Giving birth to your child is one of the most joyous occasions of your life. However, sometimes unfortunate circumstances or carelessness causes a newborn baby to suffer from a birth injury, and a time of joy can quickly become a stressful and scary experience.
A birth injury resulting from a preventable medical error can feel significantly more devastating. Should you find yourself in these unfortunate circumstances, you may wonder if you have a viable birth injury lawsuit to obtain a sense of justice and compensation needed to support your child’s needs in the future.
Below is a guide providing vital components and steps to pursue a birth injury claim in New York. If you think that a medical error was the cause of your child’s birth injury, it is essential to contact a New York birth injury lawyer immediately. An experienced lawyer can determine if you have a legitimate case and explain the best options to pursue for you and your family.
What is a Birth Injury?
Many times birth injuries are confused with a congenital disability. The difference is that a congenital disability results from genetics in the baby’s DNA. Congenital disabilities are not preventable and generally occur when the baby is in the womb and developing.
Birth injuries are preventable and usually caused by careless actions or negligent decisions on the part of a medical professional during the delivery or birth.
Most Common Causes of Birth Injuries
Labor and delivery are not always smooth, and challenges or complications can arise. Medical professionals are trained to help mitigate possible complications by providing competent medical care during delivery and birthing.
Some of the most common causes of birth injuries to babies include the following:
- When a doctor or medical professional fails to diagnose issues before delivery
- When a doctor, nurse, or medical professional fails to monitor the baby and mother during the labor and delivery process
- When a doctor or a medical professional utilizes overly aggressive labor and delivery techniques
- When a doctor or a medical professional uses birthing instruments incorrectly
- When a doctor or medical professional fails to act when a baby is in distress
- When a doctor or medical professional fails to perform a medically necessary cesarean section
- When a doctor, nurse, or medical professional administers an incorrect medication or incorrect dosage
If you believe that your baby suffered a birth injury due to the action or inaction of a medical professional, doctor, or nurse, hire an attorney with experience in dealing with birth injury claims to determine if you have a viable case. Unfortunately, some birth injuries may impact a child for the rest of their life or even death.
Common Types of Birth Injuries
One of the biggest challenges with birth injuries is proving that it was caused by a medical professional or doctor. Sometimes parents may not notice their baby’s health problems until they fail to reach age-related milestones, which could take weeks or months. As a result, birth injuries are not always apparent and may take time to manifest.
The following are some of the more common birth injuries which include:
- Cerebral palsy is a condition caused by damage that usually affects muscle movement and coordination. It can lead to intellectual disabilities, seizures, vision, hearing, speech problems, spine changes such as scoliosis, and joint problems.
- Lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain before, during, or after delivery is called anoxic brain injury and hypoxic brain injury.
- Brain damage which can be caused by infection, preeclampsia in the mother, jaundice, skull fractures resulting from improper use of forceps or other delivery issues, and untreated medical conditions
- Erb’s palsy or other nerve conditions can result from a doctor or medical professional using excessive force during delivery. For example, Erb’s palsy can result from injury to the brachial plexus nerves during delivery.
- Bleeding, such as hematomas and hemorrhages, can result from excessive pressure delivery from a vacuum extractor, forceps, or other techniques that cause bleeding injuries.
- Other birth injuries include untreated jaundice, infections, lacerations, and more.
Signs of a Birth Injury
Every case is unique, and the signs of birth injuries can vary widely. It’s important to note that the same symptoms could also result from other medical conditions unrelated to medical malpractice.
It’s essential to have your child properly evaluated by a medical professional. And should you suspect a medical mistake, contacting a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible is crucial.
Some of the early signs of possible birth injury include the following:
- Seizures
- Breathing issues, including slow or rapid breathing or need for resuscitation
- Muscle weakness, floppiness, or stiffness
- Low heart rate
- Feeding difficulties, such as slow suckling
- Reflex problems
- If the baby favors one side of their body
- Lethargy or sluggishness
- Excessive drooling
- Non-responsive to bright lights and loud noises
- Unexplained bruising, abrasions, or swelling
Some symptoms don’t appear or are unnoticeable until later once the child begins missing developmental milestones.
Proving a Birth Injury Case
Medical malpractice cases can be challenging to prove, and a couple of legal components must first be established before filing a claim.
The first step is to show that the medical provider owed you and your family a duty of care, and then you must show that they failed to fulfill their duty and follow an acceptable standard of care. To do this, you must show that a medical professional with similar training would have taken different actions under the same circumstances. Finally, you must prove that the medical provider’s actions caused a birth injury and that injury damaged your child.
If your birth injury claim has these essential components, you may have a viable claim. However, you will still need a medical malpractice attorney to help prove your case.
A skilled and experienced birth injury attorney will review your case and determine the next steps. Evidence that can help support your claim includes:
- All pre-and post-natal medical records
- Your baby’s medical records and history
- Witness statements and testimony
- Expert witness testimony
Gathering evidence can be time-consuming and challenging. Hiring an experienced birth injury lawyer with extensive resources is vital to help uncover the evidence necessary to build a compelling case and create a connection between the medical professional’s careless actions and a significant birth injury.
The Law Offices of Steve Newman Is Here to Help You if You Believe Your Child Has Suffered a Birth Injury
If your baby is a birth injury victim due to the error of a doctor, nurse, or another medical professional, the Law Offices of Steve Newman are here to help. Attorney Steve Newman understands the challenges of navigating birth injury claims and has an extensive network of board-certified physicians to determine whether medical malpractice occurred in your situation.
Attorney Steve Newman practices law in medical malpractice, personal injury, construction litigation, and more. He is licensed to practice law in state and federal courts in New York and New Jersey, representing clients in all 50 states.
Contact the Law Offices of Steve Newman today for an attorney dedicated to helping you, protecting your rights, and getting you the compensation you deserve.
