Parents whose babies died due to hospital negligence may be eligible to file a wrongful death lawsuit. If successful, they can receive financial compensation for their child's death, pain and suffering, funeral fees, and other costs incurred by their child's death.

If you or a loved one have had a baby who died due to medical negligence, Ratzan Weissman & Boldt's Florida wrongful death lawyers can help. Our lawyers have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you file a wrongful death lawsuit and land the settlement payout you deserve.

What Can an Infant Wrongful Death Settlement Help You Cover?

Infant wrongful death medical malpractice settlements can cover many costs, including medical bills, funeral expenses, lost wages, and other non-economic damages.

Medical Bills

Your wrongful death settlement amounts can cover medical bills related to the injury or illness that led to your child's wrongful death. Depending on the facts of your case, these expenses may include:

  • Medical treatment costs, such as diagnostic tests, surgeries like C-sections, and doctor's fees
  • Rehabilitation services such as neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stays
  • Prescription medications for treating injuries and managing pain

Funeral Expenses

You can use your wrongful death claim settlement payout for your baby's funeral expenses. This includes traditional funerals and burials as well as cremations.

Lost Wages

Parents may take time off when their infant dies due to someone else's negligence. They may need this time to emotionally and physically recover from their child's birth and subsequent death. 

Taking time off can lead to a significant loss of income, especially if the leave is unpaid and lasts several weeks or months. Fortunately, a successful wrongful death lawsuit may compensate parents for taking time off work.

Other Non-Economic Damages

You can also receive non-economic damages for your infant's wrongful death. Non-economic damages compensate for the psychological and emotional impact of the child's death.

Here are some common non-economic damages in infant wrongful death cases:

  • Emotional distress refers to the severe emotional pain and suffering experienced by the parents due to the child's wrongful death.
  • Loss of companionship refers to the emotional pain and suffering caused by the loss of the companionship that the infant would have provided had the neonatal death not occurred.
  • Loss of enjoyment of life refers to the loss of happiness, joy, and satisfaction that the parents would have gained from watching their child grow and experience life.
  • Pain and suffering of the deceased child allow parents to recover compensation for the pain and suffering experienced by the child while they were still alive.

Talk to Florida wrongful death attorneys to learn how a wrongful death settlement is calculated and who counts as wrongful death beneficiaries. Your lawyer can determine whether punitive damages for wrongful death apply.

Average Infant Wrongful Death Lawsuit Payout

The average in Florida is around $500,000 to $1 million. 

However, each case's payout varies significantly. Factors that affect infant wrongful death lawsuit and birth injury lawsuit payouts include:

  • The strength of your evidence. If you have strong evidence showing how medical negligence caused your child's death, you will probably receive a higher payout. 
  • Your damages. Cases that involve more economic and non-economic losses tend to have higher payouts.
  • Attorney skill and experience. A skilled attorney with many resources and a large legal team has a higher chance of landing a high payout than a less experienced one with fewer resources.

Book a consultation with a lawyer to learn about labor and delivery malpractice settlements and medical malpractice verdicts.

How To Negotiate a Medical Malpractice Settlement

Negotiating hospital wrongful death settlements can be daunting, especially if you have never filed a legal action.

Follow these steps to negotiate a medical malpractice settlement:

  1. Hire a skilled attorney. A skilled Florida medical malpractice attorney has the experience and knowledge to navigate the Florida legal landscape and fight for your rights.
  2. Gather evidence. An attorney can help you gather relevant evidence about the injuries and mistreatment that caused infant death, including expert opinions, medical records, eyewitness accounts, and surgery videos.
  3. Calculate damages. After gathering evidence, you and your lawyer can calculate and document the economic and non-economic damages you deserve.
  4. File a lawsuit. Your attorney can help you file a medical malpractice lawsuit. This pressures the defendant (the hospital, medical staff, and other health care providers you're suing) to consider a settlement.
  5. Develop a negotiation strategy. Next, your lawyer will work with you to create a negotiation strategy. This includes determining your desired payout, your minimum acceptable settlement amount, and other non-monetary terms you may want.
  6. Deal with negotiations and counteroffers. The defendant will most likely make counteroffers. When that happens, your attorney will negotiate with them to reach a fair settlement.
  7. Review the settlement agreement. Once you reach a fair settlement, you and your lawyer will receive the terms of the agreement. If you're satisfied with the agreement, sign it. The defendant will disburse the amount outlined in the agreement.

Get The Compensation You Deserve With an Infant Wrongful Death Lawyer

If your baby died due to hospital negligence or avoidable birth injuries, you can file an infant wrongful death lawsuit for medical malpractice against the responsible party or parties. If successful, this lawsuit can financially compensate you for your child's fatal injuries, improper medical care, your and your child's pain and suffering, and other losses.

Talk to Ratzan Weissman & Boldt's Miami-based wrongful death attorneys to learn more about how we can help you. Our lawyers have obtained over half a billion dollars in settlements and verdicts for our clients. In the last seven years, we've obtained over $200 million in trial verdicts alone, including a $46.5 million verdict for a toddler with kernicterus, a type of preventable brain damage that develops from untreated jaundice. This was believed to be the largest verdict in Arkansas medical malpractice history.

Call 305-374-6366 or fill out this form to learn more about how we can help you. Besides advising about compensation for the death of a baby, we can also offer advice about stillbirth settlements.