When a birth injury occurs due to medical negligence, families deserve compensation to cover extensive medical costs and long-term care. This guide addresses key questions about birth injury lawsuits in New York.
If you or a loved one have suffered from medical negligence leading to birth injuries anywhere in the State, don’t delay in seeking legal help. Reach out to the Porter Law Group today for a free consultation.
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What Are Birth Injuries and How Do They Occur?
Birth injuries are physical damages to infants during labor and delivery. While some are unavoidable, many result from medical negligence. About 7 in 1,000 births involve some form of birth injury, with higher rates in difficult deliveries. Common causes include:
- Improper use of delivery tools
- Failure to monitor fetal distress
- Delayed C-sections
- Mismanaged shoulder dystocia
- Medication errors
Can you sue for birth injuries in New York? Yes, if you can demonstrate that a healthcare provider's negligence caused your child's injury, you have grounds for a lawsuit. New York allows parents to seek compensation for both economic damages (medical expenses, therapy costs) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering).
What are the Symptoms of Birth Injuries?
Early identification is crucial for treatment and legal claims. Immediate symptoms include bruising, abnormal muscle tone, seizures, and feeding difficulties. While developmental red flags include missed milestones, asymmetrical movements, and coordination problems.
1. Umbilical Cord Injuries
The umbilical cord delivers oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. Complications include compression, prolapse, nuchal cord (wrapped around neck), and knots. Medical negligence related to these issues involves inadequate monitoring, failure to detect complications, and delayed emergency intervention.
Can you sue for umbilical cord injuries? Yes, if healthcare providers failed to properly monitor, diagnose, or respond to umbilical cord complications that caused harm to your baby. Compensation may cover immediate treatment and long-term care needs.
2. Brain Bleeds in Newborns
Brain bleeds in newborns can cause devastating long-term effects. Types include intraventricular hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, and cerebral hemorrhage. These often result from excessive force during delivery, improper use of instruments, or mismanagement of high-risk conditions.
What Medical Errors Lead to Birth Injuries?
1. Fetal Monitoring Errors
Failure to Address Fetal Distress
Fetal distress occurs when a baby doesn't receive adequate oxygen. Signs include abnormal heart rate, decreased movement, and meconium-stained fluid. When identified, providers must take immediate action including position changes, oxygen administration, or emergency C-section.
Failure to recognize and address fetal distress can result in cerebral palsy, cognitive impairments, epilepsy, sensory loss, and even death.
Prolonged Labor Effects
Prolonged labor affects one in five women and can cause serious complications including cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, sensory impairments, and organ damage in babies. For mothers, it can lead to pelvic floor dysfunction, chronic pain, and psychological trauma.
Can you sue for injuries from prolonged labor? Yes, if medical providers failed to properly monitor labor progress, delayed necessary interventions, or improperly used labor-inducing drugs, resulting in injury to mother or child.
Misdiagnosed Breech Presentations
Breech presentations (baby positioned bottom-first) occur in 3-4% of deliveries. Modern imaging makes these easily detectable, allowing for proper planning. Medical negligence may include failure to diagnose the position, inadequate counseling, improper delivery technique, or delayed C-section.
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2. Undiagnosed Pregnancy Complications
Placental Abruption
Placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates prematurely from the uterine wall. This serious complication has high mortality rates if improperly managed. Symptoms include vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, and frequent contractions.
Long-term effects for children may include cerebral palsy, developmental disorders, and complications from oxygen deprivation. For mothers, effects can include psychological trauma, fertility issues, and increased health risks.
Can you sue for failure to diagnose placental abruption? Yes, if doctors failed to identify risk factors, dismissed complaints, provided inadequate monitoring, misinterpreted tests, or delayed intervention. Compensation may cover treatment for resulting conditions like cerebral palsy, developmental disorders, and maternal injuries.
Chorioamnionitis
Chorioamnionitis is an infection of tissues surrounding the baby. It's common in premature births but occurs in only 4% of full-term pregnancies. Symptoms include fever, increased heart rates, and uterine tenderness.
Can you sue for undiagnosed chorioamnionitis? Yes, if healthcare providers failed to recognize symptoms, conduct adequate testing, provide timely antibiotics, or consider delivery when appropriate, resulting in harm such as cerebral palsy, brain development issues, or infant death.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes affects approximately 7% of US pregnancies. Testing should occur between weeks 24-28, but errors in timing, handling, or interpretation can lead to misdiagnosis.
Can you sue for misdiagnosed gestational diabetes? Yes, particularly if undiagnosed diabetes led to macrosomia (large baby), resulting in difficult delivery and injuries like Erb's palsy or brain damage. You may also have a claim if false-positive diagnosis led to unnecessary interventions causing harm.
HELLP Syndrome and Fetal Macrosomia
HELLP Syndrome is a life-threatening complication characterized by hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets. Fetal macrosomia occurs when babies weigh more than 4000g at birth, often due to gestational diabetes.
Can you sue for undiagnosed HELLP Syndrome or macrosomia? Yes, if healthcare providers dismissed symptoms, failed to order appropriate tests, or didn't take proper precautions during delivery. Both conditions require careful monitoring and may necessitate C-section delivery to prevent injuries.
3. Nerve Damage and Palsy Injuries
Klumpke's and Erb's Palsy
These brachial plexus injuries affect nerve networks controlling arm and hand movement. Klumpke's Palsy affects the lower nerves (hand and wrist), while Erb's Palsy affects upper nerves (shoulder and upper arm).
Can you sue if your baby has Klumpke's or Erb's Palsy? Yes, if medical negligence contributed to the injury. Grounds include improper delivery techniques, failure to recognize risk factors, mismanaged shoulder dystocia, excessive force during delivery, or failure to perform a necessary C-section.
Nerve Damage During Birth
Nerve damage typically occurs from excessive stretching or compression during delivery. Types include brachial plexus injuries, facial nerve palsy, phrenic nerve injury, and in severe cases, spinal cord injuries.
Risk factors include large babies, shoulder dystocia, breech presentations, prolonged labor, and maternal conditions like diabetes or obesity.
4. Medication and Procedure Risks
Drugs Causing Birth Defects
Certain medications can harm fetal development. Categories include neurological medications (valproate, phenobarbital), antimicrobials (tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones), blood thinners, and excessive vitamin supplements.
Can you sue for medication-caused birth defects? Yes, if healthcare providers failed to check pregnancy status before prescribing known teratogens, prescribed incorrect dosages, continued high-risk medications when safer alternatives existed, or didn't warn about pregnancy risks.
Delayed Cord Clamping
Delayed cord clamping involves waiting 30-60 seconds after birth before clamping the umbilical cord. Benefits include increased blood volume, higher iron stores, and improved oxygenation.
Can you sue for improper cord clamping procedures? Yes, if providers failed to follow standard guidelines without medical justification, didn't obtain informed consent, or didn't monitor for complications, resulting in harm to the baby.
Marginal Cord Insertion
Marginal cord insertion occurs when the umbilical cord attaches near the edge of the placenta. This condition affects up to 7.2% of pregnancies and increases risks of preeclampsia, placental abruption, and stillbirth.
Can you sue for undiagnosed marginal cord insertion? Yes, if providers failed to diagnose the condition during routine ultrasounds or properly monitor affected pregnancies, resulting in preventable complications or injuries.
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Pursuing a Birth Injury Lawsuit in New York
1. Filing a Lawsuit
The process involves consulting an attorney, gathering medical records, establishing negligence, filing a Certificate of Merit (required in NY), submitting the complaint, serving defendants, discovery, negotiations, and potentially trial.
Cases typically take 1-3 years to resolve, with many settling before trial. Compensation covers medical expenses, therapy, special education needs, and pain and suffering.
2. Required Proof for Medical Negligence
To succeed in a birth injury lawsuit, you must establish:
- Duty of care: A doctor-patient relationship existed
- Breach of duty: The provider failed to meet the standard of care
- Causation: The negligence directly caused the injury
- Damages: The injury resulted in significant harm
Evidence includes medical records, fetal monitoring strips, test results, hospital protocols, and expert testimony.
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Why Choose Porter Law Group?
The lawyers at the Porter Law Group have decades of experience representing individuals and families whose lives have been devastated by catastrophic injuries. We have obtained some of the largest settlements and verdicts in courts throughout the State of New York. We are a state-wide firm that handles cases with a hometown feel.
Our clients come to us looking for guidance and answers. With seasoned trial lawyers, the Porter Law Group has the resources necessary to help you navigate the most complex cases, against goliath insurance companies that will stop at nothing to prevent you from receiving the compensation you deserve.
You only get one chance to hire the best lawyer for you and your family. Hire the lawyers most recommended by former clients and local attorneys, and the firm that obtains superior results.
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.
Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer in New York
Birth injuries can create lifelong challenges and substantial financial burdens. When they result from medical negligence, legal action is often necessary to secure resources for your child's future.
Don't wait to seek help, the statute of limitations restricts how long you have to file. Contact Porter Law Group today at 833-PORTER9 or info@porterlawteam.com for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis, so there are no fees unless we secure a favorable outcome. Reach out today and let us help you get started on the road to recovery.
