A birth injury refers to trauma at birth and can range in severity — from bruising and broken bones to torn nerves or brain damage. A number of these birth injuries sadly result in lifelong disabilities for the child. It must be noted that such injuries are also avoidable when medical professionals do their part to monitor the mother and child; are aware of risks that can lead to these injuries; and have the competence to address the situation when something goes wrong during labor or delivery.
Common Birth Injuries and What Causes Them
There are a number of different types of birth injuries that can occur during and after childbirth. Here are some of the most common birth injuries:
Brachial plexus palsy or Erb’s palsy: This is an injury to the nerves of the brachial plexus that occurs during a difficult birth or prolonged labor. This injury or palsy affects the movement of the shoulder and arms, and can even lead to paralysis. Infants with Brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) experience weakness in the arms or shoulder and loss of motion. Brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) can occur for a number of reasons including when the baby’s shoulder is stuck in the mother’s pelvis or when medical professionals improperly use birth-assistive devices such as forceps or vacuum extractors.
Cerebral palsy: This condition is often the result of a brain damage caused by lack of oxygen supply to the brain during, before or after childbirth. Cerebral palsy can affect an infant’s motor kills and muscle tone, and cause developmental delays. In addition, it also affects the child’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.
Brain injuries: Traumatic brain injuries at childbirth can happen to an unborn baby or during birth as a result of external trauma or oxygen deprivation during birth. Some of the early signs that your child has suffered a brain injury include abnormal or distorted facial features, neck stiffness, bruising or marks on the head, etc. Brain injuries can be caused by lack of oxygen and also due to misuse of forceps or other medical instruments and devices.
Asphyxia: This type of birth injury can be extremely serious and can even result in death. This can occur due to complications such as uterine rupture, umbilical cord issues and placental abnormalities.
Do You Need a Birth Injury Lawyer?
If your child is showing symptoms of any of these injuries, it would be in your best interest to consult medical experts to determine the best course of treatment for your child. You should also consult an experienced New York City birth injury lawyer who can help determine your rights and explore avenues of compensation. Your birth injury lawyer will help you pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor, member of the medical team or hospital that handled your child’s delivery. There are a number of parties who may be held responsible for your child’s injuries.
It is the responsibility of medical professionals to monitor the condition of the fetus and the mother and make decisions that reduce or eliminate a risky delivery. If your child has suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence (carelessness), he or she may be able to receive compensation that helps pay for medical expenses, lost income, cost of therapy, future treatments, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
New York Birth Injury Lawyers
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 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 many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities delivered babies with cerebral palsy or Brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) due to their 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 Hospital 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
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