Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer in Las Vegas

45 Years of Trial Experience. Now Representing Las Vegas Families in HIE Cases.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury that occurs when a newborn’s brain is deprived of adequate oxygen and blood flow during or shortly after birth. The damage can be permanent. When that deprivation results from a medical provider’s failure to monitor, respond, or act in time, it may form the basis of a medical malpractice claim. With over 45 years of personal injury experience, Burris & Thomas, LLC now represents Las Vegas families pursuing HIE malpractice claims against the providers and institutions responsible for their child’s injury.

HIE is sometimes called birth asphyxia, neonatal encephalopathy, or perinatal hypoxia. Whatever the terminology, the stakes are the same: permanent neurological damage, a lifetime of care, and a legal process with strict deadlines and procedural requirements under Nevada law. Families facing an HIE diagnosis are often overwhelmed. The firm’s role is to take on the legal complexity so families can focus on their child.

Burris & Thomas, LLC offers free case evaluations for Las Vegas families, with no obligation and no upfront costs. Call (702) 529-3101 to speak with a member of the legal team.

Why Las Vegas Families Choose Burris & Thomas, LLC for HIE Claims

HIE malpractice cases require attorneys who can handle medical complexity and are prepared to take a case to trial. Burris & Thomas, LLC brings both. The firm has secured numerous million-dollar verdicts and settlements across Nevada, and its attorneys are licensed in the U.S. District Court for Nevada and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, providing courtroom reach beyond state court when necessary.

Credentials & Recognition

Founder Steven M. Burris holds a J.D. with honors from the University of Southern California Law School and an A.B. with distinction from Stanford University. He has been recognized as a Las Vegas Life Top 5 Lawyer, listed in Nevada Super Lawyers (2007–2008) and Mountain States Super Lawyers (2009–2011), and holds an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates.

One credential bears directly on HIE malpractice work: Steven M. Burris was appointed head of the Southern Nevada Panel, State of Nevada Medical Legal Screening Panel. That appointment reflects direct involvement in Nevada’s medical-legal review process, an understanding that can support stronger case evaluation and more effective pre-litigation strategy for clients pursuing Clark County medical malpractice claims.

Local Reach & Personalized Service

The firm serves clients throughout Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Paradise, Spring Valley, and Sunrise Manor. Each case receives a strategy built around its specific facts, with direct access to the legal team and clear communication at every stage.

How HIE Becomes a Medical Malpractice Claim

Not every case of HIE results from negligence. To pursue a malpractice claim, a family must demonstrate that a healthcare provider owed a duty of care, breached that duty by falling below the accepted standard of care, and that the breach directly caused the child’s injury. Establishing that chain requires a detailed review of medical records, fetal heart rate monitoring strips, intervention timelines, and testimony from qualified medical experts.

Common breaches in HIE cases include:

• Failure to monitor fetal heart rate: A non-reassuring fetal heart rate is a recognized sign of inadequate oxygen supply and requires a clinical response.
• Delayed response to umbilical cord complications: Cord prolapse or compression can cut off fetal oxygen quickly; prompt action is required.
• Failure to perform a timely C-section: When vaginal delivery becomes dangerous, delay in performing a cesarean section can cause preventable oxygen deprivation.
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors: Misuse of delivery instruments can restrict blood flow or cause direct injury.
• Failure to diagnose or treat maternal conditions: Preeclampsia, placental abruption, and similar conditions are known HIE risk factors that providers are expected to anticipate and manage.

Potential defendants in an HIE malpractice case can include the delivering obstetrician, the hospital, nurses involved in monitoring, and anesthesiologists. Nevada’s NRS 41A.071 requires that any medical malpractice complaint be filed with an affidavit of merit from a qualified medical expert confirming the care fell below the accepted standard. Cases filed without a compliant affidavit are subject to dismissal, which makes early and thorough case preparation essential.

Compensation Available in an HIE Malpractice Case

Families may be entitled to both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages can cover current and future medical expenses, including hospitalizations, specialist visits, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, assistive devices, medications, and psychological care. Parents who must reduce work hours or leave employment to care for a child with brain damage may also recover lost wages.

Non-economic damages covering pain and suffering, physical impairment, and loss of life’s pleasures are subject to a cap in Nevada medical malpractice cases under NRS 41A.035. For 2026, that cap is $590,000. It increases by $80,000 on January 1 each year through 2028, when it reaches $750,000, and then rises by 2.1 percent annually. Nevada does not cap economic damages. In cases where HIE proves fatal, wrongful death claims may also be available on behalf of the parents.

Nevada’s Filing Deadlines for HIE Claims

Nevada’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases, under NRS 41A.097, is not a single flat deadline. For injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2023, families generally have 3 years from the date of injury or 2 years from the date the injury was discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered), whichever comes first. A child who suffers brain damage such as HIE retains the ability to bring their own claim until reaching age 10, but waiting reduces the family’s options and makes preserving evidence harder. Every family’s timeline is different, and the specific deadlines that apply depend on the facts of the case.

Missing the applicable deadline can permanently bar a family’s right to pursue compensation, regardless of how clear the negligence. The sooner an attorney begins reviewing the medical record and retaining expert support, the more effectively the case can be prepared.

Burris & Thomas, LLC handles HIE malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning families pay nothing unless the firm recovers compensation. Free case evaluations are available for Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Paradise, Spring Valley, and Sunrise Manor families. Call (702) 529-3101 or schedule your free case evaluation online.