Of the 518 firms on our 91 city lists in the United States, Schochor, Staton, Goldberg, and Cardea, P.A. scores highest on malpractice focus, published results, client reviews and experience, followed by Hastings Law Firm and The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates. Each firm keeps its best score from the cities it serves; open a city for its full list.
Best Pediatric Malpractice Lawyers in the United States
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4.8181 Google reviewsRated 4.8 out of 5 on Google from 181 reviews
Best for: Birth injury and hospital negligence
In its published cases, Schochor, Staton, Goldberg, and Cardea, P.A. describes oxygen deprivation during delivery and Erb’s palsy; it also publishes verdicts involving deaths after hospital care.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.6102 Google reviewsRated 4.6 out of 5 on Google from 102 reviews
Best for: Misdiagnosis and surgical injury claims
Among Hastings Law Firm's published results are a $19,750,000 failure-to-diagnose settlement and a $10,700,000 negligent-prescribing jury verdict. Because it focuses on malpractice and publishes those results, it tops this list.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
5.0216 Google reviewsRated 5.0 out of 5 on Google from 216 reviews
Best for: Delayed diagnosis and anesthesia injuries
An alleged delayed diagnosis of HSV encephalitis is behind the $11.65 million result published by The Law Offices of Dr. Michael M. Wilson MD, JD & Associates. For negligent anesthesia care, it reports another result of $8 million.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.724 Google reviewsRated 4.7 out of 5 on Google from 24 reviews
Best for: Misdiagnosis and surgical injury claims
A $12 million misdiagnosis result stands out among the cases published by The Law Offices of Cardaro & Peek, LLC. For negligent surgery, it lists a $7.9 million result; for breast cancer misdiagnosis, it lists $7.1 million.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.7226 Google reviewsRated 4.7 out of 5 on Google from 226 reviews
Best for: Birth injury and delayed diagnosis
Among Wapner Newman Attorneys At Law's listed results are $8.4 million for brain injury after a delayed diagnosis and $7 million for birth trauma causing brain damage.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Pediatric malpractice lawyers by state
The rules change from one state to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
When care falls below the required medical standard and harms an infant or child, it amounts to pediatric malpractice. Negligence requires more than a bad outcome. Still, a missed diagnosis or delayed treatment may warrant a closer look. If your child's care worries you, collect the medical records so a lawyer in your state can review what happened.
What pediatric malpractice means
When someone refers to pediatric malpractice, they mean an error in a child's care, not a disease. The error may involve a doctor, a nurse or someone on hospital staff. In its child and pediatric medical malpractice FAQs, Morris James explains that the issue is whether a healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care.
To judge your child's treatment, reviewers use a benchmark called the standard of care. Even if another clinician would've chosen differently, that doesn't settle the legal question. Reviewers ask whether the care fell below that benchmark, then whether your child was injured because of that failure.
Those aren't questions you have to answer yourself. Begin by noting what worried you and when it happened. To help explain the care you're questioning, gather the records that describe it.
Errors that may need a closer look
Medical errors are among the possible forms of pediatric malpractice listed on Cunningham Bounds' pediatric malpractice page, which also includes delayed diagnosis and treatment, and misdiagnosis. Each calls for different questions about your child's care. A claim needs more than any one alone.
A missed or incorrect diagnosis: When the provider decided what was wrong, what information did they have? Identify the visits and records you'd like reviewed if you suspect a missed infection or meningitis.
A treatment delay: When was the problem recognized by the provider, and when did treatment begin? Even if you noticed a delay, a medical review wouldn't necessarily find it unreasonable. Don't confuse those two.
A medication dosing concern: Check what the record says was given against the medication and dose ordered. If you suspect a difference, note it. Deciding what it meant medically isn't something you have to do yourself.
Which decision are you questioning? Perhaps the diagnosis seemed too late to you, or the medication record doesn't match the instructions you were given. A reviewer can start with either concern. Why an error happened remains a separate question.
Use your own account of the visit to check the relevant records. What did you report, and what did the clinician write down? Mark any difference between them so you can ask someone to explain it. Because a stressful hospital stay can be hard to reconstruct, don't assume what happened in the gaps.
Unanswered questions are what a legal review should focus on. A symptom list isn't a way to diagnose your child. If the diagnosis changed, you may question the earlier assessment; if medication instructions conflict, you may question what was ordered. By themselves, those differences don't tell you that malpractice occurred.
If something isn't clear, ask the treating provider to explain it. Keep their response with your notes, including who gave it and when they did. Your concern may be resolved by that explanation. If not, the lawyer reviewing the care will have a more specific question to look into.
A poor outcome isn't the same as malpractice
Even if your child gets sicker or needs more care, that alone doesn't establish a claim. To support a claim, the review must connect an identified failure in care to injury. Causation is the name for that link.
Standard of care: In those circumstances, what should the provider have done for your child? Compare that with the care your child received.
Causation: Did the alleged failure cause the injury the claim concerns? If there was a delayed diagnosis, what evidence connects the delay to the harm?
Harm: What injury does the claim concern? After describing the changes you saw in your child, show where the records document those changes.
Don't roll these questions into one. Even when there's an error, you need to show that it caused harm; a serious injury alone doesn't establish the provider's negligence. To understand how the legal requirements apply to your child's care, ask a lawyer in your state to explain them.
What pediatric claim statistics can tell you
In Malpractice Risk Among US Pediatricians, published in 2013, researchers reported what percentage of pediatricians faced a malpractice claim annually, then compared that figure with the percentage for other physicians. You can read the study through PubMed Central.
Annual percentage of pediatricians facing a malpractice claim in the 2013 study
What the figures count is claims, not proven negligence. Whether your child's case is valid or how it'll turn out can't be established from those figures. To review your child's care individually, a reviewer needs evidence of what happened and the injury you believe the care caused.
What to do next
Prepare for a focused case review
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Write a dated account
Which visit or treatment worries you most? Note what you remember being told, along with when you first became concerned. If the chart confirms a fact, keep it separate from your recollection; mark any dates you aren't sure about.
2
Gather the relevant records
For the care you're questioning, request the chart. If relevant, include medication records along with the discharge instructions. Ask the lawyer which other records would help, since the first set may not explain everything you're questioning.
3
Describe the suspected injury
What changed for your child, and how did later care address those changes? Keep relevant bills alongside your child's medical records. Even if you have a bill, it doesn't prove an earlier provider caused your child's harm.
4
Ask about the deadline early
Give the lawyer your child's treatment dates, along with the state where the care happened. Which statute of limitations applies, and what must happen before it expires? Don't wait until you've collected every record to ask about the deadline.
5
Ask what remains unresolved
When you meet with the lawyer, ask whether the missing information would clarify the standard of care or the injury's cause, or address another issue. Ask the lawyer to explain the proposed next step before you decide how you'd like to proceed.
Don't leave your questions behind, either. Which parts of the chart support your concern, and which parts weigh against it? Even if the lawyer finds no claim to pursue, those answers can help you get something useful from the consultation.
Deadlines differ by state
There's no nationwide statute of limitations for pediatric malpractice. Because deadlines vary by state, your child's circumstances also matter. Use the state pages to find the relevant jurisdiction, then have a lawyer there explain what the rules mean for your situation.
Don't assume it's safe to wait just because your child is young. Even if there are gaps in your timeline, tell the lawyer the dates you know. Which deadline applies, and what event makes the clock start running?
Find the page that matches the care
The patient group is what pediatric malpractice describes. If you're looking at where your child received care or what treatment was involved, another page may help: Hospital & Nursing Negligence addresses hospital care concerns, while Emergency Room Errors covers questions about an emergency visit.
See Anesthesia Errors if anesthesia is what concerns you. If an injury was connected with delivery, the Birth Injury page may more closely address the questions you're asking. Before you've chosen a legal category, you can still ask for a review.
Use the consultation to get clear answers
When explaining what worries you, use your own words. You don't need medical terminology. Without assuming the answer, you can give the lawyer something specific to examine by saying “I want to understand why the diagnosis changed after this visit”.
How will the review work, and what information does the lawyer still need? If the firm brings up an earlier result, ask what makes that case different from your child's. What happens with your child's claim can't be predicted from a past result.
When an infant's or child's care falls below the required standard and causes harm, that's pediatric medical malpractice. It can involve a decision about diagnosis or treatment. More than an unexpected outcome is needed, though. Have a lawyer in your state review the care so they can explain what evidence you'd need for a claim.
Can a missed diagnosis in a child be malpractice?
Investigating a missed diagnosis may be worthwhile. But malpractice doesn't automatically follow from it. To review the care, someone must ask whether the provider failed to meet the standard and whether the failure caused injury. Along with the later diagnosis, bring records from the visit you're questioning. This type of concern is covered on the Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis page.
How do I know whether my child has a malpractice case?
You can't tell from the outcome alone. So a lawyer can decide whether further review is supported, explain which care concerns you and what harm you believe followed from it. What does the chart show about the alleged error? Ask what evidence could connect that error to your child's injury.
What records should I bring to a pediatric malpractice consultation?
Along with whatever records you have for the care you're questioning, bring a dated account of what happened. If relevant, medication records or discharge instructions may help. Ask the lawyer what else to request, and mark anything in the records you don't understand. Don't delay asking about filing deadlines while you're still collecting the records.
How long do I have to file a pediatric malpractice claim?
Because the rules differ by state, there's no single national deadline. Your child's age isn't something to count on for extra time. Tell a lawyer where the care occurred, along with the dates you know. Although the state pages can help you find the relevant jurisdiction, have a lawyer there explain which deadline applies to your circumstances.
Does a medication dosing mistake automatically prove malpractice?
No. To review a dose concern, someone must compare what was ordered with what was given and examine whether an error caused harm. To help the lawyer pinpoint your question, keep the medication instructions along with the relevant records. The Medication & Prescription Errors page has more about this category of claim.
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