Birth Injury Lawyers Serving Long Island Families

What Is Considered as a Birth Injury

A birth injury is any harm suffered by a newborn before, during, or immediately after delivery. Some injuries are unavoidable complications, but many are the direct result of medical errors that a properly trained provider should have recognized and prevented. Identifying the difference is where legal and medical analysis begins.

Early recognition matters both for the child's treatment and for building a legal record of what happened. The sooner families consult with an attorney, the better position they are in to preserve evidence and understand their options.

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Common Causes of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries happen for many reasons, but a significant number trace back to preventable medical errors. The following are among the most frequently seen causes in the cases our attorneys handle.

Oxygen Deprivation (Hypoxia and Birth Asphyxia)

When a baby's brain is deprived of oxygen during labor or delivery, the consequences can be severe and permanent. Hypoxia can result from a tangled umbilical cord, placental complications, or a failure to respond to signs of fetal distress in time. Birth asphyxia, a more acute form, can cause brain damage, developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and neurological disorders. Medical staff are expected to monitor fetal heart rate continuously and act quickly when warning signs appear.

Delayed or Improper C-Section

When a baby is in distress, a timely cesarean section can be the difference between a healthy outcome and a lifetime of disability. Conditions requiring immediate surgical delivery include uterine rupture, placenta previa, umbilical cord prolapse, and dangerously low fetal heart rate. Failing to recognize this need or delaying the procedure is one of the most common forms of negligence in birth injury cases.

Improper Use of Forceps

When a baby becomes stuck in the birth canal, doctors sometimes use forceps or vacuum extractors to assist delivery. These tools require precise technique. Used incorrectly, they can cause nerve damage, head trauma, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and other serious injuries.

Medication Errors

Incorrect dosing of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin, errors in administering medication to the mother, and improper use of VBAC protocols can all place mother and child at risk. Failures to account for maternal health conditions also fall into this category.

Failure to Diagnose or Monitor

Inadequate prenatal testing, failure to refer a high-risk mother to a specialist, missed infections, and poor communication between care team members are all forms of negligence that can contribute to birth injuries. Providers have a duty to monitor both the mother and the baby throughout pregnancy and delivery, and to act on what they find.

Misdiagnosis and Genetic Screening Failures

Failures in genetic screening can prevent families from receiving timely information about conditions such as Sickle Cell Anemia, Tay-Sachs Disease, and Thalassemia. When providers fail to order appropriate tests or misinterpret results, families may be denied the ability to prepare for or manage a child's condition from birth.

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Birth Injuries Our Firm Handles

Birth injuries range from temporary physical trauma to permanent neurological conditions. The following are the most common types seen in Long Island birth injury claims:

• Cerebral palsy: Often linked to oxygen deprivation, delayed C-section, or failure to monitor fetal distress;
• Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage from interrupted oxygen supply during labor or delivery;
• Erb's palsy and brachial plexus injuries: Nerve damage to the shoulder and arm from excessive traction during delivery;
• Klumpke's palsy: Lower brachial plexus injury affecting the hand and forearm;
• Shoulder dystocia: When the baby's shoulder becomes lodged during delivery, requiring immediate intervention;
• Cephalohematoma: Bleeding beneath the skull bone, often from forceps or vacuum use;
• Perinatal stroke: Can occur around the time of birth and lead to lasting neurological impairment;
• Kernicterus: Brain damage resulting from untreated severe jaundice in newborns;
• Fetal distress: Situations where the baby shows signs of compromise requiring prompt action;
• C-section injuries: Lacerations or other harm caused during surgical delivery;
• Maternal death: In the most tragic cases, negligence during childbirth costs a mother her life.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Birth injury claims often involve more than one party. Depending on the circumstances, liability may fall on any of the following:

• Obstetricians and attending physicians who deviated from accepted standards of care;
• Nurses who failed to properly monitor fetal heart rate, made medication errors, or missed signs of distress;
• Hospitals and healthcare systems responsible for the conduct of their staff or for inadequate equipment and safety protocols;
• Anesthesiologists, radiologists, or other specialists involved in the delivery who made errors affecting the outcome.

Proving who bears responsibility requires a careful review of the full chain of care. Our attorneys work with qualified medical professionals to examine records and establish exactly where the standard of care was breached.

How a Birth Injury Claim Is Built

Medical malpractice claims require more than a bad outcome. They require demonstrating that a provider's conduct fell below accepted medical standards and that this failure directly caused the child's injury. Our attorneys establish four key elements in every case:

• Standard of care: What a competent provider in the same specialty should have done;
• Breach of duty: How the provider's conduct fell short of that standard;
• Causation: That the breach directly caused the child's injury;
• Damages: The full scope of harm, including medical costs, future care needs, and impact on quality of life.

To support these elements, we review delivery records, fetal monitoring strips, prenatal notes, records of instruments used, and diagnostic test results. We also retain medical professionals, including obstetricians, pediatric neurologists, life care planners, and rehabilitation specialists, to provide independent analysis and expert testimony.

Compensation Available in Long Island Birth Injury Cases

When negligence during childbirth results in a birth injury, the financial consequences for a family can stretch decades into the future. A successful claim can cover:

• Past and future medical expenses, including hospitalizations, surgeries, therapy, and assistive equipment;
• Long-term care costs and home modifications to accommodate a child's disability;
• Lost wages for parents who must reduce or leave employment to provide care;
• Pain and suffering experienced by the child;
• Emotional distress for the child and family;
• Loss of quality of life and diminished future opportunities;
• Punitive damages in cases involving particularly egregious conduct.

New York does not cap damages in medical malpractice cases, so there is no arbitrary ceiling on what a family can recover. Long Island families may also have access to New York's Medical Indemnity Fund, which provides ongoing coverage for future care costs for children who suffered birth-related neurological injuries due to malpractice.

Time Limits for Filing in New York

New York law sets specific deadlines for birth injury claims, and missing them can permanently bar a family from seeking compensation. Here is what Long Island families need to know:

• The standard medical malpractice deadline is two and a half years from the date of the injury.
• For children, this is extended, and families generally have until the child's 10th birthday to file, assuming the injury occurred during birth.
• If the injury's effects only manifest later as developmental delays, the deadline may be extended further.
• Wrongful death claims must be filed within two and a half years from the date of death.
• Claims against municipal hospitals, such as Nassau University Medical Center, require a notice of claim filed within 90 days.

Given the complexity of these deadlines, consulting with one of our knowledgeable attorneys as soon as possible after a difficult delivery is always the right call.

No Upfront Costs: You Pay Nothing Unless We Win

We handle birth injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, meaning no upfront attorney fees and nothing owed if we do not recover compensation on your behalf. Our fee is a percentage of the settlement or verdict we secure for you.

Some case-related costs, such as expert witness fees or the cost of obtaining medical records, may be the client's responsibility, and we discuss them transparently from the start. Initial consultations are free, and our attorneys are available 24/7.

Can a Birth Injury Claim Affect My Child's Health Insurance

Filing a birth injury lawsuit does not put your child's health coverage at risk. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurers cannot deny coverage, raise premiums, or drop a child from a policy because of a pre-existing condition, including a birth injury. Your child has the right to continue receiving medical care regardless of whether a legal claim is active.

In cases where Medicaid has already paid for care related to the birth injury, a portion of a settlement may be subject to reimbursement. Our attorneys will explain how this applies to your situation during the consultation.