Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Recovered for Injured Babies and Children
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We have been doing this for decades. And if there is one thing our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm has learned, it is that in medicine, things are rarely just “accidents.” Akron is a city built on precision and hard work—from the polymer labs to the tire factories. We know that in this town, details matter. Our law firm is deeply committed to helping families affected by birth injuries. We provide unwavering support and guidance through every step.
When a doctor or nurse at a major local hub like Summa Health – Akron Campus or Cleveland Clinic Akron General tells a family, “This just happens sometimes,” we get skeptical. We don’t take that at face value. Whether you are from Ellet, Highland Square, or down in the Valley, you deserve the truth. We dig. We research. And very often, we find out that the injury wasn’t bad luck. It was a mistake. As birth injury lawyers, we have extensive experience in assisting families who have suffered from malpractice, ensuring they receive the justice and compensation they deserve.
Bringing a new baby home—whether to a bungalow in Firestone Park or a family home in Cuyahoga Falls—should be the happiest time of your life. But for families dealing with a birth injury in Summit County, that happiness turns into fear and confusion. You might be staring at the ceiling of the NICU at Akron Children’s Hospital, asking yourself if your doctor did everything right. You might be wondering if the hospital near me was actually safe. Our law firm uses cutting-edge legal strategies and innovative technologies to achieve justice for families affected by birth injuries.
We are here to help you understand the reality of the situation. By analyzing the hard facts—specifically the infant mortality statistics from the Ohio Department of Health—we can shed light on what medical malpractice truly looks like within your local healthcare systems.
Birth injuries can turn what should be a joyful occasion into a lifelong challenge for families. These injuries often result from medical negligence or medical malpractice during the birth process, when medical professionals fail to provide care that meets the accepted standard. Whether it’s a mistake made during labor at Western Reserve Hospital, an error in judgment while giving birth, or a failure to act quickly in a critical moment, the consequences can be severe and lasting.
Families facing an Akron birth injury are often left to shoulder a significant financial burden. In an economy where every dollar counts, the costs of ongoing medical treatments, specialized care, and therapy can be crushing. Local data from Summit County Public Health highlights the challenges many new parents in our area face, but you do not have to face them alone. Common birth injuries—such as cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, shoulder dystocia, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy—can impact a child’s development and quality of life.
If you suspect medical negligence played a role in your child’s injury, it’s crucial to consult with our experienced birth injury lawyers as soon as possible. Taking prompt action can help you navigate the legal process within the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, protect your rights, and seek fair and just compensation for your child’s injuries and future needs.
Let’s look at the numbers. We don’t like to guess; we like proof. Many people assume that because Akron has big medical centers, everything is always perfect. That is not true. In fact, Summit County has some concerning statistics.
According to the Ohio Department of Health, the infant mortality rate in Ohio is consistently higher than the national average. But when you zoom in on Summit County, the numbers have historically been tough. While infant mortality isn’t the exact same thing as a birth injury, they are related. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), maternal complications of pregnancy are consistently ranked among the top five leading causes of infant mortality in the United States.
We must look beyond the averages to see the reality of our local healthcare outcomes. Data from Summit County Public Health reveals a stark disparity: the preterm birth rate for Black infants in Summit County has reached nearly 15.6%, far exceeding the state average.
This disparity creates a dangerous environment for newborns. Premature infants require extra attention; when medical negligence occurs, the consequences are often catastrophic. These failures can lead to severe conditions like cerebral palsy or brain damage, often leaving families with no choice but to file an Ohio birth injury claim to secure their child’s future.
If you are in Akron, you want the best outcome for your child. But the data shows that in our county, the risks are real.
This is the big question. Just because a baby is hurt doesn’t always constitute malpractice. But it happens way more than hospitals like to admit.
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, or hospital worker fails to perform their duties as a “reasonable” medical professional would. It concerns breaking safety rules. Medical professionals must meet the accepted standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery to avoid birth injuries. In Akron, Ohio, medical malpractice lawyers help patients injured by healthcare negligence prove the legal elements of duty, breach, causation, and damages. We handle medical malpractice lawsuits involving birth injuries, where professional negligence by healthcare providers results in harm to a child.
Think of it like taking your car to a mechanic for new brakes. If you drive away and immediately run over a sharp nail that pops your tire, that is just bad luck. It’s an accident. But if the mechanic forgets to tighten the bolts on your wheel and the tire falls off while you are driving, that is negligence. In the delivery room, we look for the doctors who “forgot to tighten the bolts.”
A medical mistake during childbirth can cause serious and preventable harm. In the delivery room, negligence looks like this:
Medical negligence is a leading cause of birth injuries, often due to failure to monitor the mother and baby properly.
Our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm reviews thousands of pages of medical records. We look for the “red light” moment when the doctor should have stopped but kept going.
Akron has major medical centers. We have Summa Health, Cleveland Clinic Akron General, and Akron Children’s Hospital. These are large facilities with extensive technology. So why do injuries still happen?
It sometimes comes down to communication and staffing.
We see cases where the nurse knew something was wrong but was scared to advocate for the safety of the baby. Or the doctor was busy with another patient and didn’t come fast enough.
Here is a scary reality: “Alarm Fatigue.” Hospitals are noisy. Machines beep constantly. Studies show that hospital staff can get so used to hearing alarms that they tune them out. If a fetal heart monitor starts beeping because a baby isn’t getting oxygen, and the staff ignores it for just 5 minutes, that can cause permanent brain damage.
We don’t care how big the building is or how nice the lobby looks. We care about whether the people inside followed the rules. Birth injuries caused by these failures are a type of personal injury case, and families have the right to seek compensation when medical malpractice occurs.
To prove that healthcare providers breached their standard of care, our team of lawyers must collect medical records, interview witnesses, and obtain expert testimony.
When things go wrong during delivery, childbirth injuries can result in serious, life-changing conditions. These are not just scrapes and bruises.
The impact of a child’s injuries from birth trauma or medical negligence can be profound, affecting every aspect of the child’s life and future. Serious injuries may include cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), skull fractures, and other traumatic brain or spinal cord injuries.
Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common conditions we help families navigate. If your child has been diagnosed with CP, know that there is a strong community here in Akron walking this same path.
Understanding the Condition CP affects how a child moves and controls their muscles. While every child’s journey is unique, the questions parents ask are often the same.
Finding Answers. While some cases of CP are genetic, many are the result of birth injuries caused by a lack of oxygen (hypoxia). Complications like the umbilical cord wrapping around the neck or placental separation can interrupt the baby’s oxygen supply.
It is vital to determine if medical providers acted quickly enough to prevent this distress. Understanding the true cause of the injury is often the first step toward healing and peace of mind.
Focusing on Your Child’s Future:e Raising a child with Cerebral Palsy involves a lifetime of dedication. The focus is on maximizing your child’s potential through consistent, compassionate care.
That is a big fancy medical word. Let’s break it down.
Claims related to HIE begin with a careful review of your medical records and delivery history to determine if medical malpractice occurred. Children with HIE often require ongoing care, including long-term medical treatment, therapy, and support to manage their condition.
This happens when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery, leading to brachial plexus injuries such as Erb’s Palsy. Erb’s palsy is a type of brachial plexus injury that can result from nerve damage during birth. Children with Erb’s palsy often require specialized therapies, such as physical therapy, to improve arm function and manage the injury. A skilled doctor knows specific maneuvers to wiggle the baby free safely. A negligent doctor might panic and pull on the baby’s head, which can tear the nerves in the neck and shoulder and leave a child with a paralyzed arm for life. In cases of Erb’s palsy, Akron birth injury lawyers often collaborate with medical professionals to review records and determine if the standard of care was violated.
After a traumatic or complicated delivery, most parents do exactly what they should do: they follow medical guidance, schedule appointments, and start any recommended therapy as quickly as possible. The real issue isn’t that doctors are telling families to delay care—it’s that early signs of a permanent, long-term injury can take time to fully reveal themselves, and by then, key opportunities may be lost.
This is where timing matters—not for therapy, but for clarity, accountability, and long-term security.
One of the most important realities parents don’t hear enough is this: the doctor who delivered your baby is often not the same doctor treating your child later. Pediatric specialists, neurologists, therapists, and school-based providers are focused on helping your child progress—often without access to the full context of what happened during labor and delivery, or why certain decisions were made in real time.
That means if you want a complete picture, it often requires an independent review of the records while the details are still available.
If you have concerns about what happened during labor and delivery—or questions about whether an injury could have been revented—early legal review can provide clarity. We move quickly to gather records, consult the right experts, and explain your options in plain language, so you can make informed decisions with confidence.
You don’t have to wait until everything is “confirmed” to ask questions. The earlier you investigate, the better you can protect your child’s future.
You might think, “It’s my word against the doctor’s.” That is not how it works. The medical records tell the story. Successful birth injury claims typically require extensive medical records, expert review, and a clear link between the care provided and the injury. Our goal is to help clients recover damages and seek fair compensation for their injuries.
In Ohio, to win a medical malpractice case, we have to prove four things:
To pursue maximum compensation in Akron, we thoroughly investigate the injury, build a strong case, and aggressively advocate for your financial recovery. Many birth injury lawyers, including our team, operate on a contingency fee basis—meaning we only get paid if we recover damages for you.
To prove the “Causation” part, we use independent medical experts. We don’t ask your doctor’s friends in Akron. We go outside the area to find unbiased experts who look at the fetal monitor strips. They look at the timeline.
That is how we win. Facts. Science. Not guesses.
When it comes to birth injury cases, expert testimony is often the key to proving medical negligence and securing the compensation your family deserves. Medical professionals such as obstetricians, neonatologists, and other specialists can provide critical insights into what happened during the birth process. These medical experts review medical records, delivery records, and fetal monitoring strips to identify whether any medical errors or omissions occurred and if those mistakes led to your child’s injury.
A knowledgeable birth injury lawyer will work closely with these experts to build a strong case, ensuring that every detail is examined and every deviation from the accepted standard of care is brought to light. Expert testimony not only helps clarify complex medical issues for the court but also strengthens your claim for damages, including medical bills, lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering. Early involvement of a birth injury lawyer and reputable medical experts can make all the difference in achieving a fair outcome for your child’s future.
You have the right to your child’s medical records. When you get them, they will look like a foreign language. But there are clues hidden in there.
Our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm looks for specific things:
It is also crucial to identify the responsible party in a birth injury case, as this ensures that the correct individual or entity is held accountable and properly notified during legal proceedings.
Client involvement in the legal process is essential, as it helps families make informed decisions at every stage of their case. Our birth injury lawyers emphasize the importance of this involvement to ensure that families understand their options and can actively participate in building a strong case.
We know that no amount of money fixes a brain injury. We know you would give anything—and trade every penny—to simply undo the injury and have a healthy baby.
But the reality is that caring for a child with a severe birth injury is expensive. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the lifetime cost of care for a person with Cerebral Palsy can be millions of dollars.
You have to pay for:
If the injury was the doctor’s fault, you should not have to pay for these things. The hospital’s insurance should pay for them. That is what justice looks like in the civil legal system. It is about making sure your child has a secure future, even after you are gone. The compensation received from a birth injury claim may be the only way to provide necessary care and medical requirements for the child.
In Summit County, there are a few major hubs where most deliveries take place. Our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm is aware of these facilities.
While these hospitals have skilled staff and advanced technology (like Level III NICUs), that does not make them immune to mistakes. The expertise and vigilance of the medical staff are crucial in preventing birth injuries and ensuring safe delivery. In fact, sometimes the busiest hospitals are where communication breakdowns happen most often due to overcrowding or what The Joint Commission identifies as ‘alarm fatigue’—a phenomenon where staff become desensitized to the constant noise of safety monitors.
Here are the main birthing centers in the Akron area:
A Note from Our Team: Don’t let a fancy lobby or a “Top Rated” banner fool you. We have seen serious mistakes happen in the newest, most expensive hospitals in the country. A nice building does not guarantee safety. If you left the hospital feeling like something went wrong—or if you felt ignored by the staff—do not brush that feeling aside. You know your body and your baby better than anyone.
If your child has been diagnosed with a birth injury like Cerebral Palsy or HIE, you need support now. You cannot wait for a lawsuit to finish to get help.
Fortunately, Summit County has some excellent organizations that can help with therapy, early intervention, and advocacy.
When you search for help near me, you get many results. It can be overwhelming.
You need a law firm that will fight aggressively for your case. Ohio has caps on “non-economic damages” (money for pain and suffering), but there are exceptions for catastrophic injuries like permanent deformities or the loss of a bodily function. You need lawyers who know how to navigate those exceptions. Our Legal Team must secure an Affidavit of Merit in Ohio, which is a statement from a qualified expert confirming that the case has legal merit, before filing a lawsuit. Successful birth injury claims typically require extensive medical records and expert review to establish negligence.
Our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm focuses heavily on this area. We spend our days looking at birth records. We know the medicine.
This is the biggest fear for most families. You are already drowning in medical bills. How can you pay a lawyer?
The answer is: You don’t pay us out of your pocket. Our goal is to help you recover damages for your child’s injuries and losses. We work on a “contingency fee” basis, just like many birth injury lawyers in Akron. This means:
This levels the playing field. It allows a regular family in Akron to take on a giant hospital system and fight for what is right.
Key Takeaways
Here are the questions we hear at our office. We want to give you straight answers.
just by looking. Doctors rarely admit fault. You need a legal and medical team to review the fetal monitor strips and labor records. If the baby had a low heart rate that was ignored, or if there was a delay in delivery, it could be a sign of malpractice. We can tell you if there is a case after reviewing the files. Parents can bring a birth injury claim on behalf of their child, and early filing helps preserve evidence.
Under Ohio Revised Code § 2305.16, the statute of limitations for a minor is “tolled” (legally paused) due to their age. This means the standard one-year filing window for medical malpractice does not begin to run until the child reaches the age of majority (18).
Consequently, a child injured at birth generally has until their 19th birthday to file a claim for their own pain, suffering, and future disability.
Strategic Note on Evidence Preservation: While the law permits this extended filing period, waiting until the child approaches adulthood is rarely advisable from a litigation standpoint. Critical medical evidence—specifically fetal monitoring strips and placental pathology reports—can be lost, purged, or degraded over an 18-year period. To ensure a viable claim, the investigation should ideally commence while evidentiary records remain intact and accessible.
Not always. Many birth injury cases are settled before a trial happens. Hospitals and insurance companies often prefer to settle quietly rather than face a jury. However, our law firm prepares every single case as if it is going to trial, which enhances our negotiating power. Birth injury lawyers know that this approach makes insurance companies take us seriously. When you hire our legal team, you benefit from a team that is ready to fight for you in court if needed.
Under Ohio law, you can seek compensation for a wide range of economic and non-economic damages. According to Ohio Revised Code § 2323.43, this includes:
Birth injury law is incredibly complex. It involves deep knowledge of obstetrics, neurology, and anatomy. A general lawyer who handles car accidents may not know how to read a fetal heart strip or understand the pH levels of cord blood. Our law firm focuses on this specific area of law every single day. We have the experience and resources to take on the big hospitals.
Catastrophic child and birth injuries can shatter the lives of not just the babies and children, but also their families. Families are left to navigate a complex maze of medical challenges, financial burdens, and emotional turmoil. But, this is where Jeffrey Killino and his team of dedicated lawyers can provide the support and guidance families need most.
For over 2 decades, Jeffrey Killino and his team have secured life-changing results for babies and children facing catastrophic injuries. Our clients gain access to the best medical care, financial security, and peace of mind, knowing their futures are protected.
Jeffrey Killino and his team of child and birth injury lawyers are committed to go beyond securing multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts. We measure our success by our positive impact on our clients’ lives. We’re dedicated to supporting them throughout their journey, even after their case is resolved.
Jeffrey Killino and his team of child and birth injury lawyers are committed to more than just securing multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts. We measure our success by our positive impact on our clients’ lives, helping them access the best medical care, achieve financial security, and find peace of mind. We also actively work to prevent injuries and promote safety for everyone.
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