losses and future expenses associated with their child’s condition.
What Are Economic Damages?
Economic damages cover the financial losses directly related to the birth injury or defect. These damages are measurable and supported by evidence such as receipts, bills, and expert testimony.
Types of Economic Damages in Birth Defect Cases
- Past and Future Medical Expenses
- Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) costs
- Surgeries and hospital stays
- Prescription medications
- Ongoing doctor visits and specialist care
- Long-Term Therapy and Rehabilitation
Children with birth defects may require years — or even a lifetime — of therapy, including:
- Physical therapy to improve mobility
- Occupational therapy for daily living skills
- Speech and language therapy
- Behavioral or developmental therapy
- Assistive Devices and Home Modifications
- Wheelchairs, walkers, and braces
- Special communication devices
- Home modifications (wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, accessible bathrooms)
- Specially adapted vehicles for transportation
- Special Education Costs
- Enrollment in specialized schools
- Individualized Education Programs (IEPs)
- Tutoring or in-home educational services
- Lost Earning Capacity of the Child
If the defect or injury prevents the child from ever entering the workforce, parents can seek damages for the projected lost income over the child’s lifetime. This often requires testimony from economists and life-care planners.
- Caregiving and Custodial Costs
- Hiring in-home nurses or caregivers
- Respite care for parents
- Long-term residential care facilities, if needed
Why These Cases Are Different in Texas
Texas law places strict limits (caps) on non-economic damages such as pain and suffering in medical malpractice cases. However, economic damages have no such limit.
This distinction is critical for families of children born with severe birth defects. While emotional damages may be capped, the true financial burden of lifetime care can be fully recovered — often amounting to millions of dollars.
How Economic Damages Are Calculated
Courts rely on experts to project the lifetime cost of caring for a child with birth defects. This may include:
- Life-care planners, who outline future medical and care needs.
- Economists, who calculate the present value of those future expenses.
- Medical experts, who testify about the severity of the child’s condition and the expected trajectory of care.
Conclusion
Raising a child with birth defects caused by medical negligence is emotionally and financially challenging. In Texas, while non-economic damages are capped, families may recover the full cost of medical bills, therapies, special education, and lifetime care.
The medical negligence lawyers at InjuryFromHospital.com are highly skilled in litigating medical malpractice claims across the country. The firm has the resources to take any medical malpractice case to trial. Additionally, the firm has an in-house board-certified OB-GYN doctor that reviews all medical malpractice cases and works collaboratively with the lawyers to develop appropriate case strategy.
Please contact us at 1 855-538-0863 today for a free consultation. If we accept your case, you will not be charged any fees unless we win or recover for you. NO WIN NO FEE!