When a delivery goes wrong, the harm can last a lifetime — and so can the cost of care. If your baby was hurt during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, you deserve straight answers about what happened and whether it could have been prevented. Robert DiStefano reviews these cases personally, with care and discretion.
A birth injury is harm to a mother or baby that happens during pregnancy, labor, or delivery — and that a careful medical team could have prevented. As a Fort Lauderdale birth injury lawyer, Robert DiStefano helps Broward families find out whether a doctor, nurse, or hospital missed warning signs, acted too slowly, or used the wrong technique when it mattered most. Not every hard birth is a malpractice case. But when the standard of care is broken, the law gives your family a way to recover.
These cases often involve a baby who is deprived of oxygen during labor, a fetal heart monitor that showed distress no one acted on, or too much force during a difficult delivery. The result can be lifelong: cerebral palsy, a brachial-plexus injury such as Erb's palsy, or brain injury from oxygen loss — what doctors call hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE. A mother can be seriously harmed too, by an untreated hemorrhage or an infection that went unmanaged.
What sets these claims apart is the time horizon. A child injured at birth may need therapy, surgery, equipment, and personal care for the rest of their life. The point of a claim is not to assign blame — it is to make sure the money is there to pay for that care, so your child has every chance and your family is not crushed by the bills. We handle the legal side with compassion and keep you informed at every step.
Birth injury cases are a form of medical malpractice, so Florida puts specific steps and deadlines in your path. Here is the law that shapes your case — in plain terms.
Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(b)
Medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within 2 years from when the injury was discovered, or reasonably should have been, with an outer limit of 4 years. Birth cases follow special rules that can give a child more time — see the next card and our FAQ.
Fla. Stat. ch. 766
Before a malpractice lawsuit can be filed, Florida requires a presuit investigation and notice period. We gather records, consult medical experts, and formally notify the providers — a required step that we manage from start to finish so nothing is missed.
Fla. Stat. § 766.203
To move a case forward, Florida law requires a written, sworn opinion from a qualified medical expert confirming there are reasonable grounds for the claim. We work with respected physicians who review the labor and delivery records before we file.
Fla. Stat. § 766.102
A provider is judged against the level of care a reasonably careful obstetric team would have used in the same situation. Proving the standard was broken — and that it caused your child's injury — is the heart of every birth injury case.
This page provides general information about Florida law and is not legal advice. Statutes and case law change; your specific case requires a consultation.
Most Broward babies are delivered at a handful of well-known labor-and-delivery units and obstetric practices. When something goes wrong at one of them, we know how those teams work, who keeps the records, and how to get them fast.
DiStefano Law is not an out-of-state intake service. We are a Fort Lauderdale firm, on Oakland Park Boulevard, that has represented injured Florida families for four decades.
When you call our office, you reach a firm where the founding attorney does the work. Robert DiStefano has practiced Florida personal injury law for more than 40 years and reviews every birth injury inquiry himself. You will not be passed down a chain or left wondering who is on your case.
We take birth injury cases on a contingency fee, which means no fee unless we recover for you. There is nothing to pay up front, and we advance the cost of the medical experts and records your case needs. If we don't win, you owe us no attorney's fee. For families already facing therapy and medical bills, that matters.
For a sense of the outcomes Robert has obtained in serious-injury and malpractice matters, see how we handle these cases →
Tell us what happened in a free, confidential call. We start gathering the prenatal, labor, and delivery records the same week.
Qualified physicians review the records and the fetal-monitoring strips to determine whether the standard of care was broken.
Through the presuit process and beyond, we pursue full compensation — including the future cost of caring for your child.
Related help from our firm: general medical malpractice claims, nursing home neglect and abuse, or reach us anytime through our contact page.
★★★★★
“The best lawyer in South Florida. Thank you DiStefano for all the hard work that you and your team have done to get me amazing results.”
Taravia Google
★★★★★
“I had a wonderful experience with Robert! He fought hard for me and kept me in the loop the whole time. The whole office is just great!”
Paulavia Google
★★★★★
“Mr. DiStefano is the best! Kept me up to date with everything, and his paralegal Michelle also kept us informed. Happy with my settlement — I highly recommend him.”
Stacy Leevia Google
Get a free, confidential, same-day case review. There is no fee unless we recover for you, and no pressure — just straight answers about what happened.
(954) 572-8000