Infant Wrongful Death Lawyer in Roswell, NM

Board Certified. 60+ Years of Combined Trial Experience. On Your Side.

Losing an infant to suspected medical negligence is among the most devastating experiences a family can face. We represent Roswell-area families whose baby died as a result of a healthcare provider’s error during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care. At James Wood Law, compassion guides every step of how we work alongside grieving families, and our Board Certified Trial Lawyer brings decades of courtroom experience to each case we take on.

Why Roswell Families Trust James Wood Law

Board certification in trial law, awarded by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, distinguishes fewer than 10 percent of all attorneys. Our lead attorney holds that credential, backed by more than 60 years of combined trial experience across our team. We’ve tried more than 50 cases to a jury and resolved more than 150 others, including multiple verdicts and settlements of $5,000,000 or more. Martindale-Hubbell rates our firm AV Preeminent, its highest peer-review designation. Hospitals and their insurers have substantial legal resources. We represent ordinary families against those institutions, investigating every claim thoroughly and putting our clients’ interests first.

What Qualifies as an Infant Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim arising from an infant’s death requires establishing four elements: the healthcare provider owed a duty of care, breached that duty by falling below the accepted standard of care, that breach directly caused the death, and the death produced compensable damages. One important threshold issue in New Mexico is that the Wrongful Death Act applies only to a person born alive. A claim involving a stillborn nonviable fetus follows a different legal path than one involving a baby who was born alive and later died.

Fatal errors during labor, delivery, and newborn care can take several forms:

• Failure to monitor fetal distress during labor
• Delayed emergency C-section when warning signs were present
• Unsafe use of forceps or vacuum extractors causing severe trauma
• Medication errors administered to the mother or newborn
• Failure to detect or treat a serious newborn infection

Compensation & Filing Deadlines in New Mexico

Families pursuing an infant wrongful death claim in New Mexico need to understand two things before anything else: the filing deadline and the damages available.

Filing Deadline & Who Must File

Under NMSA 1978 Section 41-2-2, a wrongful death claim in New Mexico must generally be filed within three years of the date of death. Some families have heard that New Mexico extends the filing period for a child’s own injury claim until that child’s ninth birthday. That extension applies only when the injured child survives and brings a personal injury claim. It doesn’t apply to a wrongful death claim brought on behalf of a deceased infant, which runs three years from the date of death regardless.

There is also a procedural requirement worth knowing: a wrongful death claim must be filed by the personal representative of the deceased’s estate, not directly by the parents. We can guide families through that process so nothing stands between them and their legal rights.

Damages You May Be Able to Recover

Recoverable damages can include economic losses such as medical bills and funeral expenses, and non-economic losses such as loss of companionship. New Mexico’s Medical Malpractice Act once capped non-economic damages, but the New Mexico Supreme Court struck down that cap in 2024, so families may now pursue the full value of these losses. We work to seek the fullest recovery the circumstances support.