Birth Injury Brain Damage Lawyers in New York City

• On This Page

The birth of a child is a joyous and exciting time for parents. There are preparations to be made by way of home modifications, family and schedule adjustments, selecting a birthing center, and having a birth plan. Parents dream of the blissful days they will spend with their new baby, which will far outweigh the sleepless nights. But, hidden among the happy anticipation could be a potential for errors on the part of the physician at any time during a woman’s pregnancy, including during the birthing process. Despite everyone’s best intentions for a successful birth, mistakes do happen that could cause severe brain damage and a lifetime of heartache and medical bills for the victim and family. Although every case is different, most states have guidelines and timeframes by which lawsuits may be filed. Sadly, faced with a sudden time deficiency and sleep deprivation, many parents do not have the time once their baby arrives to pursue a lawsuit or research what is involved in a medical malpractice case. Many find it difficult to determine whether they have a case, and take it for granted that the physician did the best he could.

We suggest contacting a New York City birth injury lawyer and requesting a free consultation to evaluate the specifics of your situation to find the best possible solutions for you and your newborn.

What is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is the result of the negligence of a delivery room doctor or others within the hospital staff in failing to act to avoid a significant traumatizing event during the birthing process. When a birth injury occurs in the form of brain damage, there has been a deprivation of oxygen at some point to a child during birth. Unfortunately, a decrease in oxygen, even for a short amount of time, can result in a lifetime of challenges for the child, the parents, and other caretakers in the lives of that child, not to mention expense, loss of quality of life, and more. With proper precautions and foresight, however, this type of injury should never occur.

What are the Causes of a Birth Injury Brain Damage?

With the advances in medical care and birthing options, it is difficult to believe that there still exists a potential for a lack of standard care when it comes to the delivery of a baby, particularly in the case of oxygen deprivation. After all, fetal monitors track the oxygen exchange between mother and baby during labor and can be adjusted almost immediately in times of distress. However, almost 3% of the children born in the U.S. suffer from some type of birth defect, one of which is oxygen deprivation causing brain damage. Despite these advances, at times, the doctor or attendant does not act quickly enough if distress is discovered in a baby. Other times, the doctor wishes to follow the mother’s birth plan and allows her more time than needed for labor—ignoring signs for immediate action that could take care of a situation before it is too late.

While labor and delivery can and should be monitored at all times, some situations occur that evidence substandard care on the part of the health care professional. Some of these situations include:

• the mother experiencing prolonged or difficult labor;
• the physician’s failure to detect an umbilical cord’s position relative to the baby’s neck, including twisting or compression of the umbilical cord;
• delay in performing an emergency C-section;
• failure to take action quickly enough when a potential for trauma presents;
• inaccurate projection of a baby’s size—for instance, if a baby weighs more than 8 pounds, 13 oz., there is a higher likelihood for birth injury, as well as if the baby is prematurely (born before 37 weeks);
• the size and shape of the mother’s pelvis altering the plans for a traditional, vaginal delivery;
• baby’s inhalation and inability to expel meconium in the lungs, which often happens during fetal distress;
• breech birth—did pre-existing conditions necessitate the doctor to perform a breech birth, and was the person delivering the baby equipped for such a birth? For instance, many midwives will defer to a traditional hospital in the event of a breach of birth.
• fetal heart rate or failure to tend to fetal distress—is it steady, and what is causing an increase in distress?
• negligent and unnecessary surgery.

Do You Have a Birth Injury Case?

If your child suffered brain damage because of a lack of oxygen during labor or delivery, you may have a case of medical malpractice on your hands. Many new parents are overwhelmed with the latest baby and their new lifestyle and can barely catch up with this altered way of life. Stress levels escalate when a child is born with a deformity or experiences brain damage during birth. Few new parents know what is involved in bringing a medical malpractice case to the forefront, and often end up delaying the investigation as to what could have gone wrong, or could have been done differently. Incorporating all the pieces of the puzzle is a difficult task to absorb.

The first place to start is to determine whether you do have an actual case. Could the situation have been prevented had care been done differently? A medical malpractice case will involve the gathering of medical records of the mother and baby including any records relevant to the pregnancy, birth, and labor, investigations within the hospitals, expert witness’s testimonies, and testimonies of those in the delivery room.

Legal Help for the Birth Injury Brain Damage

Law firms who are renowned for their work in the area of medical malpractice cases will have a higher success rate at executing the investigation and obtaining the information and records needed to pursue a successful malpractice case of brain damage during birth. Some of the elements for investigation include:

• Determining whether the standard of care fell below what would have been normal in other similar circumstances
• Determining whether or not treatment would have been different if the birth injury could have been detected sooner
• Proving negligence on the part of the physician for failing to review the history of the patient

A birth injury medical malpractice victim may receive monetary damages for past and future pain and suffering and medical expenses, future loss of earnings, and costs of caregiving over the years including equipment and special devices. Investigation for a medical malpractice case of a brain damage birth injury is best handled by a reputable medical malpractice law firm such as Finz & Finz, P.C. The firm has obtained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements in brain damage birth injury medical malpractice cases. Without any obligation, we invite you to fill out and submit our Free Birth Injury Brain Damage Case Evaluation form, or contact us toll-free at (855) TOP-FIRM to further discuss your situation. The firm also focuses on all types of medical malpractice cases including:

If you or someone you know has experienced the devastating event of brain damage, the team at Finz & Finz, P.C., consists of  renowned lawyers for achieving desirable results in lawsuits related to birth injury brain damage. The lawyers, legal nurse consultants, and paralegals at the firm are standing by to answer your questions to help you achieve the compensation you deserve.