Legally, a birth injury is an injury that occurs to a newborn during birth or immediately afterwards. It is a physical or mental impairment caused by errors or omissions during pregnancy, birth or the immediate postnatal period.
Birth defect
Birth injury can have various causes, such as medical errors, inadequate monitoring of pregnancy or birth, inappropriate delivery process, delayed diagnosis or treatment of complications, etc.
Legally, a birth injury can lead to claims for damages or compensation for pain and suffering. The legal assessment and enforcement of such claims depends on the specific circumstances of the case and the applicable laws of the respective country.
BGH-Urteile zum Thema Geburtsschaden:
- BGH, judgment of November 25, 2014 – VI ZR 376/13: In this judgment, the BGH decided that in the event of birth injuries, official liability of the hospital can generally be considered if there is a gross organizational error. At issue is the question of the hospital’s liability for errors in organizing obstetric care.
- BGH, judgment of May 16, 2017 – VI ZR 261/16: In this decision, the BGH made it clear that in the case of a birth injury, the burden of proof of the causality between the medical treatment error and the damage to the child lies with the injured party. The question is who has to prove that medical error was responsible for the birth defect.
- BGH, judgment of July 3, 2018 – VI ZR 132/18: Here the BGH determined that a claim for damages due to birth damage can also exist if the damage is due to a treatment error during pregnancy. The question is whether medical errors before birth can give rise to liability on the part of the doctor.