When Missed Milestones Point to a Preventable Birth Injury
Every child grows on their own timeline—but when developmental milestones are significantly delayed, parents start to ask questions. Sometimes the answer is a simple variation in development. Other times, delays may signal an underlying brain injury that occurred at or around the time of birth. At Van Wey & Metzler, we help families in Houston investigate whether their child’s delays are connected to a preventable medical mistake.
If your child is falling behind—and your concerns are being dismissed—it may be time to take a deeper look.
What Are Developmental Delays?
Developmental delays occur when a child does not reach key milestones within the expected age range. These milestones cover multiple areas of growth, including movement, speech, learning, social skills, and self-care.
Delays can be temporary and minor—or they can reflect serious, lifelong neurological conditions.
Common areas of delay include:
Gross motor skills: Sitting, crawling, walking
Fine motor skills: Grasping toys, feeding themselves, holding a crayon
Speech and language: Making sounds, forming words, understanding instructions
Cognitive development: Learning, memory, problem-solving
Social and emotional development: Eye contact, interaction, bonding
When delays are diagnosed across more than one category, doctors may label them as global developmental delays, which are often linked to brain injuries like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) or cerebral palsy.
When Delays Are Caused by Birth Injury
Some children are born with congenital conditions. But others sustain injury before, during, or shortly after delivery due to negligent medical care. Oxygen deprivation, traumatic delivery, or untreated infections can damage developing brain tissue, leading to lifelong complications.
In many of the cases we handle, the child’s developmental delays weren’t random—they were preventable.
Medical errors that can lead to brain injury and delays include:
Failure to monitor or respond to fetal distress
Delayed C-section in the face of clear warning signs
Improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction
Failure to resuscitate properly after birth
Untreated maternal infections or fevers during labor
Ignoring or mismanaging low APGAR scores
Even when the signs are subtle at first, delays may reveal a much bigger story of medical negligence and missed opportunities.
Signs to Watch for in Your Child’s First Years
It’s not always easy to tell when a child is behind, especially if they are your first. But if your instincts are telling you something is wrong, don’t ignore them. Parents are often the first to notice early red flags.
Here are a few examples of what to look for:
By 6 months: Poor head control, doesn’t roll over, limited response to sounds
By 12 months: Doesn’t crawl, can’t stand with support, no clear words
By 18 months: Can’t walk independently, doesn’t imitate behavior, lacks interest in others
By 24 months: Limited vocabulary, doesn’t follow simple commands, motor coordination issues
You may also notice other issues—muscle stiffness or floppiness, unusual movements, feeding difficulties, or excessive fussiness—all of which may point to underlying neurological conditions.
When to Seek a Legal Evaluation
Not all developmental delays are caused by malpractice—but far too often, parents are left in the dark. If your child was born after a complicated labor, NICU stay, or an unexplained “traumatic delivery,” it is worth asking whether more could have been done.
At Van Wey & Metzler, we help families get answers:
We review every minute of the labor and delivery process
We consult with top child neurologists and developmental specialists
We identify breakdowns in care that may have led to your child’s condition
Our team focuses solely on serious birth injury and medical negligence cases. This is what we do—and we do it with the diligence and compassion families deserve.
How Legal Action Can Help
When medical negligence causes a child’s delays, families often face not just emotional turmoil—but financial hardship as well. A successful claim can secure compensation to support:
Physical, speech, and occupational therapy
Special education and one-on-one support
Mobility devices or communication aids
Behavioral counseling and developmental programs
Respite care and caregiving assistance
Housing modifications and transportation accommodations
Long-term financial planning for adulthood
We fight not only for what your child needs now—but what they will need in the decades to come.
Let’s Talk About What Happened
If your child is struggling to meet milestones and you suspect something went wrong during birth, you are not alone—and you’re not imagining it. We’ve helped many Houston families like yours uncover the truth, even when no one else would listen.
We offer free consultations and never charge unless we recover for your family. Let us review the records. Let us investigate what really happened. And if your child’s delays were preventable, let us fight to secure the support they’ll need to thrive.
