While most babies are born healthy and happy, even within the advanced state of modern medicine, injuries during labor and childbirth are not unheard of. While most birth injuries can be resolved without lasting effects, others can result in permanent disfigurement or disability for your child. It’s important to note that not all birth injuries are the result of malpractice, but if you believe your child’s birth injury was due to a medical professional’s negligence, fighting for justice and compensation is well within your rights.
If your child has been injured and you think a doctor is responsible, a New York birth injury lawyer from Buttafuoco & Associates may be able to help. Call 1-800-NOW-HURT to learn more about your rights and whether you have a case.
Types of Birth Injuries
There are many types of birth injuries–from those that result in serious consequences to those that can be resolved with minimally invasive treatment. Some birth injuries appear during labor or delivery, while others may not manifest until the infant is days or even weeks old.
Minor birth injuries such as skin discoloration, lacerations, and minor hematomas, typically resolve within a few days or weeks with proper care. Birth injuries that require litigation are those that result from a doctor’s negligence and cause long-term or permanent damage to the infant.
The most common types of negligence-related serious birth injuries include:
- Hypoxia and brain damage: this occurs when the fetus is deprived of oxygen, which causes irreversible brain damage.
- Brachial plexus injury: this type of injury happens when the fetus’ shoulder nerves are compressed during birth, causing a limp arm, difficulty grasping, and other symptoms.
- Cerebral palsy: this neurological condition is caused by brain damage during or after birth, and results in issues with muscle tone, movement, and posture.
- Fetal death: this can occur due to medical errors, complications during delivery, or undiagnosed conditions.
Beyond this list, other birth injuries can happen due to medical errors that harm either the mother or the baby.
The specific symptoms that emerge after a birth injury depend on the specific type of injury. Some common examples include:
- Bruising, swelling, or discoloration on the skin
- An inability to move a specific body part
- Difficulty feeding
- Intense crying or behavior issues, especially if accompanied by noisy breathing
If you or your child has been harmed during childbirth and you are unsure of the severity of the condition or you are otherwise concerned about negligence, it may be in your best interest to seek out a birth injury attorney serving New York for a case review.
Risk Factors for a Birth Injury
There are specific risk factors that can increase the potential for a birth injury. It can be useful to be aware of them, and many can be managed by your doctor.
Some risk factors include:
- Large fetal size or weight (more than 8 pounds 14 ounces), including a large head
- Use of instruments (e.g., forceps, vacuum extraction) during delivery
- Vaginal breech delivery (where the baby is positioned feet-first)
- Aspects of the mother’s anatomy, such as pelvis shape, that cause a difficult delivery
- Pregnancy-related conditions such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes
- Extreme prematurity or low birth weight
- Unusually fast birth or extended labor
Just because you or your child has a risk factor does not mean your baby will necessarily be injured during birth. Ideally your doctor will identify any factors that could cause issues and take the proper measures to prevent harm.
Identifying a Preventable Birth Injury
Identifying a birth injury that should have been prevented requires you to identify actions your doctor took that violate what is known as the standard of care. It is the duty of all medical professionals to provide the best care possible within the industry standard for their field. If they fail to provide the level of care another professional in their field would have provided under the same circumstances, they may be guilty of negligence.
For example, your doctor should monitor your baby’s position in the womb before active labor and assess whether vaginal or cesarean delivery of a breech birth is the best option. If they fail to do so or make the wrong decision and it results in injury, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against them.
Your doctor must also monitor the mother’s health conditions, especially those that could affect the baby’s health. If a doctor fails to diagnose or respond properly to gestational diabetes and it causes injury to your baby, you may be eligible to file a claim.
These are just two examples, but if you can prove that your doctor acted outside of a reasonable standard of care and that their actions caused your infant harm, you have the right to seek damages.
It is equally important to remember that if your baby is injured but your doctor was acting under accepted protocol, your case is unlikely to be considered malpractice in a court of law. For help determining and establishing malpractice, get in touch with a New York birth injury attorney from Buttafuoco & Associates.
Long-term Complications and Compensation for Your Damages
Serious birth complications such as brain damage from a lack of oxygen, cerebral palsy, or fetal death can create extensive life-long expenses for you and your family. Raising a child with severe brain damage or physical or mental limitations is costly mentally, physically, and emotionally. It may require one parent to stop working to provide full-time care, and ongoing treatment can lead to serious financial difficulties.
The potential losses from a birth injury that you may be eligible to recover include:
- Medical costs of post-birth care
- Parental loss of work
- Future medical care
- Medical devices
- Home health care or enrollment in a special school
- Cost of caring for a permanently mentally or physically challenged child
- Home or vehicle renovations required due to disability
- Pain and suffering (emotional damages)
Regardless of what expenses you think you are entitled to, do not accept a birth injury settlement until you have reviewed your situation with a New York birth injury lawyer. Legal expertise is essential in helping you estimate the full scope of damages, calculate future expenses and losses, and negotiate a settlement that takes care of your needs.
Get in touch with the birth injury attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates today for information about your situation and options.
Call 1-800-NOW-HURT to set up a free case review.