Celebrating the arrival of a new baby should be a time of joy. While it’s common knowledge that complications can arise when giving birth to a child, the challenges become even more overwhelming if your child experiences an injury due to a doctor’s negligence. Unfortunately, this negligence can result in preventable birth injuries during pregnancy or delivery.
If your child has an injury due to a medical team’s misstep, you do not have to simply accept it and move on. If you’re in a situation involving potential medical malpractice, it’s important to consult an attorney. That’s where the outstanding team at the Law Offices of Steve Newman in New York City comes in.
With his decades of experience, Steve Newman is ready to guide you through the maze of filing a malpractice claim against the doctor, hospital, or birthing center that caused your child’s injury.
Our office is at 11 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, and we represent families across New York City, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island.
Give our New York City birth injury law firm a call. Our first meeting with you is free, so you have nothing to lose by getting our input on your case. Let’s partner together and make sure your child gets the protection they deserve.
Key Takeaways
- Common Birth Injuries —
Frequent injuries include asphyxia, brain hypoxia, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus damage, Erb’s palsy, and bone fractures as potential outcomes of childbirth errors. - Causes of Injuries —
Birth injuries may stem from medical professional errors including missed emergencies, improper use of instruments, medication mistakes, timing mistakes in delivery, or deviations from standard techniques. - Must Prove Four Elements —
To win a birth-injury malpractice claim, you must prove (1) duty of care, (2) breach of that duty, (3) causation, and (4) damages (in physical, emotional, or financial terms). - New York Deadlines Differ —
A child’s own claim is generally tolled during infancy, up to 10 years, but parents’ own claims and claims against NYC Health + Hospitals can have much shorter deadlines.
What Are the Most Common Kinds of Birth Injuries?
As you might expect, some birth injuries are more common than others due to the unique stressors of childbirth. Here’s a list of the most common birth injuries.
- Asphyxia. Asphyxia occurs when the child can’t breathe normally. During the birth process, it can happen when the child has birth fluid in their lungs or has the mother’s umbilical cord wrapped around his/her neck.
- Brain hypoxia. A common consequence of asphyxia, hypoxia means that the brain isn’t getting the oxygen it needs. This can have life-shattering effects on the child, including brain damage and complete brain death.
- Cerebral palsy. This medical condition manifests as various movement problems. Your child might have tremors, weak or stiff muscles, and bad coordination.
- Brachial plexus injuries. The brachial plexus is a network of nerves near the base of the neck. A slip of a medical instrument can damage the brachial plexus, leading to nerve damage and paralysis.
- Erb’s palsy. When the baby’s shoulder gets caught on the mother’s pubic bone or grabbed in the wrong way by a doctor, the damage to the nerves in the shoulder can lead to paralysis of the baby’s arm.
- Bone fractures. While not nearly as permanent as the previously described birth injuries, bone fractures can cause your child immense pain and delay their development.
While these are the most common birth injuries, they are by no means an exhaustive list. Many other birth injuries can affect the baby’s life and complicate parenting. Talk to our experienced New York City birth injury attorney to learn more.
What Causes Birth Injuries?
When birth injuries stem from the mistakes of medical professionals, they may be more than mere mistakes. They may rise to the level of medical malpractice. Here are some medical actions that lead to birth injuries:
- Missing or ignoring medical emergencies. Sometimes, doctors miss the big red flags. For instance, they might not notice when the umbilical cord goes into knots around the baby’s neck and causes oxygen deprivation.
- Medication mishaps. Getting the right medications to the mother and her child during the birthing process is absolutely vital. Therefore, mixing up medications or giving the wrong doses can compromise the birthing process and lead to catastrophe.
- Instrument misuse. Doctors often use forceps, scalpels, extractors, and many other potentially dangerous tools during birth. Using these tools incorrectly can cause a birth injury.
- Timing troubles. Inducing delivery too early or too late can cause multiple complications.
- Failure to order genetic testing. A misstep like this can form the basis for a medical malpractice claim, especially if a timely diagnosis would have resulted in a better outcome.
- Delivery room techniques. Sometimes a medical team’s delivery technique deviates from standard medical practice or ignores the unique circumstances of your child’s birth. These deviations from proper delivery practice can lead to significant birth injuries, including various palsies and irreversible physical harm.
How Can I Prove My Birth Injury Lawsuit in Court?
Proving your birth injury lawsuit requires fulfilling several key elements. The four elements you need to prove in a birth related medical malpractice case are as follows:
Duty
You need to show the healthcare provider had a duty of care to you and your baby. All healthcare providers owe their patients a duty to act competently. The standard of care will vary from specialty to specialty.
Breach
There must be a breach of duty. You must prove the medical team breached their duty of care by falling below accepted standards. It means showing that the care was not what a reasonably skilled medical professional would provide under similar circumstances.
Cause
The third element you must prove in a medical malpractice case is causation. You need to be able to prove a medical staff or healthcare professional’s mistake caused your child’s injury.
Damages
You need to show the impact and the actual harm caused by a breach of duty. In birth injury cases, this could mean proving negligence caused from physical harm to the child and emotional and financial strains on the family.
Each of these elements must be proven to win your case. Fortunately, an experienced birth injury attorney can help you so you can win your case.
Deadlines for Birth Injury Claims in New York
New York sets different deadlines for the child and the parents, and the difference matters.
The child’s claim. Under New York’s medical malpractice statute (CPLR 214-a), a claim must generally be filed within two and a half years. But because the child is a minor, the clock is generally paused during infancy under CPLR 208, up to a maximum of 10 years in medical malpractice cases.
The parents’ own claims. Parents’ separate claims, such as the extraordinary expenses of caring for an injured child, belong to the parents and generally must be filed within two and a half years of the child’s birth. The infancy extension does not apply to them.
Claims against NYC public hospitals. If your child was born at a hospital run by NYC Health + Hospitals, a Notice of Claim must be served within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e before a lawsuit can proceed. Missing this deadline can seriously limit your case, even when the child’s other deadlines have years left.
If your child’s injury led to a death, a wrongful death claim has its own timeline. Because these deadlines interact, speak with a New York birth injury attorney as soon as you suspect malpractice.
Where Birth Injury Lawsuits Are Filed in New York City
Medical malpractice lawsuits in New York are filed in the Supreme Court of the county where the malpractice occurred or where a defendant is located. In New York City, that means one of five courts:
- Manhattan (New York County): 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007
- Brooklyn (Kings County): 360 Adams Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
- Queens: 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, NY 11435
- The Bronx: 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451
- Staten Island (Richmond County): 18 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island
A New York medical malpractice complaint must generally be accompanied by a certificate of merit stating that the attorney has consulted a qualified physician and concluded there is a reasonable basis for the case. Our firm handles this step as part of building your claim.
Early Intervention Services for NYC Children
If your child has a diagnosed disability or is showing signs of a developmental delay, New York City’s Early Intervention Program provides free services to children from birth to age three. The program is run by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Anyone can refer a child by calling 311 and asking for Early Intervention, or by using the city’s online referral portal. When a child turns three, they may qualify for preschool special education services through the NYC Department of Education.
NYC Birth Injury Claims: Common Questions
A birth injury is harm to a baby or mother that happens during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Examples include oxygen deprivation (asphyxia), cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, Erb’s palsy, and bone fractures. Not every birth injury is caused by negligence, so the cause matters when deciding whether a legal claim exists.
Birth injuries can arise from missed emergencies, medication errors, misuse of delivery instruments, poorly timed induction or delivery, deviations from proper delivery technique, and failure to order needed testing. When a provider’s care falls short of accepted medical standards in one of these ways, it may rise to medical malpractice.
A birth injury is medical malpractice when a provider’s care departs from accepted medical standards and that departure causes the injury. A poor outcome alone is not enough. A claim generally turns on four elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages. An attorney can review the records to evaluate each one.
You must show the provider owed a duty of care, breached it, that the breach caused the injury, and that real damages resulted. Medical malpractice complaints in New York also generally require a certificate of merit stating a physician was consulted (CPLR 3012-a). Exceptions exist, so confirm the requirements with an attorney.
New York generally allows two years and six months from the malpractice, or from the end of continuous treatment for the same condition (CPLR 214-a). A child’s claim may be extended while the child is a minor, but that extension has a limit. Deadlines are strict, so speak with an attorney promptly.
Yes. Claims against a public hospital or other public entity generally require a notice of claim within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e). A court may allow late notice in its discretion, and a child’s age is one factor, but it is not guaranteed. If a public facility was involved, contact an attorney right away.
Compensation in a birth injury case is meant to address the harm to the child and the emotional and financial strain on the family. What is recoverable depends on the facts, the medical evidence, and New York law, and no outcome is guaranteed. An attorney can explain which losses may apply after reviewing the records.
You do not have to accept it without answers. Request your and your child’s medical records, write down a timeline of what happened, and speak with a New York medical malpractice attorney. Filing deadlines can be short, so do not wait. The Law Offices of Steve Newman offers a free first consultation.
Let The Law Offices of Steve Newman Take on Your Case Today
Getting through the aftermath of a birth injury can take an intense emotional and physical toll. At times, you may feel the temptation to forego legal action and simply move on. However, by doing so, you may sacrifice compensation you desperately need to care for your child.
Our legal team at the Law Offices of Steve Newman is ready to step in and help you get the justice you need. When you hire Steve Newman to be your legal representative, he will act as a dedicated advocate who will orchestrate every detail of your case with precision and passion. With a track record of turning legal challenges into triumphs, Steve Newman is the ally you need to achieve the best outcome for your case.
The Law Offices of Steve Newman offers both legal expertise and emotional support having been initially trained as a social worker. From gathering evidence and expert testimony to maneuvering through the legal complexities of medical malpractice, we handle every part of your birth injury lawsuit. Call us today for a free consultation, 800-690-9880.