Key Takeaways
- Texas Chapter 74 requires a qualified expert report within 120 days of filing a birth injury lawsuit.
- Expert witnesses must hold active licenses in fields directly relevant to the alleged negligence.
- Maternal-fetal medicine specialists, neonatal neurologists, and life care planners all serve distinct roles.
- The quality of expert testimony is often the deciding factor between winning and losing a case.
- Attorneys who handle birth injury cases regularly maintain networks of respected, qualified experts.
Why Expert Testimony Is Not Optional in Texas
Texas medical malpractice litigation requires qualified expert testimony to establish every element of a claim. This requirement, codified in Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, applies to every Dallas birth injury case. Understanding what expert witnesses do is important context for any family pursuing a birth injury claim. You can learn more about the general process in our overview of how medical malpractice law works.
What Chapter 74 Requires
Under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Section 74.351, a plaintiff must serve each defendant with a written expert report within 120 days after the defendant files an original answer. Our attorneys explain to clients what medical malpractice lawyers will need from you to meet this requirement.
The Experts a Birth Injury Case Typically Requires
Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
In cases involving labor management decisions or C-section timing, a perinatologist reviews the obstetric record and opines on whether the physician’s decisions met the standard of care. These specialists are especially critical in cases involving fetal distress and delayed delivery.
Labor and Delivery Nursing Expert
Nurses make real-time decisions about fetal heart rate monitoring and escalation to the physician. This type of expert is essential in cases involving Pitocin mismanagement and monitoring failures.
Neonatal Neurologist or Neonatologist
These experts address what happened to the baby after delivery, including whether cooling therapy for HIE was appropriately initiated and what the neurological consequences of the injury are.
Life Care Planner and Economist
A certified life care planner creates a detailed, costed projection of the medical, therapeutic, and attendant care needs the child will have over a lifetime. Conditions such as cerebral palsy and infant brain damage often require decades of intensive care whose economic value must be precisely quantified.
What Makes an Expert Credible Under Chapter 74
Chapter 74 has specific requirements for expert qualifications. The expert must be practicing medicine in the same or a substantially similar specialty as the defendant. To understand what a well-prepared case looks like, read our article on how medical malpractice lawyers should represent clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I hire my own expert or does the attorney do that?
Your attorney retains the expert witnesses on behalf of you and funds the expert costs as part of the contingency-fee representation. To understand the full picture of how medical malpractice lawyers help clients, including expert retention, read our overview.
What happens if the defendant challenges the expert report?
After an expert report is served, the defendant has 21 days to file written objections. If the court finds the report deficient but not absent, it may grant the plaintiff 30 days to cure the deficiency. If dismissed, the dismissal can be with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be refiled.
How many experts are needed in a typical birth injury case?
Most birth injury cases require at least two or three experts for liability: typically an obstetrician or maternal-fetal medicine specialist, a nurse expert if nursing conduct is at issue, and a neonatologist. Damages typically require a life care planner and an economist.
FREE CASE REVIEW: If you have questions about how a birth injury case works and what it would take to evaluate your family’s situation, the birth injury attorneys at Rasansky | McKenzie Law are ready to help. Free case review; no fee unless we win.