Hundreds of Millions of Dollars Have Been Recovered for Injured Babies and Children
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Our attorneys at The Child and Birth Injury Firm have spent decades challenging medical explanations. Through years of litigation, we have learned a critical lesson that every Stark County parent needs to know: do not assume a tragic birth outcome was simply ‘bad luck’ or ‘unavoidable.’ You have to dig deeper.
The Reality in Canton When a doctor or hospital administrator in Canton tells a grieving family, “It was just bad luck,” or “The cord was wrapped around the neck, there was nothing we could do,” our ears perk up. We get skeptical. We don’t accept that answer.
Families in Stark County Deserve Better. Bringing a new baby home—whether you live in the historic ridges of Avondale, the quiet suburbs of North Canton, or the busy streets of Massillon—should be a time of pure joy. It should be a celebration of new life in the Hall of Fame City.
But for too many families in our area, that joy is replaced by fear, anger, and a mountain of questions. You might be asking yourself if your OB-GYN really paid attention during those critical final hours. You might be wondering if the hospital was understaffed that night due to local shortages.
The Statistics: Why Canton Parents Need Answers We look at the hard data, and the numbers in our community are concerning.
Your Right to the Truth If you suspect your child’s injury was caused by medical negligence, we offer a free consultation to help you understand your options and review your case.
We are here to help you cut through the noise. We are going to look at the facts, the hard data from Ohio, and what medical malpractice really looks like in a Canton delivery room. We want you to understand it, plain and simple.
Let’s look at the numbers. We don’t like to guess.
Canton has major medical centers like Aultman and the Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital. People assume that because these are big names, safety is guaranteed. That is not true. In fact, Stark County has faced some very difficult statistics regarding infant health for years.
If you feel like medical care in our area is hit-or-miss, you aren’t imagining it. The State of Ohio agrees with you.
We look at the data differently than most. We don’t just look at the sad stories; we look at where the resources are going. Here is a statistic that usually stays buried in government reports: Stark County is one of only 9 counties in the entire state designated as a prominent focus area by the Ohio Equity Institute (OEI).
Why does this matter? There are 88 counties in Ohio. The fact that Stark County is in this “Bottom 9” list means that the hospitals and health systems are statistically underperforming compared to the rest of the state. Canton accounts for a huge chunk of the state’s infant health crisis.
The “Low Birth Weight” Warning While everyone talks about mortality, very few people talk about Low Birth Weight. According to recent data from the Stark County Health Department, the rate of babies born at a dangerously low weight in our area has remained alarmingly high.
When a county is on the state’s ‘Watch List,’ it means the margin for error becomes narrow. If your delivery team acted like everything was “routine” when the data says otherwise, they may be liable for the injuries your child suffered.
A difficult birth outcome doesn’t automatically mean malpractice. Labor and delivery are complex, and complications can happen even when a team works hard and follows proper procedures.
Medical malpractice is different. It happens when a doctor, nurse, or provider breaks the Standard of Care—meaning they fail to act the way a reasonably careful medical professional would under the same circumstances.
If something unavoidable happens, that’s a complication. But if harm occurs because a medical team missed warning signs, failed to follow standard protocols, or delayed necessary action, that may be negligence.
In a Canton-area hospital, malpractice often involves:
At The Child and Birth Injury Firm, we review medical records line by line to identify moments when safety standards may have been violated—missed warnings, delayed responses, or preventable errors.
If negligence is proven, families may be able to recover compensation for medical costs and future care.
When things go wrong, the consequences are heavy. Sometimes the injury is obvious immediately—the baby isn’t breathing and is blue. But sometimes, the damage is not immediately apparent and may not manifest until later.
Birth injury cases can be complicated because some injuries may not be noticed for weeks or even months. Winning a birth injury claim typically requires extensive medical evidence, testimony from medical experts, and aggressive legal advocacy.
This is a complex term for a simple but terrible concept.
This is the condition we see most often. Common birth injuries include cerebral palsy , brachial plexus injuries, skull fractures, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, and spinal cord injuries. Cerebral Palsy affects how a child moves and controls their muscles. While doctors like to say CP is genetic, the truth is that many cases are caused by a lack of oxygen during the birthing process. If the umbilical cord was compressed and the doctor didn’t act, that is a preventable cause of CP.
This happens when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. This is called “Shoulder Dystocia.” It is a scary emergency. Improper interventions or delayed procedures during shoulder dystocia can cause serious injuries not only to the baby but also to the mother, such as excessive bleeding or trauma. A skilled doctor knows exactly how to rotate the baby to get them out safely. A panicked or negligent doctor might just pull on the baby’s head. This rips the nerves in the neck and shoulder, which can leave the child with a paralyzed arm.
When the hospital hands you the electronic medical records, it often looks like unintelligible data. But to our Team at The Child and Birth Injury Firm, it serves as a precise forensic timeline that exposes exactly where the standard of care could have been breached
Documenting your child’s injuries and related medical expenses is crucial, as these records form the foundation of your claim and help ensure you receive compensation for ongoing therapy, assistive devices, and long-term care. Birth Injury
malpractice lawyers help clients gather evidence, including medical records and expert opinions, to support their claims.
Hospitals often tell parents, “The baby had a genetic issue,” or “The injury happened weeks before labor started.” They want you to believe it was unavoidable. But often, three specific data points in those charts prove that the injury happened right under their noses.
To uncover the truth, we bypass the subjective doctor’s notes and audit the raw data. Here is what we look for:
In Stark County, most deliveries happen at two major hubs. Our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm is familiar with facilities like these nationwide. We have reviewed countless records from hospitals all over the country for many years.
While these hospitals have skilled staff, high volume can sometimes lead to rushed decisions or missed signs.
Our lawyers provide legal support to help families navigate the complexities of medical negligence cases.
A Note from Our Team: Even if a hospital is voted the “best” near you, it doesn’t mean they never make mistakes. A brand-new building or a fancy birthing suite cannot fix human error. We know that problems can happen at any location. If you left the hospital feeling like something wasn’t right, please listen to that feeling. Trust your gut.
If your child has been diagnosed with a birth injury, you need support immediately. You cannot wait for a lawsuit to finish to get help.
Stark County has some excellent organizations that can help with therapy, early intervention, and advocacy. Here are some resources near you.
We understand that a settlement check is not a cure. We know that if you had the choice between a financial award and your child’s full health, you would choose their health without hesitation. Since we cannot turn back the clock, our goal is to secure the resources that make their future as bright and comfortable as possible.
But we are practical people. We look at the facts. We don’t see a lawsuit as trying to “win big.” We see it as building a safety net for your child’s entire life. We call this a Life Care Plan.
A Life Care Plan is a list we build with experts. It looks at what your child will need 10, 20, or even 50 years from now. Most parents are just trying to get through the day, so they haven’t thought about these long-term problems yet. That is why we are here to help you plan.
Here is what we double-check when we look at your future needs:
Rising Prices: Healthcare costs go up way faster than the price of milk or gas. A surgery that is expensive today will cost a fortune when your child is 30. We do the math to make sure the money lasts.
When You Get Older: This is a hard truth, but we have to face it. Right now, you can carry your child to bed. You can help them in the bath. But what happens when you are 70 years old and your child is a full-grown adult? You won’t be able to do the heavy lifting. You will need money for nurses, special vans, and equipment to keep them safe.
A Place of Their Own: We want your child to have the best life they can. This might mean they need a smart home where lights turn on automatically, or a trust fund that lets them travel. We fight for the funds to make this independence real.
Our team fights to get back every penny you lost—like medical bills and lost wages—but also for the things you can’t put a price tag on, like emotional pain. When we take on a case against a hospital in Canton, we aren’t trying to make you rich. We are trying to make sure that if something happens to you, your child is still 100% safe and cared for.
You might think that hiring a top-tier legal team is only for the wealthy. But in the medical malpractice context, the system is structured differently. We believe that access to justice shouldn’t depend on your bank account balance.
Hospitals have unlimited resources to defend themselves. To fight them, you need a team that is willing to invest in you.
That is why The Child and Birth Injury Firm operates on a Contingency Fee Model. Think of it as a partnership where we carry the financial weight:
When choosing a medical malpractice lawyer, it is important to work with our experienced birth injury medical malpractice attorneys who understand the legal process and have a proven track record in similar cases. A personal connection and clear communication with your attorney are also crucial for a successful partnership. Your lawyer must manage all legal procedures and paperwork to ensure compliance with the Ohio Civil Rules. Medical malpractice law in Ohio requires in-depth knowledge of both legal and medical procedures, so selecting a lawyer who dedicates their practice to medical malpractice is essential.
This structure allows a regular family in Canton to stand toe-to-toe with the biggest hospital systems in Ohio. You don’t need a checkbook to start this fight; you just need the truth on your side.
If you’re worried your child’s injuries might be due to a medical mistake during labor and delivery, Ohio law sets deadlines for filing birth injury claims, and missing them can mean losing your right to recover compensation—no matter how strong your case is.
Here’s what every parent in Canton, Ohio needs to know:
Key Takeaways
Here are the questions we hear at our office. We want to give you straight answers.
You probably won’t know just by looking. Doctors rarely admit fault to parents. 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 can be malpractice. A birth injury lawyer can help determine if your child’s injury, including conditions like Erb’s palsy, was due to medical negligence. We can tell you if there is a case after reviewing the files.
While Ohio law tolls (pauses) the Statute of Limitations for a minor child until they reach adulthood, relying on this pause is risky.
Every birth injury lawsuit in Ohio requires an Affidavit of Merit—a sworn statement from a medical expert confirming malpractice. Gathering these records and opinions can take months, so early legal consultation is essential to beat these deadlines.
Not always. In fact, many birth injury cases are settled before a trial happens. Most medical malpractice cases settle before trial through negotiation or mediation. Hospitals and insurance companies often prefer to settle quietly rather than face a jury. However, our Team of Lawyers at The Child and Birth Injury Firm prepares every single case as if it is going to trial. This makes the insurance companies take us seriously and often leads to the best offers.
A birth injury settlement is designed to make your family “whole” financially. We pursue compensation for every way the injury has impacted your life, including:
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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