Birth Injuries Attorneys in South Carolina

Was your baby hurt before, during, or shortly after birth? Our birth injury attorneys at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates know you’re not just reading about laws – you’re trying to understand what went wrong and how you’ll ever pay for the care your child now needs. If you even suspect medical negligence played a role, talking with a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible can make a huge difference in your family’s future.

Our personal injury law firm has been representing South Carolina families for decades in complex birth injury cases. We handle the heavy legal lifting while you focus on your child. Whether you live in Columbia, Lexington, Sumter, Camden, Aiken, Orangeburg, or Newberry, you can speak with a Columbia birth injury lawyer at no cost to find out if you have a birth injury claim and what your options are under South Carolina law.

Did Something Go Wrong? Why a Birth Injury Attorney Should Review Your Case

Most families are told that “sometimes these things just happen.” Sometimes that’s true. But sometimes birth injuries occur because medical professionals don’t follow basic safety rules during the labor and delivery process. That’s called medical negligence, and it falls squarely under personal injury law in South Carolina.

A seasoned birth injury attorney looks at your case very differently than the hospital does. We:

Review what the doctors, nurses, and other medical providers actually did – and what they should have done
Compare their conduct to the accepted standard of care for similar birth injury cases under the same or similar circumstances
Determine whether their choices caused your child’s physical harm, brain damage, or other serious injuries

Because we’re a dedicated birth injury law firm, we’re used to hearing parents say, “We’re not sure what happened, but something feels wrong.” That’s enough reason to call a South Carolina birth injury attorney and let us investigate.

Our birth injury attorneys and birth trauma attorneys know how to spot patterns of medical negligence, even when the chart looks “clean” at first glance. We dig deeper, and if we believe you have a valid birth injury claim, we’ll explain your rights and the potential value of a birth injury lawsuit in plain language.

What Causes Birth Injuries?

Not every bad outcome equals medical malpractice, but too many birth injuries occur because hospitals and medical providers are rushing, understaffed, or not paying attention.

Common preventable causes we see in birth injury cases include:

Failure to monitor fetal distress. Ignoring abnormal heart rate strips or missing signs of fetal distress can lead to oxygen deprivation, perinatal asphyxia, and permanent brain damage.
Mishandling high-risk pregnancies. Conditions like high blood pressure (preeclampsia and eclampsia) and gestational diabetes raise the risk of large babies, placental problems, and shoulder dystocia if not managed correctly.
Delayed or improper C-section. When the delivery process clearly isn’t progressing or the baby is too large or badly positioned, delaying a C-section can directly cause perinatal asphyxia, Cerebral Palsy, or spinal cord injuries.
Improper use of medical equipment. Forceps, vacuum extractors, and other medical equipment must be used carefully. When misused, they can cause skull fractures, facial paralysis, broken bones, and devastating brain damage.
Poor communication and understaffing. Overworked hospital staff and medical professionals who fail to communicate clearly can miss crucial signs that your baby or you are in danger, leading to preventable medical errors and long-term physical harm.

All of this happens in a matter of minutes during the delivery process – which is exactly why you need an experienced birth injury attorney and legal team who understand both medicine and South Carolina law.

What Are Common Types of Birth Injuries?

Our birth injury lawyers handle a wide range of birth injury cases, from mild to catastrophic. Some of the most serious conditions we see include:

Cerebral Palsy and Other Neurological Disorders

Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common long-term outcomes of preventable birth injuries. It’s a group of neurological disorders that affect muscle tone, movement, and coordination, often caused by oxygen deprivation or perinatal asphyxia around the time of birth.

Children with Cerebral Palsy may experience:

Difficulty walking or maintaining balance
Problems with speech and swallowing
Seizures and cognitive delays
Lifelong need for specialized medical care and therapies

When Cerebral Palsy is linked to delayed response to fetal distress or other clear medical negligence, our birth injury attorneys pursue a birth injury lawsuit aimed at securing the lifetime financial compensation your child will need. A truly experienced birth injury attorney understands how to calculate not just today’s costs, but a lifetime of attendant care, equipment, and therapy for Cerebral Palsy.

Brachial Plexus Injury, Shoulder Dystocia, and Erb’s Palsy

A brachial plexus injury involves damage to the bundle of nerves that controls the shoulder, arm, and hand. This often happens when shoulder dystocia occurs – the baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone – and a provider uses excessive traction instead of safe maneuvers.

These birth injury cases can lead to:

Weakness or paralysis in one arm
Limited range of motion
Permanent deformity or physical harm

One specific type of brachial plexus injury is Erb’s Palsy, where the upper nerves are damaged and the child can’t properly move the shoulder or elbow. When Erb’s Palsy is caused by aggressive pulling or improper use of medical equipment, a birth injury attorney can pursue financial compensation for surgery, therapy, and long-term medical care.

Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis

Improper manipulation during delivery, use of instruments, or unrecognized trauma can cause spinal cord injuries, sometimes leading to partial or complete paralysis. These are some of the most serious injuries we see, because they often require:

Lifelong assistive devices
Home modifications
Intense medical care and rehabilitation

Our birth injury law firm treats spinal cord injuries as true catastrophe cases. We work closely with medical experts to show how medical negligence during birth caused the damage and what it will mean for your child’s future.

Perinatal Asphyxia and Brain Damage

Perinatal asphyxia occurs when a baby doesn’t get enough oxygen before, during, or just after delivery. It is a major cause of brain damage and long-term disability.

Signs may include:

Low Apgar scores
Seizures
Feeding difficulties
Delayed development

When perinatal asphyxia is traced back to ignored fetal distress, delayed intervention, or failure to monitor properly, our legal team builds a birth injury lawsuit to hold the responsible medical providers accountable. Perinatal asphyxia is often preventable with timely, appropriate medical care.

Other Birth Injuries and Birth Defects

We also handle birth injury cases involving:

Facial paralysis from forceps or vacuum
Broken bones during rough extraction
Brachial plexus injury without full-blown Erb’s
Birth defects made worse by negligent medical care
Birth defects that should have been detected and managed during pregnancy

Sometimes families already know there were birth defects, but later learn additional injury occurred because of medical negligence during labor. In that situation, a birth defect attorney can examine where the natural condition ended and avoidable harm began.

How Do You Prove Your Birth Injury Case?

To win a birth injury lawsuit in South Carolina, we must do more than show that your child is hurt. We have to show that medical professionals violated the standard of care and that their medical negligence directly caused your child’s injuries.

A South Carolina birth injury attorney from our firm will typically:

Obtain and review medical records. We carefully analyze prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, NICU records, and other documentation. Your medical records often reveal timing errors, gaps in monitoring, or inconsistencies that point to medical negligence.
Consult medical experts. We work with independent medical experts and medical providers in the same specialties as the defendants. They help us determine whether the care violated South Carolina law and accepted medical standards.
Apply personal injury law principles. Birth injury claims are a specialized type of personal injury law, but the fundamentals are the same – duty, breach, causation, and damages. We use our experience in complex personal injury cases to show how that medical mistake caused devastating physical harm.
Quantify the harm. Our legal team calculates the full impact of your child’s birth injuries, including future therapies, equipment, in-home aides, and special education.

This is not something families should try to handle alone. A seasoned birth injury lawyer – especially an experienced birth injury attorney who regularly deals with hospitals and their insurers – knows how to overcome the defenses medical providers and hospital staff will raise.

Investigating Birth Injuries: How a Columbia Birth Injury Lawyer Builds Your Case

When you call a Columbia birth injury lawyer at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, we don’t just glance at a file and guess. Our birth injury attorneys follow a detailed investigative plan designed to gather evidence quickly before it disappears.

As a dedicated birth injury law firm, we:

Interview nurses, technicians, and other medical professionals who were present
Look for patterns of medical negligence by the same hospital staff or medical providers
Check equipment logs for faulty or misused medical equipment
Review whether the hospital followed its own policies for high-risk pregnancies, high blood pressure, breech birth, fetal distress, and shoulder dystocia

Our birth trauma attorneys understand that hospitals rarely volunteer to admit fault. That’s why it’s critical to have birth injury lawyers on your side who know which questions to ask – and how to use the answers to support your birth injury claim.

Compensation for Birth Injury in South Carolina

A successful birth injury lawsuit is about more than paying today’s medical bills. It’s about securing the financial compensation needed for a lifetime of care.

Depending on your case, a South Carolina birth injury attorney from our firm may pursue:

Past and future medical care and hospitalizations
Therapies (physical, occupational, speech) and specialized medical equipment
Home modifications and mobility aids
Costs related to spinal cord injuries or brain damage
Emotional and physical impact of your child’s birth defects and child’s birth injuries
Loss of earning capacity and support for your child in adulthood
Punitive damages when medical negligence is especially reckless

This is where having a skilled birth injury attorney – backed by a strong legal team and deep knowledge of personal injury law – really matters. We fight for maximum compensation, not just a quick settlement. In many birth injury cases, the true cost can reach millions over a lifetime, and our job is to pursue monetary compensation that reflects that reality.

Are Birth Injury Lawsuits Different From Birth Defect Lawsuits?

Yes. Birth injury cases and birth defect cases overlap, but they’re not identical.

A birth injury lawsuit focuses on damage caused by medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery – for example, oxygen deprivation, perinatal asphyxia, or a brachial plexus injury from mishandled shoulder dystocia.
A birth defect case often involves genetic or developmental birth defects that existed before labor. A birth defect attorney may investigate whether medical errors made those birth defects worse or whether dangerous drugs or poor prenatal medical care contributed.

As a full-service birth injury law firm, we handle both types of claims. We’ll tell you honestly whether your case involves preventable medical negligence, worsening of pre-existing birth defects, or both.

How Long Do I Have to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in South Carolina?

Under South Carolina law, most medical malpractice and birth injury claims must be filed within three years of the negligent act or when it reasonably should have been discovered, with a six-year outer deadline in most situations.

However, when children are involved, there can be special timing rules and exceptions, especially where medical negligence is discovered later. The bottom line: you should talk to a South Carolina birth injury attorney as soon as you suspect something is wrong. Waiting too long can bar an otherwise strong birth injury lawsuit, no matter how serious the physical harm.

We’ll review your timeline, explain how the statute of limitations applies, and file all required documents before your deadline expires.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Birth Injury Attorney in South Carolina?

We know you’re already overwhelmed by medical bills and uncertainty. The last thing you need is to worry about paying a lawyer by the hour.

Our birth injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis – which means:

You pay no upfront fees
Our birth injury law firm advances the costs needed to investigate your case
We only get paid if we recover financial compensation for you

When you hire a birth injury lawyer or South Carolina birth injury attorney from McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates, you’re hiring a dedicated legal team that treats your case like family. We’ll walk you through the legal options, the strengths and challenges of your birth injury claim, and what a realistic path to recovery looks like.

Talk to a Birth Injury Lawyer at McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates Today

If you believe medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery caused your baby’s injuries, you don’t have to face the hospital or insurance company alone. A Columbia birth injury lawyer from McWhirter, Bellinger & Associates can step in, gather evidence, consult medical experts, and pursue the maximum compensation allowed under South Carolina law.

Our birth injury attorneys, birth trauma attorneys, and birth defect attorneys are here to listen, answer your questions, and explain how personal injury law applies to your family’s situation. You owe us nothing unless we win for you.

Call 803-653-6449 today or contact our birth injury law firm online to schedule a free consultation with an experienced birth injury attorney. We serve families throughout South Carolina from our offices in Columbia, Lexington, Sumter, Camden, Orangeburg, Newberry, and Aiken – and we’re ready to help you seek compensation for your child’s child’s birth injuries and your family’s future.