During challenging childbirths, doctors sometimes use assisted delivery instruments like forceps or vacuum extractors to help safely guide a baby through the birth canal. When used correctly, these tools can prevent further complications, especially when labor stalls or the baby shows signs of distress. However, improper or negligent use can lead to serious injuries that affect both mothers and infants. These injuries may include brain damage, nerve injuries, and other long-term complications. If you or your child suffered injuries related to the negligent use of these delivery instruments anywhere in New York State, the Porter Law Group is here to help you pursue the justice and compensation your family deserves.
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Medical professionals have a fundamental duty to carefully assess whether assisted delivery instruments are appropriate for each specific situation and to apply them with the utmost skill and caution. When negligent use of forceps or vacuum extractors causes devastating harm to mothers or babies, families have the right to hold these medical providers accountable for their actions. The consequences of improper instrument use can be catastrophic, affecting not only the immediate health of mother and child but also creating lifelong challenges that require extensive medical care, therapy, and support.
The experienced birth injury lawyers at the Porter Law Group understand the complex medical and legal issues surrounding assisted delivery injuries. We have successfully represented families throughout New York State, from New York City and Long Island to Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, and everywhere in between. Our team works tirelessly to investigate these cases thoroughly, consulting with leading medical experts to determine when and how medical negligence may have occurred.
Contact us today for a free, comprehensive consultation where we'll carefully review your case and explain all of your legal options. Call 833-PORTER9 or email info@porterlawteam.com to speak with our dedicated legal team.
Forceps are tong-shaped tools placed around a baby's head to provide gentle guidance during delivery. When used correctly by skilled practitioners, forceps can assist with repositioning the baby or adding gentle traction to complete the delivery. Vacuum extractors, on the other hand, use a soft suction cup attached to the baby's head, allowing the doctor to apply controlled traction to assist with delivery.
Both instruments are widely used in modern obstetrics and, when applied properly, may reduce the need for an emergency cesarean section. However, these tools require extensive training, proper timing, careful technique, and strict attention to safety. The biomechanical forces involved in assisted deliveries are substantial—forceps can apply compressive pressure between 30 to 40 Newtons, while vacuum devices rely on negative pressure up to 0.8 kg/cm² to maintain suction. These forces, although medically necessary in certain cases, can cause serious harm if used incorrectly.
Misuse of forceps or vacuum devices, such as poor placement, excessive force, or prolonged use, can result in severe injuries to both the baby and mother. Understanding when and how these tools should be used helps families recognize when medical negligence may have played a role in a birth injury.
Newborns are especially vulnerable during childbirth. When forceps or vacuum extractors are used incorrectly, the pressure and force involved can cause immediate trauma as well as injuries that may not become apparent until months or years later.
Brain and Skull Injuries: Improper use of instruments can cause skull fractures, which are seen in about 8-12% of vacuum deliveries and 3-5% of forceps use. More seriously, intracranial bleeding, including subdural hematomas and brain hemorrhages, can result from excessive pressure or incorrect instrument positioning. These injuries can lead to permanent brain damage, cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, and lifelong developmental disabilities.
Facial Nerve Damage: Forceps placed incorrectly can compress facial nerves, causing paralysis on one side of the baby’s face. In some cases, this paralysis is permanent and affects facial expressions, blinking, and feeding.
Brachial Plexus Injuries: Excessive force, especially with rotational forceps, can stretch or tear the nerves in the shoulder and arm. This can result in Erb’s palsy, where the baby has little or no movement in the affected arm. The rate of brachial plexus injuries with rotational forceps is approximately 1.6%.
Cephalohematomas: Vacuum extraction can cause bleeding between the skull and the membrane covering it, creating a bump on the baby's head. While many cephalohematomas resolve on their own, some can lead to complications such as jaundice, anemia, and in rare cases, calcification requiring surgical intervention.
Vision and Hearing Problems: Trauma from delivery instruments may damage a baby’s eyes or ears, resulting in long-term vision or hearing issues and other sensory impairments. These problems may not be immediately apparent.
Spinal Cord Injuries: In rare cases, too much twisting or pulling during assisted delivery can injure the spinal cord, leading to paralysis or other serious neurological complications.
Mothers can also suffer serious injuries when delivery instruments are used incorrectly or with too much force:
Severe Vaginal and Cervical Tears: Forceps deliveries are linked to higher rates of severe third and fourth-degree perineal tears—up to 18-25%, compared to 5-7% in unassisted births. These tears may extend through the anal sphincter and into the rectum, requiring extensive surgical repair and potentially causing long-term complications.
Uterine Rupture: Excessive force during assisted delivery can cause the uterus to tear, creating a life-threatening emergency that may require surgery and affect future pregnancies.
Bladder and Urethral Damage: Improperly placed instruments can damage the bladder, urethra, or surrounding structures, leading to pain, incontinence, and the need for reconstructive surgery.
Pelvic Organ Prolapse: Trauma from a forceful assisted delivery can weaken the pelvic floor muscles and supporting structures, causing internal organs to shift out of their normal positions.
Severe Blood Loss and Anemia: Injuries sustained during traumatic delivery may cause significant bleeding, sometimes requiring blood transfusions and putting the mother at risk.
Rectovaginal Fistulae: In rare cases, misapplied forceps may tear through tissue and create an abnormal connection between the rectum and vagina, requiring complex surgical repair.
These injuries can bring lasting physical and emotional pain, and often require long-term medical care, rehabilitation, and financial resources.
While forceps and vacuum extractors can be helpful tools, they must be used according to established medical standards and guidelines. Medical malpractice occurs when healthcare providers deviate from the accepted standard of care, and this deviation causes injury to the patient.
Certain medical conditions and situations make the use of delivery instruments unsafe.
Incorrect Fetal Position: Attempting to use instruments when the baby is not in a head-first position or is too high in the birth canal significantly increases the risk of injury. Extractions should not be attempted before the baby has descended to at least +2 station.
Fetal Size Concerns: Using instruments on babies with suspected macrosomia (birth weight over 4,500 grams) or when there's evidence of cephalopelvic disproportion increases the risk of complications.
Maternal Factors: Certain maternal conditions may make instrument use inadvisable, including incomplete cervical dilation, inadequate anesthesia, or maternal exhaustion.
Sequential Instrument Use: Using both forceps and vacuum extractors in the same delivery (sequential instrumentation) significantly increases the risk of serious injury and is generally not recommended.
Even when instrument use is appropriate, improper technique can lead to malpractice:
Incorrect Placement: Forceps must be precisely positioned on the baby's head to avoid injury. Oblique placement can concentrate dangerous pressure on vulnerable areas like the temporal bones.
Excessive Force: Applying too much pressure or traction can cause skull fractures, brain bleeding, and other serious injuries. Vacuum extraction should not exceed 20 minutes, and no more than three sequential pulls should be attempted without progress.
Failure to Recognize Complications: Medical providers must continuously monitor for signs of fetal distress or instrument failure and be prepared to abandon the assisted delivery in favor of cesarean section when complications arise.
Healthcare providers have a legal obligation to inform patients about the risks associated with assisted delivery instruments. This includes explaining:
Failing to provide adequate information and moving forward without proper consent may qualify as medical negligence, especially if serious complications occur.
Birth injury cases involving forceps and vacuum extractor complications fall under medical malpractice law. To establish a successful claim, families must prove several key elements:
Doctor-Patient Relationship: There must be proof that a formal medical relationship existed between the patient and the healthcare provider.
Breach of Standard of Care: The healthcare provider must have failed to meet the standard of care, and acted in a way that a reasonably skilled and careful medical professional would not have in the same situation.
Causation: This breach of standard of care has directly caused injuries to the mother or baby.
Damages: The injuries must have resulted in actual harm, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, or other losses.
The Porter Law Group works with board-certified medical experts who specialize in obstetrics, neonatology, and related fields. These experts review medical records, analyze the circumstances surrounding the delivery, and provide professional opinions about whether the standard of care was met. Our medical experts can also provide the required certificate of merit for medical malpractice cases in New York and testify on your behalf if a trial becomes necessary.
Families affected by injuries from improper use of delivery instruments may be entitled to significant compensation for various damages:
These are measurable financial losses related to the injury:
Medical Expenses: This includes all past and future medical costs related to treating the injuries, including emergency care, surgeries, hospitalizations, medications, and ongoing medical monitoring.
Rehabilitation and Therapy Costs: Many birth injuries require extensive physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other rehabilitation services that can continue for years or even a lifetime.
Special Equipment and Modifications: Families may need wheelchairs, communication devices, home modifications, and other specialized equipment to accommodate their child's disabilities.
Special Education and Care: Children with birth injuries often require specialized educational services, tutoring, and additional care that can be extremely expensive.
Lost Income and Earning Capacity: When parents must leave work or reduce their hours to care for an injured child, they may be compensated for lost income. Additionally, if the child's injuries affect their future earning capacity, this loss can be calculated and included in the damages.
These cover the emotional and personal impact of an injury:
Pain and Suffering: Both mothers and children may be compensated for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by their injuries.
Loss of Quality of Life: Disabilities that affect a person's ability to enjoy life's activities may be compensated through quality of life damages.
Loss of Consortium: Spouses may be compensated for the loss of companionship and support when their partner is injured.
Wrongful Death: In tragic cases where improper instrument use leads to death, families may pursue wrongful death claims for their losses.
The Porter Law Group has successfully recovered millions of dollars for birth injury victims throughout New York State. We understand the long-term financial implications of these injuries and work tirelessly to ensure families receive full compensation for all their current and future needs.
Proving medical negligence in assisted delivery cases often requires the support of expert witnesses. These professionals help explain what went wrong, how it could have been avoided, and what impact the injuries may have long-term.
Our legal team works closely with renowned medical experts who can:
These expert relationships are crucial for building strong cases that can withstand the aggressive defense strategies typically employed by hospitals and insurance companies.
Because birth injuries often require lifelong care, many families benefit from structured settlements instead of a single lump-sum payment. A structured settlement provides regular payments over time, helping families manage future expenses more easily.
The experienced attorneys at the Porter Law Group can help families determine whether a structured settlement is appropriate for their situation and work with financial experts to design payment schedules that best meet their long-term needs.
Was Your Child Injured by Medical Negligence in New York?
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When you or a loved one’s life has been devastated by a serious personal injury in New York, don’t hire a lawyer without calling the Porter Law Group to learn why so many of our clients are thankful they trusted us with their case in their time of need.
The Porter Law Group is committed to helping families throughout New York State whose babies and mothers have suffered preventable injuries from the improper use of forceps and vacuum extractors during delivery. If your child or family member developed complications from negligent assisted delivery techniques, inadequate fetal monitoring, or failures in obstetric care, our skilled medical malpractice attorneys will fight tirelessly for the compensation your family needs for treatment, supportive care, and long-term security.
Schedule your free consultation today by calling 833-PORTER9 or email info@porterlawteam.com. Let us put our knowledge, experience, and resources to work for your family during this challenging time. You and your loved ones deserve justice, and we're here to help you achieve it.
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