New York Birth Injury Lawyers Advocating for Your Child's Future

Your Trusted Top-Ranking Birth Injury Attorneys in NYC

The birth of a baby should be a joyous time for a family. Although remarkable medical advances have made childbirth much safer, mothers and their partners understand that it still presents some risk. They expect their doctors and medical professionals to act with the utmost care to avoid errors that could have lifelong consequences.

When negligence occurs, you may need to consult with a birth injury law firm. The Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm helps families across NYC, including:

• Birth injuries in the Bronx
• Birth injuries in Queens
• Birth injuries in Brooklyn

Speak to our New York birth injury lawyer as soon as possible after a malpractice incident! We will help you understand your legal rights and define precisely how the behavior of your attendant medical staff failed to meet professional standards.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

Here are some of the most common reasons birth injuries occur:

Hypoxia

The term "hypoxia" means that the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen. Typical causes of hypoxia during childbirth include placenta damage, infection, or a tangled umbilical cord.

It's up to the doctor to notice signs of hypoxia and take immediate steps to prevent it from causing lasting damage. If this doesn't happen, the newborn may suffer from a brain injury or long-term physical and mental disabilities.

Improper Use of Forceps

Sometimes, the baby is in an awkward position or gets stuck in the birth canal, or the mother's cervix doesn't expand far enough to push the baby out unless a doctor intervenes and uses forceps.

The attendant medical professional must be certain in this decision and use the forceps carefully to avoid damaging the baby's head, chest, or nerves, which can lead to lifelong issues.

Improper Use of Vacuum Tools

Vacuum extractors are a common way to help deliver a baby that's stuck in the birth canal. The physician must place the vacuum on a baby's skull or shoulders and gently pull the child through the birth canal. Severe injuries to the mother, baby, or both can occur when the doctor doesn't use the vacuum tool correctly.

Unnecessary Delay in Performing a C-Section

If the baby is clearly in distress with a low heart rate or the mother's blood pressure has gotten too high, the doctor attending the birth should stop all attempts at labor and deliver the baby surgically by cesarean section. This is also true in the case of uterine rupture, placenta previa, slowed labor, or umbilical cord prolapse.

Failing to recognize the need for an immediate C-section can result in fetal death or severe health and developmental issues.

Misdiagnosis or Failures in Genetic Screening

While not a direct injury sustained during the physical act of birth, the failure to accurately perform or interpret prenatal genetic screening can result in a child being born with a condition that parents may have chosen to prepare for, or potentially terminate the pregnancy for, had the information been available. These diagnostic failures can lead to birth injuries in the broader sense of preventable suffering or lifelong medical complications.

This category includes failures to diagnose or properly inform parents about severe genetic blood disorders, such as:

• Sickle Cell Anemia: A genetic condition causing red blood cells to become stiff and sickle-shaped, leading to chronic pain and organ damage.
• Tay-Sachs Disease: A rare, inherited disorder that progressively destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.
• Thalassemia: A group of inherited blood disorders that cause the body to make less hemoglobin than normal, often resulting in severe anemia.

Other Potential Acts of Negligence

These are just a few examples of the kinds of negligence or errors in judgment physicians can make.

Others include:

• Failure to notice that the condition of the baby has changed.
• Failure to diagnose or treat premature uterine rupture, trapped umbilical cord, infections, placenta previa, or placental abruption.
• Lack of adequate prenatal testing.
• Lack of communication with other doctors regarding concerns about the mother or baby.
• Not performing specific tests during pregnancy that could have detected a potential problem earlier.
• Not referring a high-risk mother to other medical specialists during her pregnancy.
• Using Pitocin (a drug that induces labor) incorrectly.
• Improper use of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC).

Any of these forms of negligence could result in severe or lasting birth injuries and exorbitant medical bills.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

The following are examples of the most common birth injuries. Each of the conditions detailed here is a severe and tragic outcome of what most likely could have been a normal birth experience.

Cerebral Palsy

Of all possible brain injuries occurring at birth, cerebral palsy is the most common and potentially the most devastating.

In addition to oxygen deprivation, an infant can develop cerebral palsy due to infection or stroke, or an infection present in the mother. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about cerebral palsy is that many instances are avoidable with proper medical intervention.

Common forms of malpractice leading to cerebral palsy include:

• Delay in performing a C-section.
• Failure to detect, monitor, and treat infections in the mother.
• Failure to detect and promptly treat prolapse of the umbilical cord.
• Failure to monitor signs of fetal distress and take appropriate actions.
• Improper use of tools to facilitate birth.

Although cerebral palsy affects bodily movements, the disorder originates in the brain. It's critical that you know your child has cerebral palsy as soon as possible so you can obtain the proper medical and educational services.

Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy is a sub-type of brachial plexus palsy. It's mainly caused by an injury to the nerves of the child's upper arm. Consequently, the child will likely have weakness and loss of sensation in that arm for the rest of their life. Sadly, severe cases of Erb's palsy can cause total paralysis of the affected arm.

Brachial Plexus

Brachial plexus injuries occur during childbirth when excessive pulling or stretching of a baby's head and neck damages the nerves that control arm and hand movement. These preventable yet devastating injuries range from temporary weakness to total paralysis of the arm. Families face lifelong disabilities, daunting therapies, and permanent loss of mobility and function. Holding providers accountable through medical malpractice claims can compensate victims, motivate improved safety practices, and help prevent other children from suffering these permanent nerve injuries.

Cephalohematoma

Cephalohematoma is a buildup of blood between a newborn's skull and the periosteum, often showing as a firm bump hours after birth. While many heal naturally, serious cases can cause jaundice, anemia, infection, or skull fractures. Risks increase with improper use of forceps or vacuums, prolonged labor, or delayed C-section, making prompt diagnosis and treatment essential.

Birth Complications and Labor Injuries

Labor and delivery carry inherent risks, but many complications and injuries are preventable with proper medical care. Common birth injuries and complications include:

• Nerve damage: Often caused by excessive traction or improper use of delivery instruments like forceps or vacuum extractors.
• Broken bones: Resulting from forceful delivery or difficult labor.
• Excessive bleeding: Due to improper handling of delivery instruments or failure to manage complications.
• Oxygen deprivation: Leading to brain injuries or neurological impairments, such as cerebral palsy.
• Infections: Arising from inadequate monitoring or delayed treatment during labor.
• Improper fetal monitoring: Failing to recognize signs of fetal distress or other complications.
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage: Often caused by excessive pressure during delivery, which can signal more serious underlying injuries, such as brain trauma or oxygen deprivation.

C-Section Injuries

Mistakes during or delays in performing a C-section can result in serious harm to both mother and child. These preventable errors may lead to brain damage, cerebral palsy, nerve injuries, or maternal complications. When timely surgical care is not provided, families may face lifelong consequences that could have been avoided with proper medical attention.

Maternal Death

Maternal death is the most severe birth injury outcome, though still distressingly common in the U.S. Despite medical advancements, deficiencies in maternal care contribute to hundreds of preventable fatalities annually. Legally, mothers' families may have grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit if negligence, such as failure to treat foreseeable complications, caused or contributed to the death.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a devastating birth injury where oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery causes brain damage. HIE occurs when the blood and oxygen supply to an infant's brain is disrupted, destroying neurons and triggering disabilities. While sometimes unavoidable, HIE may also result from negligent care, like inappropriate use of anesthesia or failure to promptly perform an emergency C-section.

Klumpke's Palsy

Klumpke's palsy is another type of brachial plexus palsy. Children with this condition sustain damage to the nerves in their lower arm during delivery, which typically affects the fingers and wrists in addition to the arm. With total paralysis, the hand of a person with Klumpke's palsy may permanently take on the shape of a claw.

Shoulder Dystocia

This birth injury occurs when the infant's shoulders and head become lodged behind the mother's pelvic bone. It happens in approximately one percent of all deliveries and can lead to a number of severe complications.

For the mother, these complications can include uterine rupture and hemorrhaging; for the baby, they can include brachial plexus injury, breathing difficulties, cerebral palsy, collarbone fracture, and even death.

Perinatal Stroke

Perinatal stroke is a serious birth injury that occurs when blood flow to a baby's brain is disrupted shortly before, during, or after delivery. It can result in long-term disabilities such as cerebral palsy, seizures, or developmental delays. In many cases, the stroke could have been prevented if doctors had responded more quickly to fetal distress or performed a timely C-section.

Kernicterus

Kernicterus is a severe and preventable type of brain damage caused by untreated newborn jaundice. When bilirubin builds up to toxic levels, it can cross into brain tissue, leading to permanent injuries such as hearing loss, motor impairment, and developmental delays. This condition often results from delayed diagnosis or failure to monitor and treat elevated bilirubin levels after birth.

Fetal Distress

Fetal distress happens when a baby shows signs of inadequate oxygen before or during labor, often seen in abnormal heart rates or reduced movement. It can result from umbilical cord problems, placental issues, or prolonged labor. Without prompt action, usually an emergency C-section, it may lead to brain injury, cerebral palsy, or death.

How Our New York Birth Injury Attorneys Can Help Your Family

Newborns can experience a wide variety of medical problems, many of which happen for reasons medical researchers still don't understand. However, some neonatal conditions are known to occur because of medical negligence.

Our experienced NYC birth injury lawyers will help you address the following crucial considerations:

• Problems associated with cerebral palsy, brain injuries, Erb's palsy, or brachial plexus trauma
• Issues associated with VBAC
• Premature birth, including retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), and congenital conditions like gastroschisis
• Questions about fetal heart rate monitoring
• The timing of emergency C-sections
• OB-GYN malpractice
• Labor-inducing or labor-augmenting drugs and their side effects
• Post-birth injury
• The high cost of long-term care
• Access to New York's Medical Indemnity Fund, which is money set aside by the state to cover the future cost of care for injured infants

Infant injuries can be highly complicated, and every situation is different. While we can't promise a particular result, we can promise that we'll listen to the issues regarding your loved one's medical care and help you make choices that are in your family's best interests.

How to Know If Your Baby Was Injured Due to Medical Malpractice

While you may suspect medical malpractice caused your child's birth injuries, it's impossible to conclude this on your own. Contact a birth injury attorney in New York as soon as possible after a complicated delivery.

During your initial consultation, we'll gather key information to determine whether medical malpractice took place, including:

• Diagnostic test results
• Electronic records of fetal monitoring
• Flowsheets covering the entire time frame of your baby's delivery
• Notes from the doctors you or your partner saw during pregnancy
• Records of birthing tools used by the attending physicians, such as forceps or a vacuum extractor

Along with the extensive legal knowledge of our New York City birth injury lawyers, you'll benefit from access to medical professionals who will carefully examine records from the pregnancy, your baby's birth, and any medical treatment your baby has received for the birth-related trauma. Medical opinions are essential when deciding whether malpractice caused your baby's injuries and lifelong challenges.

New York Birth Injury Statute of Limitations

In New York, birth injury cases have special time limits for filing a claim. The standard statute of limitations for medical malpractice is two and a half years from the date of the injury. However, because birth injury cases involve children, the time limit is paused during infancy.

Families have up until the child's 10th birthday to file a birth injury claim. This 10-year window begins from the date the injury occurred during labor, delivery, or shortly after birth.

• When the injury is not immediately apparent, and developmental delays or physical effects take time to manifest, the statute of limitations may be extended.
• For wrongful death cases resulting from birth injuries, families have two and a half years from the date of the child's death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
• Time limits for filing claims against government entities, such as municipal hospitals, are much shorter and require filing a notice of claim within 90 days.

How to File a Birth Injury Claim in New York

There are a few steps that must be taken when filing a birth injury claim in New York.

Proving Negligence

When you file a birth injury lawsuit, it's your responsibility to prove that the actions of the attending doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, or other medical professional were negligent and fell below the accepted standards of professional care.

Gathering Evidence

To build a strong case, your attorney will gather medical records, secure expert opinions, and identify policies and protocols that were violated. Witness testimony can also provide powerful evidence of substandard care.

Seeking Compensation

Financial compensation can help pay for your child's extensive medical bills, therapies, equipment, home accommodations, and other necessities. While no amount of money can undo the damage, it can reduce the family's financial burden.

Getting Legal Help

The process of building a birth injury claim and negotiating a settlement can be complex and challenging for families already facing major life changes. Our experienced New York birth injury attorneys can help guide you through the legal process and fight for maximum compensation so you can focus on your child's needs.

What Can Be Recovered in a Birth Injury Claim?

When medical negligence during labor and delivery results in a birth injury, filing a lawsuit can help the affected child and family obtain compensation to cover both current and future expenses. The types of damages that may be recovered include:

Medical Expenses

This includes the cost of medical care associated with the birth injury from the initial hospital stay through ongoing treatments, surgeries, medications, therapy and rehabilitation, specialized equipment, and in-home nursing care.

Lost Wages

Parents may recover past and future lost income due to time off work caring for an injured child. Damages can account for reduced earning capacity if a parent must permanently alter their career.

Pain and Suffering

Non-economic damages like physical and emotional pain and the loss of enjoyment of life activities are also compensable. The effects of disabilities extend throughout the child's lifespan.

Punitive Damages

In egregious cases of negligence or recklessness, punitive damages may be awarded as punishment and to deter similar conduct.

The experienced birth injury attorneys at our firm can help families in New York pursue maximum compensation through lawsuits or negotiated settlements. Contact us today to discuss your options for holding negligent medical providers accountable and recovering damages.

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