About 370,000 infants are born in Texas each year. According to 2004 statistics published by the Texas Department of State Health Services, more than 13,000 Texas babies are born each year with one or more major structural malformations. Birth defects are the second leading cause of death among infants in Texas (524 deaths, or nearly 1/4 of all infant deaths in 2002) and the third leading cause of death among 1-14 year-olds in Texas (83 deaths in 2002). 

Texas Birth Injury Lawyers at The Crosley Law Firm, P.C. investigate Texas birth injury claims caused by medical negligence or obstetrical mismanagement.  From infant deaths caused by medical negligence to serious birth defects such as erbs palsy, shoulder dystocia, and cerebral palsy, The Crosley Law Firm, P.C. provides legal representation of the highest caliber for seriously injured people and their families. Every case accepted by the firm is taken with the intent it will be thoroughly prepared and vigorously prosecuted.

Texas Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch

Concerns over an unusual cluster of anencephaly cases (a type of neural tube defect) occurring in Brownsville, Texas led to the formation of the Birth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch (BDES) 1993. Epidemiologic investigations revealed a higher than expected rate of neural tube defects among children born to Hispanic mothers living in South Texas. Recognizing that epidemiologic resources are routinely needed to investigate birth defects clusters, the Texas State Legislature passed the Texas Birth Defects Act in 1993, which authorized the establishment of the BDES.

The BDES has two major components: the Texas Birth Defects Registry and the Texas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention.  The Texas Birth Defects registry was established to identify and describe the patterns of birth defects in Texas through the operation of an active surveillance system.

Since 1994, BDES has maintained the Texas Birth Defects Registry, population-based birth defects surveillance system, which is now statewide. Through multiple sources of information, the Registry monitors all births in Texas and identifies cases of birth defects. Children identified through the Registry are referred to appropriate medical and community services.

For more information contact:

Birth Defects Epidemiology & Surveillance
Texas Department of State Health Services
1100 W. 49th Street
Austin, Texas 78756

Phone 512-458-7232, 1-888-963-7111
Fax 512-458-7330

Seek Qualified Counsel

Texas lawyers at The Crosley Law Firm, P.C. have successfully represented families of children with cerebral palsy, brain damage, brachial palsy, mental retardation, seizures and other injuries that have occurred during birth. Our attorneys and experts have identified negligence in cases involving failure to recognize fetal distress, failure to diagnose bacterial meningitis, difficult labor and deliveries, and other cases involving lack of oxygen or trauma.

In birth injury cases it is essential that measures be taken promptly to preserve evidence, review the medical procedures in question, and to enable physicians or other expert witnesses to thoroughly evaluate the birth record and injuries.