How Long Do Birth Injury Cases Take to Settle?

How Long Do Birth Injury Cases Take to Settle?

Birth injury settlements aren’t quick. They’re measured in months—sometimes years—depending on the complexity of the case and how hard the other side fights.

But here’s the thing: You don’t have to figure this out on your own. At Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance, our network of lawyers connects families with experienced birth injury attorneys who understand what’s at stake. Call (888) 894-9067 today, and a local lawyer will review your case for free.

Factors That Control the Clock

Some cases move fast—settling in months. Others stretch out for years. What makes the difference? Four major factors pull the strings on the timeline.

Severity of the Injury

The more serious the injury, the longer things take. That’s because severe injuries lead to higher potential damages, and higher damages lead to more aggressive defense tactics from hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies. Nobody writes a multi-million-dollar check without a fight.

For example:

• A minor injury like a fractured collarbone might settle faster. Treatment is straightforward, and the long-term effects are minimal.
• Severe injuries like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which causes permanent brain damage, demand complex evaluations. Lawyers need time to understand the full scope of care the child will require for life. Life care planners, medical experts, and economists all have to weigh in before anyone makes a settlement offer.

The defense team knows this. If they see a massive claim coming, they dig in their heels and delay—hoping to force the family into accepting less.

Proving Liability

Hospitals and doctors rarely admit fault. Proving liability is like solving a puzzle when half the pieces are hidden—or conveniently “missing.” The family’s legal team must collect records, cross-check charts, and bring in medical experts to explain exactly where things went wrong.

In birth injury cases, proving negligence usually requires:

• Establishing the standard of care—what a reasonable medical provider would have done under the same circumstances.
• Showing a breach of that standard.
• Demonstrating causation—that the breach directly caused harm.

Different states set their own rules about how these elements come together. In Florida, for example, Florida Statutes § 766.102 requires testimony from a medical expert practicing in the same specialty as the defendant. This rule raises the bar for plaintiffs because not just any doctor’s opinion counts.

Delays mount when:

• Medical experts are hard to find.
• Defendants dispute causation (they’ll argue the injury was due to genetics or unavoidable complications).
• Medical records are incomplete or unclear.

Medical Records and Paper Trails

Medical records are supposed to tell the story of what happened in the delivery room. In theory, they’re objective. In practice, they can be incomplete, altered, or lost. Hospitals aren’t eager to hand over documents that could expose them to liability.

Some states have laws that govern access to records:

• New York’s Public Health Law § 18 grants patients the right to access their medical records. But enforcement isn’t immediate. Hospitals have time to comply, and some drag it out.
• Federal laws like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) allow patients (or their representatives) to request records, but enforcement relies on filing complaints when hospitals slow-walk the process.

Waiting on these records delays the entire case. Once they arrive, the records need analysis—sometimes by multiple specialists. If discrepancies appear, the legal team might demand depositions from the medical staff, which takes additional months.

Insurance Companies and the Art of Stalling

Insurance companies have mastered the delay game. They rarely throw out a fair offer early. Instead, they hope time weakens the family’s resolve.

Some of their tactics include:

• Denying liability entirely, forcing the case into litigation.
• Requesting unnecessary documentation, bogging down the process.
• Offering lowball settlements with short deadlines to pressure families into settling for less.

Many states have laws designed to curb bad-faith insurance tactics:

• California Insurance Code § 790.03(h) prohibits insurers from delaying investigations or payment unreasonably.
• Texas Insurance Code § 542.056 requires insurers to notify claimants of acceptance or rejection within 15 business days of receiving all necessary information.

Still, enforcement of these laws requires additional legal action, which eats up time. Families hoping for a speedy resolution often find themselves waiting as insurers stall, hoping financial pressures will force a quick (and cheap) settlement.

These factors—severity, proving liability, medical records, and insurance tactics—intertwine to determine how long a case will sit in legal limbo. Some cases settle quickly because the facts are clear, the injury is mild, and everyone wants to avoid court. Others grind on, layer by layer, until a judge or jury forces a resolution.

What a Typical Timeline Looks Like

Initial Investigation and Filing the Lawsuit

Before anything official gets filed, a lot of groundwork happens behind the scenes. Attorneys review medical records, consult with experts, and evaluate whether the case holds water. This phase varies. Some families walk in with boxes of medical records already in hand. Others spend months tracking down files from reluctant hospitals.

Once the lawyers sign on and the case gets the green light, they prepare a complaint, the legal document that kicks everything off. That complaint gets filed in the appropriate court. The choice of court matters. In Pennsylvania, for example, recent changes under PA Rule of Civil Procedure 1006(a.1) allow medical malpractice cases to be filed in any county where the defendant regularly does business, giving plaintiffs more flexibility (and sometimes faster courts).

Filing happens early, but not immediately. From first contact to filing takes anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on how complicated the case is.

Discovery: The Legal Version of Homework

After the lawsuit gets filed and served, the real work starts. Discovery is where both sides gather and exchange information. This isn’t a polite back-and-forth. It’s a strategic war of documents and depositions.

Discovery includes:

• Interrogatories—written questions that both sides must answer under oath.
• Requests for production—demands for medical records, internal hospital policies, and anything else that matters.
• Depositions—sworn testimony, usually in a conference room, where lawyers grill witnesses and experts.

This phase grinds forward in fits and starts. Deadlines exist, but extensions are common. In New York, CPLR § 3101 governs discovery, requiring “full disclosure of all matter material and necessary in the prosecution or defense of an action.” What qualifies as “material and necessary” is often disputed, adding months—or years—to the process.

If experts disagree (they usually do), both sides bring in additional experts. Their schedules, availability, and willingness to testify stretch timelines even more.

Discovery typically takes one to two years. In some cases, it drags on longer, especially if one side files motions to limit what the other side can see.

Settlement Talks

At some point, the defense team floats a settlement offer. Early offers usually undervalue the case. Lawyers refer to these as “nuisance settlements”—low enough to save the hospital money but high enough to tempt families dealing with medical bills.

Serious settlement negotiations often happen after discovery. That’s when both sides have a better sense of what a jury might do. Mediation might enter the picture. Some states, like Florida, require pre-trial mediation for medical malpractice cases under Florida Statutes § 766.108. Mediation forces both sides to sit down with a neutral third party and at least attempt a resolution.

If mediation succeeds, cases settle without trial. If it fails, both sides prep for court.

Going to Trial (Worst-Case Time Scenario)

When settlement talks fall apart, trial becomes the next step. But trials don’t happen next week—or next month. Courts set trial dates months (sometimes years) in advance. The more crowded the court docket, the longer the wait.

When trial finally arrives, it usually lasts one to three weeks, depending on how complex the case is. Testimony from medical experts, cross-examination of doctors, and emotional testimony from families all play a role. Trials can be draining for everyone involved.

Verdicts don’t always end things. If the defense loses, appeals may follow. That stretches timelines even further. In California, the losing party has 60 days after notice of entry of judgment to file an appeal under California Rules of Court Rule 8.104.

For cases that go to trial and through appeal, five years from start to finish isn’t uncommon. Some wrap up faster. Some take longer.

Navigating the Legal Process Without Losing Your Mind

Choosing the Right Legal Advocate

A lawyer’s role in a birth injury case isn’t about showing up with a briefcase and a confident handshake. They are case managers, legal strategists, and, frankly, traffic controllers. Every decision they make feeds directly into how long the process takes—or drags. Some delays are unavoidable. Others happen because no one is pushing.

Here’s where the right lawyer makes a difference:

• Building the case early. Birth injury cases depend on expert testimony. Before filing, a lawyer gathers medical records, consults with specialists, and prepares reports that explain exactly how and where the standard of care broke down. Some attorneys delay this work until after the complaint is filed, but experienced birth injury lawyers start before the ink dries. Early preparation saves months.
• Certifications of merit. Many states require a formal statement from a qualified medical expert confirming that the case has merit. In Pennsylvania, under Pa. R.C.P. 1042.3, a certificate of merit must be filed within 60 days of the complaint. Lawyers who miss this deadline risk dismissal. A seasoned attorney files it early and ensures the certificate aligns with the medical evidence, preventing unnecessary disputes that lead to delay.
• Pre-trial motions. Defense teams file motions to dismiss or motions for summary judgment to try and end the case before trial. Anticipating these motions and preparing airtight responses helps keep the case moving forward. A well-timed response limits procedural slowdowns.
• Expert depositions. Expert witnesses aren’t always easy to schedule. Their time is limited, and both sides compete for it. Lawyers who manage expert availability, arrange early depositions, and lock in testimony help shave months off the discovery phase. Waiting until the last possible minute to arrange these logistics leads to long gaps in the case timeline.

What You Can (and Can’t) Control

Even with the best legal team, some delays are built into the system. Courts have their own backlogs. Judges take vacations. Expert witnesses reschedule. But there are specific things lawyers and families do to keep a case from becoming a legal ghost ship.

How Lawyers Shape the Timeline

• Early communication with defense counsel. While no defense lawyer rushes toward trial, early case conferences set a tone. Experienced plaintiff’s lawyers push for firm schedules—setting deadlines for discovery and expert reports instead of letting the defense control the clock.
• Proactive scheduling. Some courts issue scheduling orders; others require one party to initiate. Attorneys who take the lead in drafting a proposed schedule and submitting it to the court help ensure that dates are set early, giving everyone deadlines to work toward.
• Mediation timing. Lawyers decide when to push for settlement talks. Some cases settle early; others need to go deep into discovery. A good lawyer reads the defense’s strategy and pushes for mediation at the moment leverage peaks—often when expert depositions conclude but before trial prep starts. Poor timing can waste months waiting for the other side to engage.
• Handling discovery disputes. Discovery delays kill momentum. If the defense drags its feet producing records, experienced lawyers file motions to compel without waiting for endless email exchanges. They stay aggressive on timelines, which keeps pressure on the defense to comply.

Where Families Fit In

• Timely document submission. Lawyers request documents like insurance statements, tax records, or therapy invoices to prove damages. Delays in getting these materials back to the attorney push back the calculation of settlement demands or expert reports on future costs.
• Consistency in communication. Courts require client verification for certain filings and decisions. Lawyers who need client approval—whether for discovery responses or settlement authority—work faster when families respond promptly. Delays here ripple through every stage.

What No One Controls

• Court availability. Judges set trial dates based on their dockets. Some jurisdictions move faster than others. For example, Delaware Superior Court schedules trials within 12 to 18 months of filing, while Cook County, Illinois, can take years.
• Defense strategy. Some defendants fight every inch, knowing delay benefits them. They may appeal rulings, switch attorneys, or request extensions. Lawyers work to block unreasonable delays, but they don’t hold all the cards.

Justice Doesn’t Wait Forever. Neither Should You.

Time matters in birth injury cases. Deadlines creep up, records vanish, and the window to act closes faster than most families expect. The legal system moves slow, but that’s exactly why it’s smart to get started sooner rather than later.

At Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance, our network of lawyers connects families with experienced birth injury attorneys who know how to move cases forward. Call (888) 894-9067 today and speak with someone who will get your case in motion.