There's an interesting trend in birth injury cases that Washington residents should know about. While the infant mortality rate and the number of babies injured during birth are both decreasing, the number of birth injury claims is increasing with higher settlements being reached.
The CDC states that there were 3,945,875 live births and 23,161 infant deaths in the U.S. in 2016, the latest year for which complete data is available. Birth injuries were ranked the fifth leading cause of infant death for that year, behind congenital issues, low birth weight, premature delivery and sudden infant death syndrome. However, between 2000 and 2006, avoidable injuries to mother and baby decreased by about 20 percent.
