Birth Injury Lawyers in the Bronx, New York

Queens Birth Injury Lawyers Dedicated to Serving Families

A birth injury isn’t just a medical event — it's a life-altering experience that comes with immense physical and emotional hardships.

Our birth injury attorneys understand the complex and sensitive nature of these cases and are committed to providing compassionate support while aggressively pursuing legal rectification. We’ve handled birth injury cases in Queens and throughout New York for more than 40 years.

Here’s how we can help you:

• Investigating the Circumstances: We’ll meticulously examine medical records and consult medical experts to uncover the truth behind your child's birth injury.
• Fighting for Maximum Compensation: We’re relentless in seeking damages to cover medical expenses, long-term care, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
• Guiding You Every Step of the Way: Our team will handle all the legal complexities so you can focus on your child's well-being.

Taking legal action after a birth injury can be overwhelming. You deserve trustworthy and empathetic assistance in seeking compensation. Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm can give it to you.

Meet Our Attorneys

Common Birth Injuries We Handle

Our birth injury attorneys have extensive experience handling a wide range of birth injuries, including the following:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement, coordination, and muscle tone. It often results from brain damage that occurs during or shortly after birth. This damage can lead to an array of challenges, including difficulty walking, talking, or controlling movements.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a serious brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during birth. This can happen when a baby's oxygen supply is interrupted due to complications during labor or delivery. HIE can lead to long-term neurological problems, such as cerebral palsy, seizures, and developmental delays.

Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy is a type of brachial plexus injury that affects the nerves in the shoulder and upper arm. It occurs when these nerves are stretched or damaged during birth, often due to excessive pulling or pressure. The result is weakness or paralysis in the arm, hand, and fingers.

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This is by no means an exhaustive list. If your child has experienced any injury during birth, no matter how minor, we want to understand your situation. We offer a free consultation to assess the circumstances of your child’s injury and determine whether you have a potential medical malpractice case.

Focus on Your Child, Not Legal Costs

Our firm works on a contingency fee basis. Here’s what that means:

• Free Consultation: We’ll evaluate your case without any obligation on your part.
• No Fees Unless We Win: We only get paid if we secure compensation for you.
• Transparent Communication: We’ll give you our honest opinion about your case’s chances of success.

Our fee structure prioritizes your family's well-being — we're fully committed to securing the maximum possible recovery for your child's medical expenses and future needs.

While the fees for our services are covered, there may be additional case-related costs, such as expert witness fees or medical records, that are your responsibility. We'll be transparent about these potential costs during your consultation so you have a clear understanding of the process.

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Understanding Birth Injuries: Conditions Our Firm Handles

Birth injuries can drastically alter a child’s life and cause a lifetime of hardship for families. Our Bronx legal team has in-depth knowledge of various birth injuries and relentlessly advocates for children affected by medical negligence.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

This severe brain injury occurs when an infant is deprived of oxygen during the birthing process, potentially leading to long-term disabilities.

Cerebral Palsy

This includes a group of disorders resulting from brain damage around the time of birth, affecting movement, coordination, and muscle tone.

Erb’s Palsy

This injury to the brachial plexus nerves can cause weakness or paralysis in a baby’s arm, shoulder, and hand.

Unfortunately, this is not an exhaustive list of birth injuries our team handles. If your child has suffered any type of injury during birth, we are here to assess the situation and determine whether you have a potential medical malpractice case.

Understanding Birth Injury Legal Fees: No Upfront Costs

We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t pay any upfront legal costs or hourly fees. 

Here’s how it works:

• Free consultation: We'll review your case at no charge to determine whether you have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
• We only get paid if you win: If we take your case, our fees are a percentage of the settlement or verdict we secure for you.
• No recovery, no fee: If we don't win your case, you won't owe us any legal fees.

This system ensures that families aren’t burdened with legal costs on top of their child’s medical expenses. It also aligns our interests with yours, which means we are both motivated to secure the maximum compensation possible.

Please note that while you won’t pay attorney fees out of pocket, there are some case-related expenses you may be responsible for, such as expert witness fees or medical records. We’ll discuss these with full transparency during your consultation.

What Causes Birth Injuries? Understanding the Risks

Birth injuries can have a devastating impact on children and their families. While some injuries are unavoidable, many are the result of medical negligence or preventable errors during labor and delivery. 

Here are some common causes of birth injuries:

• Oxygen deprivation: When a baby's brain doesn't receive enough oxygen (hypoxia, asphyxia), it can lead to severe disabilities like cerebral palsy.
• Improper use of delivery tools: If misused, forceps and vacuum extractors can cause head trauma, nerve damage, and other injuries.
• Delayed c-section: Failure to perform a timely cesarean section when necessary can have serious consequences.
• Maternal infections: A mother’s untreated infections can be passed to the baby, causing complications and potential injuries.
• Medication errors: An incorrect dosage or administration of medication can have harmful side effects.

Determining the exact cause of a birth injury requires careful medical analysis. If you suspect your child’s injury was preventable, it’s crucial to consult with a dedicated birth injury attorney.

Determining Fault in a Birth Injury Case: Potential Liable Parties

When a birth injury occurs due to medical negligence, there may be multiple liable parties from which you can seek compensation. 

Potentially liable parties in a birth injury case may include:

• Doctors: Obstetricians, pediatricians, or specialists who deviate from the accepted standard of care.
• Nurses: Nurses who fail to properly monitor the mother and baby, misinterpret fetal heart readings, or make medication errors.
• Hospitals: Healthcare organizations are held liable for the negligent acts of hospital staff or inadequate equipment and safety protocols.
• Other medical professionals: Anesthesiologists, radiologists, or other healthcare providers who make mistakes or otherwise do not provide a professional standard of care.

Proving liability in a birth injury case is complex. Our skilled Bronx birth injury lawyers meticulously investigate the circumstances of your case and work with medical experts to build a strong compensation case.

Building Your Case: How to Prove Your Child’s Birth Injury Was Caused by Negligence

Proving that your baby’s birth injury was the result of medical malpractice is a complex legal process. 

Here are the key elements your birth injury attorney will work to establish:

• Standard of care: Establishing accepted medical practices that should have been followed in your situation.
• Breach of duty: Demonstrating how healthcare providers involved deviated from this standard of care.
• Causation: Proving that the medical professional's negligence directly caused your child's injury.
• Damages: Documenting the extent of your child's injuries, medical costs, and the impact on their future needs.

To prove these elements, our birth injury legal team will:

• Thoroughly review medical records: Analyze records for signs of errors, omissions, or potential negligence.
• Consult with medical experts: Work with experts to interpret medical records, establish the proper standard of care, and show the cause of the injury.
• Obtain witness statements: Gather testimony from family members and any medical staff present during the birth.

While proving negligence is a daunting task, your Bronx birth injury attorney from the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Firm can investigate your case thoroughly and demonstrate that another party was responsible for your child’s injuries.

Financial Support After a Birth Injury: Damages You Can Pursue

A successful birth injury claim can provide the financial resources essential for your child’s ongoing care and future well-being.

While every case is unique, here are the types of damages typically sought in these cases:

• Past and future medical expenses: Covers costs of hospitalization, surgeries, therapy, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, medication, and ongoing care needs.
• Lost wages: If a parent needs to reduce work or quit their job to provide care, compensation for lost income may be available.
• Home modifications: Costs to make your home accessible and accommodate your child's disability.
• Pain and suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and emotional trauma your child has endured.
• Emotional distress: Parents and families may be able to recover damages for the anguish and mental suffering caused by a birth injury.
• Loss of quality of life: Compensation for the impact an injury has on your child's ability to enjoy experiences and activities.

The type and amount of compensation you can recover will depend on the specific circumstances of your case, the severity of your child’s injuries, and their long-term needs. A seasoned birth injury attorney will evaluate your situation and provide a better estimate of potential recovery.

How Medical Experts Help Us Fight for Bronx Families

Birth injury cases often hinge on complex medical issues. That’s why we partner with a network of highly qualified medical experts from various specialties to help build strong cases. 

The specific experts we work with will depend on the nature of your child’s injuries, but they may include:

• Obstetricians and neonatologists: Doctors who analyze prenatal care, the delivery process, and the immediate care your baby receives.
• Pediatric neurologists: Specialists in childhood brain injuries who can assess the extent of damage and its long-term implications.
• Life care planners: Financial and physiological experts who project the future medical needs and costs associated with your child's ongoing care.
• Rehabilitation specialists: Physical, occupational, and speech therapists who can gauge the scope of therapy needed.
• Other specialists: Depending on the case, we might consult with orthopedic surgeons, pediatric surgeons, and experts in specific disabilities.

We work with leading medical professionals to present a compelling case on your behalf and secure maximum compensation for your child’s future.

Protecting Your Child’s Coverage: Filing a Birth Injury Claim & Health Insurance

Filing a birth injury claim should not negatively affect your newborn’s health insurance coverage. Health insurance companies cannot deny coverage, raise rates, or drop a child from a policy due to a pre-existing condition, including birth injuries.

Here’s why:

• The Affordable Care Act (ACA): This legislation provides significant protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions, guaranteeing them access to health insurance.
• Your child's rights: Your baby has the right to necessary medical care, regardless of whether you pursue legal action for a birth injury.

In some very specific scenarios, a portion of a settlement might be recouped by Medicaid if they’ve already paid for services related to the birth injury. We will advise you on how to manage this situation should it apply in your case.

Compensation for Bronx Birth Injuries: Are There Limits?

Fortunately, New York State does not have a cap on damages for medical malpractice cases, including birth injuries. This means there is no arbitrary limit on the amount of compensation you can recover for your child’s injuries and related expenses. Instead, the amount you can recover depends on the severity of your child’s injuries and their long-term needs.

Important Time Limits: When to File Your Bronx Birth Injury Claim

A statute of limitations is a legal deadline for filing a lawsuit. In New York, the statute of limitations for birth injury cases is 2.5 years from the date the injury occurred or was discovered. This means that parents will need to file for a birth injury lawsuit on behalf of their children.

The victim of the birth injury can also file a lawsuit, but this is rare since it must be within 2.5 years of turning 18, and it must be no more than 10 years since discovering the incident that caused the injury.

There may be other exceptions that extend/shorten this deadline, which is why it’s crucial to consult an experienced Bronx birth injury lawyer as soon as possible. Missing the statute of limitations could mean losing your right to seek compensation, so don’t wait — contact us for a free consultation to protect your child’s rights.