NYC Birth Injury Lawyer
Giving birth is one of the most important times of a mother’s life. During this time, she deserves the unflinching care and attention of her attending doctor and medical staff. It is an unfortunate reality, though, that negligence sometimes takes place.
If negligence on the behalf of the doctor or staff that handled the birth has led to the harm of either mother or child, they should be held accountable. The birth injury attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC are here to help to make sure that if mistakes were made, the responsible party will have to answer for their action or inaction.
Causes of Birth Injuries
Ask our Birth Injury Attorneys in NYC if You Have a Case
There are hundreds of different ways an injury can arise during the complicated process of birth. Any medical procedure has risks, but there are times when negligence leads to an injury. If a doctor, nurse, or other medical provider fails to take action to protect the health of the baby or mother during a birth, that inaction may be considered legally negligent. In other situations, an error can cause a birth injury and that error can also be considered negligent. Depending on the circumstances of your child’s birth injury it may be possible to also hold the hospital responsible in a lawsuit.
For our NYC birth injury lawyers to build a successful legal case, we need to clearly show negligence led to your child’s birth injury. There are four elements to proving negligence in a birth injury legal claim:
- Duty: The medical provider or hospital, which is the defendant in the case, had a duty of care not to cause harm to a child or mother.
- Breach: The defendant breached this duty by acting or failing to act.
- Cause: This wrongful act, neglect, or default caused your child’s injury.
- Damages: You and your child suffered damages as a result.
“Damages” are what you can seek compensation for. They may be economic and easy to calculate, like medical expenses. They may also include non-economic damages, like pain and suffering or disfigurement. Our birth injury lawyer can help you understand what non-economic damages may apply in your case.
The below list can be a helpful reference to see if you qualify for compensation in a birth injury lawsuit, but there are many unlisted conditions that can make you eligible for assistance. If you are unsure at all, we urge you to contact our birth injury attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC for a free consultation.
/
A birth injury is a broad category meaning any harm that befalls a baby during the labor and delivery process. The effects of a birth injury can range from mild to extremely severe. There are many different ways in which birth injuries are caused. When you can hold someone responsible for the birth injury because they were negligent, you’ll have reason to bring a legal case.
If you think the medical staff that handled your birth was guilty of any of the following, you may have grounds to sue:
- Failed to respond to fetal distress
- Failed to deal with fetal bleeding
- Failed to properly call for a Caesarean («C»)-section
- Failed to deal with an umbilical cord complication
- Misused birthing tools such as: forceps, vacuum extractor, etc.
- Failed to anticipate complications due to size of baby, or other foreseeable dangers
- Failed to provide adequate post-natal care and attention
Types of Birth Injuries
Many things can go wrong during a birth and some birth injuries can be clearly shown to be a result of negligent actions or inactions. The below examples are some injuries that may be caused by errors. If your child suffered one of these, or another birth injury, you should speak to our NYC birth injury lawyers to understand your legal options.
The negligent behavior listed above can result in many different types of injuries:
- Caput Succedaneum is a swelling and bruising on the head and scalp of a newborn baby. This birth injury may be caused by negligent actions because it is often as a result of improper use of a vacuum extractor.
- Brain injuries are common and very dangerous. If the umbilical cord has wrapped around the neck of the child and has caused prolonged oxygen deprivation, serious brain injuries can occur. A failure to act to protect your child during birth could be legally negligent.
- Asinclitic birth refers to the position of the baby in the uterus in which the head is tilted towards the shoulder and can lead to dystocia. Your doctor should identify this issue and failure to do so may be negligence.
- Facial paralysis can require surgery to mend. Inexpert or overly aggressive use of forceps during delivery can sometimes damage the nerves in a baby’s face, causing paralysis. It can be a clear legal case if misuse of forceps led to your child’s birth injury.
- Brachial Palsy Injuries is the broad term comprising more specific conditions like Erb’s Palsy and Dejerine-Klumpke palsy. During the passage through the birth canal, a baby’s frame is compressed, and if the shoulders are impaired and constricted it can cause damage to the brachial plexus, the nerves that control the arms and hands. This is another situation where an experienced doctor will know there is potential for this birth injury and should act to prevent harm to your child.
- Fractured bones can occur during normal birth but occur more frequently in breech births. Medical providers who fail to act with reasonable caution and care during your child’s birth may be found legally negligent.
Proving someone is legally responsible for your child’s injury requires detailed knowledge of New York laws and an experienced attorney. That’s why you should contact our NYC birth injury lawyers if you believe your child’s condition may have been caused by negligence. Call our team at Tucker Lawyers today at (516) 399-2364.
Contact Our Experienced Birth Injury Lawyer in NYC
The birth of a child is a special time and deserves to be treated as such. If a doctor’s negligence has resulted in these or any other conditions contact the experienced and compassionate NYC birth injury attorneys at Tucker Lawyers PC for a free consultation. There is no fee unless we win your case.
Managing Attorney John. J. Tucker, Esq.
John has personally handled thousands of clients who were victims of another’s negligence and fights relentlessly for their rights. John enjoys bringing closure to a client’s matter so that the injured party can move forward with their life. His background enables him to evaluate complex liability related claims and bring resolution to claims in a record time frame. [ATTORNEY BIO]
