Birth Injuries

Types of Medical Malpractice

Approximately seven in every 1,000 infants are born with a birth injury. Although birth injuries can be caused by a mother’s pre-existing condition or an unavoidable complication during childbirth, they commonly develop as a result of negligence on part of the nurse, doctor or hospital during the delivery. If your child was born with a birth injury, such as cerebral palsy, our birth injury lawyers in New York can determine the cause of the injury and hold the responsible parties accountable for their negligent actions or omissions. To speak with a New York birth injury lawyer about your case, fill out our free case review form today.

Causes of Birth Injuries in New York

Certain factors can increase a mother’s risk of delivering a child with a birth injury. For instance, when a child is born prematurely or weighs more than eight pounds, he or she becomes more susceptible to injury at birth. A prolonged labor or breech birth is also more likely to result in a birth injury. When a mother has a history of difficult births, the physician should be on alert for possible complications in any subsequent deliveries.

Medical negligence can also lead to New York birth injuries or increase their severity. Medical errors that may indicate negligence on part of the doctor, midwife or nurse include:

• Failure to respond to fetal distress
• Misuse of a vacuum or forceps
• Delay in ordering a c-section
• Failure to respond or observe umbilical cord entrapment
• Failure to monitor the infant’s vital signs
• Inappropriate administration of Pitocin

Most New York birth injury lawsuits citing the above medical errors will require an examination of the child’s medical records. Our medical malpractice lawyers in New York often have these files reviewed by a nurse or doctor to determine if delivery room negligence caused the child’s birth injury.

Birth Injury Types

The most common types of birth injuries caused by medical negligence include the following:

Cerebral Palsy: An umbrella term for a group of disabling motor conditions, cerebral palsy affects a patient’s brain and nervous system functions. Children that are born with cerebral palsy may suffer from muscle weakness, hearing, speech or vision problems, abnormal movements of the extremities, tremors and seizures, among other birth injury symptoms. Cerebral palsy typically occurs when the supply of blood flow from the brain is cut off and may result when a doctor delays in ordering a caesarean section.

Brachial Plexus Palsy: A common type of birth injury, brachial plexus palsy is caused by damage to the brachial plexus, a network of nerves that control muscle movement and sensation in the arm, shoulder and hand. Children with brachial plexus palsy may experience severe pain, lack of motor function and a feeling of numbness, weakness or burning in the arm. Total brachial plexus palsy can cause paralysis of the hand, arm and shoulder.

Shoulder Dystocia: When a doctor does not properly treat shoulder dystocia, brachial plexus palsy can result. Shoulder dystocia commonly occurs when the child’s shoulder gets lodged on the mother’s pelvic bone.

Other types of birth injuries that may be caused by medical malpractice include klumpke’s palsy, erb’s palsy and birth paralysis.

New York Birth Injury Lawyers

The New York birth injury attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have helped injured infants and their families cope with the unfortunate consequences of a birth injury. Our extensive experience handling medical malpractice and birth injury claims has helped us develop a firm understanding of the physical, emotional and financial consequences a medical error can have on a victim and their loved ones. Depending on the type and severity of the birth injury, a child may require multiple surgeries, 24-hour care and a comprehensive therapy program which can include occupational, behavioral, physical and speech therapy. To ensure our clients are properly compensated for these medical costs, our New York birth injury lawyers work with a team of medical experts to develop a prognosis for the child’s birth injury and develop an accurate estimate for the cost of lifelong medical care.

Our birth injury attorneys in New York have experience handling many types of birth injury claims, including those stemming from cerebral palsy and erb’s palsy. In the past, we have obtained substantial New York birth injury settlements and verdicts for our clients, including a $4 million award for a child who was injured at birth. This birth injury award became the largest known brachial plexus birth injury settlement in New York. If your child suffered an injury at birth, our New York medical malpractice attorneys have results you can trust. Contact us today for a free case review.