Three Common Causes of Birth Injuries Injuries that occur during labor and delivery can have life-altering consequences for infants and their families. A number of birth injuries occur because warning signs were missed, protocols were not followed due to medical negligence (carelessness) that happened during pregnancy, labor or delivery. Understanding the common causes of birth injuries helps parents recognize potential medical negligence, ask the right questions and seek timely support and treatment. Below are three of the most frequent causes of preventable birth injuries, along with explanations of how they occur and the impact they can have on newborns.
One of the leading causes of avoidable birth injuries is inadequate or negligent (careless) fetal monitoring during labor and delivery. Medical teams rely on fetal heart rate monitoring to determine whether a baby is receiving enough oxygen and to detect signs of fetal distress. When monitoring is incomplete, ignored or improperly interpreted, there is a greater risk of birth injuries.
Improper monitoring happens when:
When fetal distress is not identified and addressed quickly, the baby can experience oxygen deprivation, known as hypoxia or asphyxia. Without adequate oxygen, the brain can suffer damage within minutes, potentially leading to conditions such as cerebral palsy, developmental delays, seizures or motor impairments.
Proper monitoring allows medical staff to take corrective action quickly such as repositioning the mother, increasing oxygen, halting labor-inducing medications or performing an emergency cesarean section (C-section) to prevent further harm. Failure to act swiftly in response to distress is a major factor in many birth injury cases.
When medical providers fail to respond appropriately to complications, the consequences can be severe. Some of the most significant birth injuries occur because medical providers delay necessary interventions or choose unsafe delivery methods.
Examples of complications that require immediate action include:
Often, birth injuries occur when medical teams wait too long to perform a C-section. Guidelines exist to help providers determine when vaginal delivery is no longer safe, but hesitation, miscommunication or even understaffing can lead to dangerous delays.
Another source of harm is the misuse of delivery tools. Forceps and vacuum extractors can be helpful when used correctly, but improper technique can cause skull fractures, nerve damage or internal bleeding. When these tools are used with excessive force or in situations where they are contraindicated, the risks to the baby escalate significantly.
A mother’s health during pregnancy is directly tied to the baby’s well-being. When
medical providers fail to properly monitor, diagnose or treat maternal conditions, the fetus may face unnecessary risks during gestation and delivery. Some conditions, if unmanaged, significantly increase the likelihood of complications that can lead to birth injuries.
Common maternal conditions that require careful management include:
When healthcare providers fail to order appropriate tests, monitor lab results or develop a safe delivery plan based on the mother’s risk profile, complications can escalate quickly. For example, if gestational diabetes is not diagnosed, a fetus may grow too large, leading to potential birth injury risks.
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. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict in an Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy) case 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, such as cerebral palsy or brain damage etc.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation):
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