New York Birth Injury Lawyers Advocating for Your Child's Future

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

Here are some of the most common reasons birth injuries occur:

Hypoxia

The term "hypoxia" means that the brain doesn't receive enough oxygen. Typical causes of hypoxia during childbirth include placenta damage, infection, or a tangled umbilical cord.

It's up to the doctor to notice signs of hypoxia and take immediate steps to prevent it from causing lasting damage. If this doesn't happen, the newborn may suffer from a brain injury or long-term physical and mental disabilities.

Improper Use of Forceps

Sometimes, the baby is in an awkward position or gets stuck in the birth canal, or the mother’s cervix doesn't expand far enough to push the baby out unless a doctor intervenes and uses forceps.

The attendant medical professional must be certain in this decision and use the forceps carefully to avoid damaging the baby’s head, chest, or nerves, which can lead to lifelong issues.

Improper Use of Vacuum Tools

Vacuum extractors are a common way to help deliver a baby that's stuck in the birth canal. The physician must place the vacuum on a baby’s skull or shoulders and gently pull the child through the birth canal. Severe injuries to the mother, baby, or both can occur when the doctor doesn't use the vacuum tool correctly.

Unnecessary Delay in Performing a C-Section

If the baby is clearly in distress with a low heart rate or the mother’s blood pressure has gotten too high, the doctor attending the birth should stop all attempts at labor and deliver the baby surgically by cesarean section. This is also true in the case of uterine rupture, placenta previa, slowed labor, or umbilical cord prolapse.

Failing to recognize the need for an immediate C-section can result in fetal death or severe health and development issues.

Other Potential Acts of Negligence

These are just a few examples of the kinds of negligence or errors in judgment physicians can make.

Others include:

• Failure to notice that the condition of the baby has changed
• Failure to diagnose or treat premature uterine rupture, trapped umbilical cord, infections, placenta previa, or placental abruption
• Lack of adequate prenatal testing
• Lack of communication with other doctors regarding concerns about the mother or baby
• Not performing specific tests during pregnancy that could have detected a potential problem earlier
• Not referring a high-risk mother to other medical specialists during her pregnancy
• Using Pitocin (a drug that induces labor) incorrectly
• Improper use of vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC)
• Mother’s opioid addiction and doctor’s failure to address opioid use during pregnancy

Any of these forms of negligence could result in severe or lasting birth injuries and exorbitant medical bills.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

The following are examples of the most common birth injuries. Each of the conditions detailed here is a severe and tragic outcome of what most likely could have been a normal birth experience.

Cerebral Palsy

Of all possible brain injuries occurring at birth, cerebral palsy is the most common and potentially the most devastating.

In addition to oxygen deprivation, an infant can develop cerebral palsy due to infection or stroke, or an infection present in the mother. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about cerebral palsy is that many instances are avoidable with proper medical intervention.

Common forms of malpractice leading to cerebral palsy include:

• Delay in performing a C-section
• Failure to detect, monitor, and treat infections in the mother
• Failure to detect and promptly treat prolapse of the umbilical cord
• Failure to monitor signs of fetal distress and take appropriate actions
• Improper use of tools to facilitate birth

Infant cerebral palsy can sometimes be mistaken for various muscle diseases due to the child's complete loss of muscle control. While it's understandable for you to come to this conclusion, it's unacceptable for a trained medical specialist to make this kind of flagrant misdiagnosis.

Although cerebral palsy affects bodily movements, the disorder originates in the brain. It's critical that you know your child has cerebral palsy as soon as possible so you can obtain the proper medical and educational services.

A birth injury lawyer can help you if you believe that doctors harmed your child during birth and subsequently failed to diagnose the problem correctly.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb's palsy is a sub-type of brachial plexus palsy. It's mainly caused by an injury to the nerves of the child’s upper arm. Consequently, the child will likely have weakness and loss of sensation in that arm for the rest of their life. Sadly, severe cases of Erb’s palsy can cause total paralysis of the affected arm.

Birth Complications and Labor Injuries

Labor and delivery carry inherent risks, but many complications and injuries are preventable with proper medical care. Common labor injuries include nerve damage, broken bones, and excessive bleeding from improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors. Birth complications like oxygen deprivation, infection, or improper fetal monitoring may also lead to infant health problems or permanent disabilities.

While not all risks can be avoided, negligent oversight or substandard practices can worsen outcomes. Families coping with resulting long-term care challenges deserve to hold providers accountable. Legal action cannot undo damage, but it can obtain resources for the child’s future and motivate improved safety training to prevent similar birth injuries.

Maternal Death

Maternal death is the most severe birth injury outcome, though still distressingly common in the U.S. Despite medical advancements, deficiencies in maternal care contribute to hundreds of preventable fatalities annually. Legally, mothers' families may have grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit if negligence, such as failure to treat foreseeable complications, caused or contributed to the death. The goal is not merely obtaining damages, but promoting accountability to improve provider training and facility procedures. No amount of money can make up for losing a mother and partner. However, successful litigation can potentially save lives by pressuring the healthcare system to implement safety reforms addressing the root causes of maternal mortality.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a devastating birth injury where oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery causes brain damage. HIE occurs when the blood and oxygen supply to an infant’s brain is disrupted, destroying neurons and triggering disabilities. While sometimes unavoidable, HIE may also result from negligent care like inappropriate use of anesthesia or failure to promptly perform an emergency C-section. Families struggle to provide extensive therapy and care for the child’s resulting cerebral palsy, cognitive deficits, and other impairments. By holding providers accountable through medical malpractice claims, changes can be made to protect others from similarly avoidable HIE injuries in the future.

Brachial Plexus

Brachial plexus injuries occur during childbirth when excessive pulling or stretching of a baby's head and neck damages the nerves that control arm and hand movement. These preventable yet devastating injuries range from temporary weakness to total paralysis of the arm. Families face lifelong disabilities, daunting therapies, and permanent loss of mobility and function. Holding providers accountable through medical malpractice claims can compensate victims, motivate improved safety practices, and help prevent other children from suffering these permanent nerve injuries.

Klumpke’s Palsy

Klumpke's palsy is another type of brachial plexus palsy. Children with this condition sustain damage to the nerves in their lower arm during delivery, which typically affects the fingers and wrists in addition to the arm. With total paralysis, the hand of a person with Klumpke’s palsy may permanently take on the shape of a claw.

Shoulder Dystocia

This birth injury occurs when the infant's shoulders and head become lodged behind the mother's pelvic bone. It happens in approximately one percent of all deliveries and can lead to a number of severe complications.

For the mother, these complications can include uterine rupture and hemorrhaging; for the baby, they can include brachial plexus injury, breathing difficulties, cerebral palsy, collarbone fracture, and even death.