Forceps Birth Injury Malpractice Lawyer

Obstetric forceps are a delivery tool doctors use during difficult vaginal births. In the right hands, and in the right situation, forceps can help deliver a baby quickly. No one is saying that forceps should never be used. But when forceps are used carelessly, too late, too aggressively, or when a C-section was the safer choice, the result can be devastating. A few minutes of bad judgment in the delivery room can leave a child with a permanent brain injury, skull fracture, nerve damage, facial trauma, or lifelong disability.

Forceps are not a routine shortcut. They are high-risk instruments that require skill, judgment, and discipline. When a doctor applies the blades incorrectly, pulls too hard, twists the baby, ignores fetal distress, or keeps trying after the delivery is clearly not working, that is not just a bad outcome. That is medical malpractice.

This page explains forceps birth injury lawsuits, how these cases work, what makes forceps use negligent, how settlement value is evaluated, and what recent verdicts and settlements tell us about compensation in forceps malpractice claims.

If you believe you have a birth injury lawsuit, call Miller & Zois today at 800-553-8082 or get an online case evaluation.

What Are Forceps in Childbirth?

Obstetrical forceps are curved metal instruments designed to fit around a baby’s head during delivery. The doctor uses the forceps just as you would expect — to grip and guide the baby through the birth canal when labor has stalled or when the baby needs to be delivered quickly.

Again, forceps can be useful with the right doctor. There are absolutely potential claims our lawyers have reviewed where forceps were used, and the child suffered a birth injury like cerebral palsy or HIE, and the doctor was not negligent. But that is not usually the case. Forceps are dangerous when used by a doctor who misreads the situation or overestimates their own ability and this happens far too often. A forceps delivery requires the doctor to know the baby’s exact position, understand the level of risk, apply the blades correctly, and use controlled traction. It is not rocket science but there is very little room for error so you need to know exactly what you are doing.

These lawsuits are not about second-guessing every difficult delivery. They are about babies who were injured because the delivery team chose forceps when the safer answer was a C-section, used excessive force, ignored warning signs, or failed to recognize that the baby was in trouble.

When Should Forceps Be Used?

Forceps should only be considered when the conditions for a safe assisted vaginal delivery are actually present. Before a doctor reaches for forceps, several basic requirements should be met:

• The membranes have ruptured
• The cervix is fully dilated
• The baby is positioned head-first in the birth canal
• The doctor knows the baby’s exact position and station
• The baby is low enough for a safe forceps attempt
• The mother’s pelvis is adequate for vaginal delivery
• The doctor has the training and experience to use forceps safely
• A C-section backup plan is available if the forceps attempt fails

Forceps may be considered when labor is prolonged, when the mother is exhausted, or when fetal distress requires prompt delivery. But those facts do not automatically justify forceps. If the baby is too high, the position is unclear, the fetal monitor is showing serious distress, or the delivery is not progressing, the doctor needs to move to a C-section instead of gambling with the baby’s brain and nerves.

This is where many forceps malpractice cases begin. The doctor had a choice. The safer choice was surgical delivery via C-section. Instead, the doctor chose forceps, pulled too hard, persisted too long, and the child paid the price.

How Forceps Cause Birth Injuries

Forceps injuries usually happen because the doctor used forceps when they should not have been used, placed the blades incorrectly, applied excessive traction, or failed to abandon the attempt when it was not working.

A newborn’s skull, brain, nerves, and soft tissues are fragile. Improper forceps pressure can cause skull fractures, bleeding inside the skull, facial nerve injury, eye trauma, brachial plexus injury, spinal injury, or oxygen-related brain damage if the delivery is delayed too long.

Forceps also allow the doctor to rotate and pull the baby. That is exactly why they can be dangerous. Rotation and traction require real skill. When the doctor twists, pulls, or keeps going after the warning signs are obvious, forceps can turn a difficult delivery into a catastrophic birth injury.

Sometimes, a forceps-related lawsuit follows when the C-section was the only path and forceps were used anyway, even if the way in which the doctor used them was not negligent.

When Forceps Use Becomes Malpractice

A hospital will almost always say the injury was unavoidable. That is the standard defense. But many forceps cases are not mysteries. The records often show the warning signs: abnormal fetal heart tracings, slow progress, uncertain fetal position, repeated failed pulls, visible trauma after delivery, or a delayed C-section that should have happened earlier.

What it boils down to is whether the doctor used reasonable judgment or chose a dangerous forceps delivery when a safer option was available. In many cases, the answer is right there in the labor records.

The Human Cost of a Bad Forceps Delivery

Parents are often told that a forceps injury was just one of those things that can happen during childbirth. Sometimes that is true. Too often, it is not. Too often, the medical records tell a different story. The baby was showing distress. Labor was not progressing. The position was uncertain. The forceps attempt was difficult. The baby came out bruised, swollen, limp, seizing, or with obvious trauma. Then the family is told the injury was unavoidable.

That is what makes these cases so painful, right? Parents walked into the hospital expecting a safe delivery and left with a child facing surgeries, therapy, neurological testing, developmental delays, or lifelong disability. They are left wondering why no one moved faster, why a C-section was not done, why the doctor kept pulling, and why their baby had to suffer the consequences of a decision made in the delivery room.

A forceps malpractice lawsuit cannot undo the injury. But it can force answers and provide compensation to care for the child in a way that makes it easier on the child and the family. It can expose what should have happened. It can pay for the care the child will need. And it can hold the hospital or doctor responsible when a preventable delivery mistake changes a child’s life.

Types of Forceps Malpractice

There are several ways forceps malpractice can occur. The most common is improper use during delivery. This can include using forceps when the baby is too high, applying the blades incorrectly, using excessive traction, rotating the baby improperly, or continuing to pull after the attempt should have been abandoned.

Another common theory is failure to monitor the baby during labor. Doctors and nurses must watch fetal heart rate tracings for signs that the baby is in distress. If the baby is not tolerating labor, the team must act. Sometimes that means immediate C-section. What it should not mean is a prolonged, risky forceps attempt that exposes the baby to more trauma.

Forceps malpractice can also occur when the doctor fails to recognize that the delivery is too difficult for forceps. If the baby is too high, too large, poorly positioned, or already showing signs of distress, forceps can make a dangerous situation worse.

Common Forceps Birth Injuries

Forceps-related injuries range from temporary bruising to permanent brain damage. Minor marks can occur even in non-negligent deliveries. But serious injuries raise serious questions, especially when the baby has skull trauma, neurological symptoms, facial nerve injury, bleeding, seizures, or developmental problems after birth.

Intracranial Hemorrhage

An intracranial hemorrhage is bleeding inside the baby’s skull. In a forceps case, this may happen when pressure or trauma damages blood vessels in or around the brain. A significant brain bleed can cause seizures, oxygen deprivation, permanent brain injury, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, or death.

Skull Fractures

Forceps can fracture the baby’s skull when the blades are misplaced, the pressure is excessive, or the doctor pulls too hard. Skull fractures are especially concerning when they are associated with bleeding, swelling, seizures, or brain injury.

Facial Nerve Injury

Improper forceps placement can injure the baby’s facial nerve. This may cause weakness or paralysis on one side of the face. Some facial nerve injuries improve, but others cause lasting functional and cosmetic problems.

Brachial Plexus Injury

The brachial plexus is the network of nerves controlling the shoulder, arm, and hand. If forceps are used with excessive traction, or if forceps are attempted during a shoulder dystocia scenario, the baby can suffer a brachial plexus injury, including Erb’s palsy.

Eye and Soft Tissue Injuries

When forceps are placed too close to the eye or face, the baby can suffer eye trauma, bruising, cuts, scarring, or facial disfigurement. Visible trauma immediately after birth can be powerful evidence in a malpractice case because it often tells the story before any expert says a word.

Subgaleal Hematoma

A subgaleal hematoma occurs when blood collects beneath the scalp. This can become life-threatening quickly because a newborn can lose a dangerous amount of blood into this space. Babies delivered with forceps must be closely monitored for swelling, shock, anemia, neurological symptoms, and changes in vital signs.

Damages in Forceps Malpractice Lawsuits

The value of a forceps malpractice lawsuit depends on the severity of the injury, the strength of the liability proof, the child’s future needs, and the jurisdiction where the case is filed. In serious cases, the value can be very high because the injury may last for the child’s entire life. And this lawsuit is their one single chance to get the compensation they deserve. Which is why hiring the best birth injury lawyer you can is the only path.

Damages may include past medical bills, future medical treatment, therapy, surgeries, medications, mobility devices, special education, home modifications, attendant care, lost future earning capacity, pain and suffering, and the emotional impact of living with a preventable birth injury.

The highest-value forceps cases usually involve permanent neurological injury, brain damage, cerebral palsy, skull fractures with lasting complications, severe brachial plexus injury, disfigurement, or injuries requiring lifelong medical support.

Hospitals and malpractice insurers rarely pay fair value early. They usually want full discovery before they put serious money on the table. That means collecting prenatal records, labor and delivery records, fetal monitoring strips, neonatal records, imaging studies, pediatric neurology records, therapy records, expert reports, and life care planning opinions.

There is no honest one-size-fits-all settlement number for forceps malpractice claims. Some cases settle in the hundreds of thousands. Severe brain injury cases can result in seven-figure or eight-figure settlements or verdicts. The difference usually comes down to the child’s long-term injury, the clarity of the malpractice, and whether the plaintiff can prove that a safer delivery choice would have avoided the harm.

Forceps Malpractice Verdicts and Settlements

• $15,960,603 Verdict in Louisiana in 2024: The infant plaintiff suffered a brachial plexus injury to his left shoulder and C5-C7 spinal nerve damage, leaving permanent dysfunction and disfigurement of the left shoulder and arm. The lawsuit alleged that the OB/GYN failed to recognize that the mother’s diabetes increased the risk of macrosomia and shoulder dystocia, and then attempted a dangerous midforceps-assisted delivery after shoulder dystocia was encountered.
• $287,500 Settlement in New York in 2023: The defendant was allegedly negligent in improperly using both a vacuum and forceps during delivery. The baby suffered severe neurological and physical injuries, including global developmental delays, brain damage, cognitive deficits, and motor delays.
• $800,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania in 2022: An infant reportedly suffered delivery-related trauma, including facial disfigurement, cranial nerve palsy, and eye damage requiring eye muscle surgery. The lawsuit alleged that the OB/GYN misplaced forceps over the infant’s left eye and right ear and delivered the infant with immediately visible head and facial trauma.
• $97,402,549 Verdict in Iowa in 2022: The lawsuit alleged that hospital staff ignored signs of fetal distress on the monitoring strips and that the doctor attempted delivery with forceps and then a vacuum extractor when an emergency C-section should have been performed. The forceps allegedly fractured the baby’s skull, causing a severe brain bleed and permanent brain damage.
• $7,688,862 Verdict in Missouri in 2020: A newborn allegedly suffered permanent damage to the left side of the brain after a stroke, resulting in cerebral palsy and right-sided hemiplegia. The lawsuit alleged that the doctor negligently chose forceps, improperly placed them on the baby’s head, and used excessive force during delivery.
• $1,000,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania in 2018: The doctor allegedly attempted a forceps delivery after shoulder dystocia was encountered and used excessive force and lateral traction. The baby suffered a brachial plexus injury, abducens nerve palsy, a fractured and dislocated arm, and Erb’s palsy.
• $17,967,087 Verdict in Pennsylvania in 2017: The doctor allegedly applied excessive traction and pressure during forceps delivery. The baby suffered skull fractures, a cerebral contusion, hydrocephalus, and permanent injuries. The verdict included substantial future medical expenses and future lost earnings.

Medical Literature on Forceps Delivery

The medical literature matters in forceps malpractice cases because it shows that the risks are well known. It also helps define what a careful obstetrician should know before attempting an assisted delivery.

Obstetrics Forceps Delivery

Dutta and Rai’s 2023 clinical chapter, “Obstetrics Forceps Delivery,” provides a detailed reference on indications, contraindications, forceps classification, technique, and safe application. In litigation, this type of source helps frame the standard of care. If a doctor used forceps at the wrong station, in the wrong position, or without meeting basic safety conditions, this guidance can become powerful cross-examination material.

Is There Still a Place for Forceps Delivery in Modern Obstetrics?

We said no one is arguing that forceps should never be used. A 2023 study by Zając and colleagues, “Is There Still a Place for Forceps Delivery in Modern Obstetrics?”, reviewed forceps deliveries at a tertiary center. The study found that fetal distress was the indication in most cases and that maternal lacerations were common. Our point is not that forceps are never appropriate. Instead, we are saying that forceps used in urgent or high-risk deliveries demand skill, caution, and the right clinical judgment.

Maternal and Neonatal Trauma During Forceps and Vacuum Delivery Must Not Be Overlooked

The 2023 BMJ article by Muraca and colleagues, “Maternal and Neonatal Trauma During Forceps and Vacuum Delivery Must Not Be Overlooked,” is one of the most useful recent articles for forceps litigation. The authors found that one in four attempted forceps deliveries results in maternal obstetric trauma and that neonatal trauma remains a documented risk in operative vaginal delivery.

This article helps plaintiffs because it shows that forceps-related trauma is a recognized danger, not a freak surprise. It also supports a key plaintiff argument that as forceps use declines and doctors get less hands-on experience, hospitals and providers must be honest about whether they have the skill and systems to use forceps safely.

Neurodevelopment of Children Born with Forceps Delivery

A 2024 study by Kostic and colleagues, “Neurodevelopment of Children Born with Forceps Delivery,” followed children born by forceps delivery through age seven. The study found abnormal neonatal neurological findings in some babies but generally normal long-term development when low Apgar scores and perinatal asphyxia were absent.

This study has value for both sides. Plaintiffs can use it to show that neurological problems after forceps delivery are a real concern that must be monitored. Defense lawyers may use it to argue that not every early neurological abnormality leads to permanent injury. That is why the child’s actual records, imaging, symptoms, development, and expert proof matter so much.

Neonatal Complications and Risk Factors Associated with Assisted Vaginal Delivery

A 2024 Scientific Reports study by Chawanpaiboon and colleagues, “Neonatal Complications and Risk Factors Associated with Assisted Vaginal Delivery,” examined neonatal complications following assisted vaginal delivery and emphasized the need for close monitoring of newborns delivered by assisted methods.

This underscores that a baby delivered with forceps is a high-risk infant. If the baby shows distress, seizures, abnormal tone, respiratory problems, swelling, or neurological symptoms, the delivery team must respond quickly.

Birth Injuries in Late Preterm and Term Neonates After Instrumental Delivery

A 2025 Frontiers in Pediatrics study by Bayoumi and colleagues, “Birth Injuries in Late Preterm and Term Neonates After Instrumental Delivery,” evaluated birth injuries and short-term developmental outcomes after instrumental vaginal delivery. This newer study is useful because it focuses on the relationship between instrument choice and neonatal injury outcomes.

The practical lesson here is that instrument selection matters. The case is not only about how forceps were used. It is also about whether forceps should have been chosen at all, whether vacuum delivery was safer, or whether the clinical picture required a C-section.

Getting a Lawyer for a Forceps Malpractice Claim

Forceps malpractice cases are medically complex, and hospitals do not hand these cases over voluntarily. These claims require a careful review of prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, operative delivery documentation, newborn records, imaging, neurology records, and long-term therapy needs.

If your child suffered a birth injury after a forceps delivery, our law firm can review the records and determine whether the injury was preventable. Our attorneys, including a nurse-attorney, regularly handle birth injury lawsuits across the country.

You want the best birth injury lawyer you can find. If you decide that our lawyers are the right fit, call Miller & Zois today at 800-553-8082 or get an online case evaluation.