Birth Injuries

Birth Injury Lawyer Serving the Mat-Su Valley

30 Years Serving Alaskans. Personal Attention on Every Case.

Our Palmer-based firm represents families who need answers about injuries connected to pregnancy, labor, or delivery. For more than 30 years, we’ve served Alaskans through a deliberately limited practice built around personal attention, clear communication, and careful legal guidance. That focus means Ben Whipple handles each matter directly rather than passing it to a large team.

A birth injury claim may arise when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, the level of care a reasonably qualified provider would deliver under similar circumstances. Common examples include failing to respond to fetal distress, delaying a medically necessary cesarean section, misusing forceps or vacuum devices, making medication errors, or failing to treat a maternal infection. A poor medical outcome alone doesn’t establish negligence.

Call (907) 745-1776 to discuss your concerns with our birth injury lawyer serving Mat-Su Valley families.

What a Birth Injury Claim Must Prove in Alaska

An Alaska birth injury claim generally requires evidence that a healthcare provider owed a duty to the patient, breached the applicable standard of care, and caused an injury resulting in measurable damages. Causation is often the central issue because some complications can occur even when providers deliver appropriate care.

The core elements generally include:

Duty: A provider-patient relationship created a legal obligation to provide appropriate care.
Breach: The provider’s actions or omissions fell below the accepted standard of care.
Causation: The breach was a substantial factor in causing the child’s injury.
Damages: The injury resulted in medical expenses, care needs, disability, pain, or other legally recognized losses.

Expert medical testimony is typically required to explain what qualified providers should have done and how a departure from that standard caused harm. Those opinions may come from obstetricians, nurses, neonatologists, neurologists, or other professionals whose training relates to the disputed care and injury.

Birth Injuries That May Warrant Investigation

A diagnosis alone doesn’t prove negligence occurred. Medical records, fetal monitoring data, imaging, treatment notes, and expert analysis are often needed to distinguish a preventable injury from an unavoidable complication.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders affecting movement, posture, and muscle coordination. Some cases are associated with oxygen deprivation or interrupted blood flow around the time of birth, but the timing and cause require careful medical evaluation. An investigation may examine fetal distress signals, monitoring responses, delivery timing, and newborn resuscitation.

Erb’s Palsy & Brachial Plexus Injury

The brachial plexus is the nerve network carrying signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Damage during delivery can cause weakness, reduced motion, or paralysis. Records may reveal whether shoulder complications were recognized and whether excessive force was applied during delivery.

Fractures & Other Trauma

Unexplained fractures, substantial bruising, seizures, abnormal muscle tone, feeding problems, or extended neonatal intensive care may justify closer review. These signs aren’t conclusive on their own, but severe or lasting conditions requiring ongoing therapy can raise legitimate questions about what happened before, during, and immediately after birth.

Alaska Filing Deadlines for Birth Injury Claims

Alaska generally applies a two-year filing period to medical malpractice claims under AS 09.10.070. That period may run from the date of injury or from when the injury and its possible cause were reasonably discovered. Families shouldn’t assume that a child’s age automatically leaves unlimited time to act.

For a child injured before age eight, Alaska’s tolling rule generally treats the legal disability of minority as ending on the child’s eighth birthday, after which the two-year period begins. A separate statute of repose may bar a claim 10 years after the act or omission, with limited exceptions for intentional concealment or gross negligence. Because these rules can interact differently in each case, prompt legal review matters.

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Compensation in an Alaska Birth Injury Case

What a family may recover depends on the harm caused and the evidence supporting each loss. A claim can address immediate treatment costs as well as care a child is reasonably expected to need over time.

Recoverable losses may include:

Past and anticipated medical expenses related to the injury.
Physical, occupational, speech, and other necessary therapies.
Assistive equipment, accessibility modifications, and long-term supportive care.
Pain, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, and other noneconomic losses.

Alaska caps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases at $250,000. That cap may rise to $400,000 in cases involving wrongful death or severe permanent physical impairment that is more than 70 percent disabling. Economic damages, including documented medical and care costs, are evaluated separately and aren’t subject to the same cap.

Alaska applies pure comparative negligence, meaning compensation can be reduced by the percentage of fault assigned to the claimant. There is no 50 percent cutoff under this rule. How comparative negligence applies depends on the parties, evidence, and specific allegations in each case.

How We Review a Birth Injury Claim

We approach every investigation as a client-lawyer partnership. Ben Whipple provides honest guidance about both the strengths and weaknesses of the available evidence rather than drawing conclusions from a diagnosis alone.

Our review typically involves:

Understanding the timeline: We discuss the pregnancy, labor, delivery, diagnosis, and care that followed.
Examining medical records: We review relevant charts, fetal monitoring data, delivery notes, medication records, and newborn assessments.
Consulting qualified professionals: We seek medical analysis of the applicable standard of care and the cause of the injury.
Assessing damages: We evaluate documented expenses, treatment needs, and the injury’s effect on the child and family.

Contact Ben Whipple Today! We Are Ready to Help

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A Local, Focused Practice for Mat-Su Valley Families

Ben Whipple has served clients across Alaska for more than 30 years. Our focused practice allows Ben Whipple to give each matter direct personal attention, explain difficult legal and medical issues clearly, and offer practical guidance built on decades of experience with Alaska’s communities and legal system. Clients aren’t passed to a large team or treated as one file among many unrelated matters.

We serve families throughout the Mat-Su Valley as well as clients in Anchorage and rural Alaska. When you contact our firm, you reach a responsive advocate who takes time to understand your situation and communicate clearly throughout the process.

Get Clear Answers About Your Child’s Injury

Contact us to discuss the medical care surrounding your child’s birth and whether the circumstances warrant further investigation. A timely review can identify relevant records, potential filing deadlines, and the next steps available to your family.

Call (907) 745-1776 to speak with Ben Whipple about a possible birth injury claim.

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Many cases are resolved efficiently without going to court. Ben's respectful, solution-focused approach helps clients move forward while minimizing stress, delays, and unnecessary legal battles.
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Whether you're recovering from an auto accident or navigating the adoption process, you'll receive straightforward legal advice and steady support through every stage of your case.
Personal Attention Every Step of the Way

Every client receives one-on-one guidance, honest advice, and responsive communication. Ben takes the time to listen, answer questions, and help clients make informed decisions with confidence.
30+ Years of Trusted Legal Experience
With more than three decades of serving Alaskans, Ben Whipple provides knowledgeable legal representation backed by experience, practical insight, and a commitment to achieving the best possible outcome.