A birth injury refers to any physical harm or trauma sustained by a newborn during the process of labor and delivery. These injuries can vary widely in severity, ranging from minor, temporary issues to severe, lifelong disabilities. The causes of birth injuries are diverse, including medical negligence (carelessness), improper use of delivery tools, or even the failure to diagnose and treat complications during childbirth.
When a birth injury occurs due to medical negligence (carelessness) or malpractice, families may seek compensation to help cover the costs of medical care, rehabilitation, pain and suffering, loss of earnings, and other related expenses. Understanding what constitutes a birth injury and the steps involved in seeking compensation is crucial for families affected by such traumatic events.
Types of Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can occur for a variety of reasons and may involve different parts of the baby’s body. Some common types of birth injuries include:
- Brachial plexus injuries: These injuries involve damage to the group of nerves that control the muscles of the shoulder, arm, and hand. Brachial plexus injuries often result from excessive pulling on the baby’s head or shoulders during delivery, leading to brachial plexus palsy or Erb’s palsy.
- Cerebral palsy: This neurological disorder affects movement, muscle tone, and posture and is often caused by a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain during birth. Cerebral palsy can result in lifelong disabilities, requiring extensive medical care and therapy.
- Fractures: Newborns can sustain fractures, particularly to the collarbone or clavicle, during difficult deliveries, especially when the baby is large or positioned awkwardly.
- Facial nerve injuries: These injuries can occur when forceps or other delivery tools are used improperly, leading to facial paralysis or weakness.
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): HIE occurs when the baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen and blood flow, potentially leading to severe brain damage or developmental delays.
- Cephalohematoma: This is a condition where blood collects between the baby’s skull and the periosteum (a membrane that covers the skull), often due to the use of forceps or vacuum extractors during delivery. While it usually resolves on its own, it can sometimes lead to complications like jaundice.
What Causes Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries can occur due to various factors, some of which may involve medical negligence (carelessness) or malpractice. Common causes include:
- Prolonged labor: When labor is excessively long, the baby may experience distress, leading to potential injuries. Prolonged labor can also increase the risk of complications that require intervention by the medical staff.
- Improper use of delivery tools: The misuse of tools like forceps or vacuum extractors can cause physical trauma to the baby, including nerve damage, fractures, and other injuries.
- Failure to monitor fetal distress: Healthcare providers are responsible for monitoring the baby’s condition during labor. Failure to recognize or respond to signs of fetal distress, such as an irregular heartbeat, can result in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, leading to conditions like cerebral palsy.
- Shoulder dystocia: This occurs when the baby’s shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery. If not managed properly, shoulder dystocia can lead to brachial plexus injuries or fractures.
- Delayed C-section: If a cesarean section is necessary due to complications, a delay in performing the procedure can increase the risk of birth injuries. This may happen if the healthcare provider fails to recognize the need for a C-section in a timely manner.
- Maternal health conditions: The failure to diagnose conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or infections in the mother can increase the risk of birth injuries. Proper management of these conditions is crucial to preventing complications during delivery.
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 in a birth injury 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.
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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