When medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery causes lasting harm to your child, our attorneys fight for the compensation your family deserves — in Iowa, Minnesota, and across the country.
FEATURED RESULT – NOVEMBER 2025
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Verdict against Mayo Clinic — among the largest medical malpractice verdicts in Iowa history
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At Hixson & Brown, P.C., our birth injury lawyers bring decades of experience to families across Iowa, Minnesota, and the United States. We hold negligent healthcare providers accountable and fight for the compensation your child needs — for medical care, rehabilitation, adaptive equipment, and the best possible future.
Birth injury cases are among the most medically complex forms of malpractice litigation. They require attorneys who understand fetal monitoring standards, obstetric protocols, neonatal resuscitation, and the long-term care needs of children with brain injuries and neurological conditions. Our team has that knowledge — and a national network of obstetric and neonatal experts to support every case we file.
If you suspect that a preventable medical error caused your child’s injury, contact us for a free, confidential case evaluation. We handle all birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis — you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for your family.
Birth injuries can occur at any point during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. While some complications are unavoidable despite excellent care, many result directly from medical negligence — a failure to meet the accepted standard of care. Common causes our attorneys investigate include:
Birth injuries per 1,000 live births in the U.S. each year
Of birth injuries classified as moderate to severe
Of OB-GYNs have been sued at least once during their careers
Our birth injury attorneys represent families in a wide range of cases involving labor and delivery negligence. Whether your case arose in Iowa or another state, we have the experience, expert resources, and legal knowledge to pursue it wherever it needs to go.
We also handle cases involving Klumpke’s palsy, infant brain bleeding, RH and ABO incompatibility, hyperbilirubinemia, and formation of periventricular cysts in periventricular leukomalacia.
Birth injury cases require attorneys who understand both the obstetric medicine and the applicable law. Our team has investigated and litigated cases well beyond Iowa’s borders, working with medical experts, life care planners, and economists across the country to build the strongest possible case for each family.
Medical malpractice laws vary significantly by state — including differences in statutes of limitations, damages caps, expert witness requirements, and filing procedures. Our firm’s experience across multiple jurisdictions means we understand these differences and can represent families wherever they need us. Our co-counsel partnership with Trial Lawyers for Justice (TL4J) extends our reach further for complex national cases requiring additional resources.
For families in Iowa, we also have specific experience with claims against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics — including compliance with the Iowa Tort Claims Act’s 60-day notice requirement for state-run facilities.
For families in Iowa, understanding the state’s legal framework for birth injury claims is an important first step. These rules apply specifically to Iowa cases — other states have different requirements that our attorneys can explain during a free consultation.
Under Iowa Code § 614.1(9)(a), medical malpractice claims — including birth injury cases — must generally be filed within two years from the date you knew or should have known about the injury and its cause. This "discovery rule" means the clock does not automatically start on the date of delivery but on the date you had sufficient information to recognize a potential claim.
Iowa also imposes a six-year statute of repose — no claim may be filed more than six years after the alleged malpractice occurred, regardless of when it was discovered.
Important exception for children: If the injured child was under the age of eight when the malpractice occurred, the lawsuit must be filed no later than the child's 10th birthday or within the standard two-year discovery window — whichever is later (Iowa Code § 614.1(9)(b)). This exception recognizes that some birth injuries — including certain neurological conditions — may not be fully apparent until the child reaches school age.
UIHC and state facility claims: Claims against the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics require a formal notice of claim within 60 days of the incident under the Iowa Tort Claims Act. This deadline applies regardless of the child's age and is easy to miss — contact an attorney immediately if your child was treated at UIHC.
Because investigating birth injury cases takes time — often six months or more before a lawsuit can be filed — contacting an attorney as early as possible is essential to preserve your rights.
Iowa families who pursue a successful birth injury claim may recover compensation for:
In 2023, Iowa enacted caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases: $1 million for claims against individual healthcare providers and $2 million for claims against hospitals. These caps apply only to non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
There are no caps on economic damages — medical expenses, future care costs, and lost earning capacity are fully recoverable regardless of amount. In serious birth injury cases involving cerebral palsy or permanent neurological impairment, lifetime medical and care costs can easily reach $1 million or more — and this full amount is recoverable without any legal cap. Our attorneys work with life care planners and economic experts to comprehensively quantify all current and future losses before any settlement discussions begin.
Iowa law requires that before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, the plaintiff must obtain a certificate of merit affidavit from a qualified medical expert. This affidavit must confirm there is a reasonable basis to believe that the healthcare provider's actions fell below the applicable standard of care and that this breach caused the claimed injury.
In birth injury cases, this typically requires review by a qualified obstetrician, maternal-fetal medicine specialist, neonatologist, or neurologist — depending on the nature of the claim and which providers are named as defendants. Our attorneys work with a national network of leading obstetric and neonatal experts to obtain the required certificate and build a strong, expert-driven foundation for every case.
Failure to obtain a certificate of merit within the required timeframe — or obtaining one from a provider who does not meet Iowa's qualification standards for the specific specialty at issue — can result in dismissal of the case with prejudice. This requirement is one of several reasons why birth injury investigation takes time and why early legal consultation is so important.
The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. You should consult a qualified attorney regarding your specific situation.
Contacting Hixson & Brown, P.C. by phone, email, or contact form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Such a relationship is only established through a signed engagement letter.
Please do not send confidential or sensitive information until an attorney-client relationship has been formally established. Information sent prior may not be protected by attorney-client privilege.
Every case is different. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in your case.
Questions? Call (515) 222-2620