Child brain injuries at birth can have profound and lifelong effects on both the child and their family. These injuries, often referred to as birth-related brain injuries or birth asphyxia, occur when a newborn’s brain doesn’t receive enough oxygen during labor and delivery. This oxygen deprivation can lead to various types of brain damage, including cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and cognitive impairments.
The causes of these injuries can vary and may include complications during labor, maternal health issues, umbilical cord problems, or medical negligence (carelessness). The consequences of such injuries can be devastating, impacting the child’s physical and cognitive development, as well as their ability to lead a normal life. Early diagnosis, intervention, and ongoing support are crucial to help prevent such injuries that can have lifelong consequences.
What Causes Child Brain Trauma?
Brain injuries at birth can occur due to various factors that lead to oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain during the labor and delivery process. Some common causes include:
- Prolonged labor: If labor lasts for an extended period, it can put stress on the baby, leading to oxygen deprivation.
- Umbilical cord complications: Issues such as umbilical cord prolapse, compression, or a tangled cord can restrict blood flow and oxygen supply to the baby.
- Placental problems: Complications with the placenta, such as placental abruption (detachment of the placenta from the uterine wall) or placenta previa (placenta partially or completely covering the cervix), can impair oxygen delivery to the baby.
- Maternal health conditions: Certain maternal health conditions like preeclampsia, high blood pressure, or diabetes can increase the risk of birth-related brain injuries.
- Fetal distress: If the baby experiences distress during labor, such as an abnormal heart rate or meconium aspiration (inhaling stool), it can indicate a lack of oxygen and lead to brain injury.
- Medical Negligence: In some cases, medical errors or negligence during labor and delivery, such as improper use of delivery instruments or failure to respond promptly to fetal distress by, for example, ordering an emergency C-section, can contribute to birth-related brain injuries.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
The costs of caring for a child with birth injuries can add up very quickly. If your child’s injury was caused by medical negligence (carelessness), you may be able to seek compensation for damages including loss of earnings, medical expenses, cost of hospitalization, ongoing treatment and therapies, psychological counseling, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict that was reduced by the appeals court to $1,846,000 because the verdict was so large. This was the highest amount upheld by the appellate (appeals) courts for many, many years. In addition we recovered $1,400,000 for a newborn who lost motion in the arm during birth due to doctors applying incorrect force on the baby’s head. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
We have seen cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness), and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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