According to our New York Birth Injury Lawyer group at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC, Birth injury is any trauma or damage incurred during the birthing process, most often arising during progression through the birth canal. We have discovered that it is common for babies to suffer minor injuries during birth. However, more severe injuries which very often can include permanent brain injury and often be prevented with the appropriate medical care and intervention. Many times birth injury can be linked to medical malpractice by one of the doctors. If you or your baby is suffering from a birth injury, contact our experienced New York Birth Injury Lawyer staff to discuss your options.

New York Birth Injury Attorney

Periodically, more severe birth injuries occur, such as cerebral palsy, Klumpke’s Palsy, shoulder dystocia, Horner’s Syndrome or erb’s palsy. In some cases, an overly large fetus or abnormally small birth canal will elicit a difficult birth leading to one of these forms of birth injury. Another example includes how a pre-birth abnormal uterine position is more likely to cause a birth injury. In many of these examples, a well-trained obstetrician would recognize the potential increased risks to you and your baby. If you feel as though you or your baby did not receive appropriate medical care, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim as well as a birth injury claim against the negligent healthcare provider.

Many times labor and delivery negligence leads to birth injury, these acts of negligence can include:

• Failure to respond to hemorrhage
• Failure to recognize fetal distress
• Failure to recognize umbilical cord entrapment
• Failure to anticipate large fetus birth complications
• Excessive use of labor drugs

Our New York Birth Injury Lawyer office has learned about several other risks and resulting birthing injuries. The type of injury can range form brain injury to spinal injury and in the worst cases wrongful death. During the birthing processes, the head is usually the first fetal structure to encounter the birth canal and sustains an excessive amount of pressure during delivery. This excess pressure often leads to bruising and swelling of the scalp, which typically disappears within a few days. When some mothers have a large fetus or small birth canal, the medical professional may employ the use of forceps or a vacuum extractor to aid in child birth. If improperly used, forceps or a vacuum extractor can cause numerous types of head injury, such as skull fracture, intracranial hemorrhage or subdural hematoma. As scary as this sounds, some of the head injuries are minor. For example, a skull fracture without displacement usually heals without treatment. On the other hand, a depressed skull fracture will require surgical intervention. In more severe cases of birth trauma, intracranial hemorrhage and subdural hematoma resulting from the pressure exerted from forceps or a vacuum extractor can increase the baby’s intracranial pressure leading to seizure, brain damage and even wrongful death. The New York Birth Injury Attorney group at Stephen Bilkis and Associates, PLLC has found all newborns suffering from intracranial hemorrhage require constant medical monitoring, intravenous fluids and may require surgery. If your baby is suffering from a skull injury or other brain damage caused by a traumatic birthing process, contact our group of New York Birth Injury Attorneys to discuss your legal options.

Although rare, in some cases involving the use of forceps or a vacuum extractor, nerve injury may occur. Excessive force applied to the facial nerves through the use of forceps can result in facial muscle weakness. Facial nerve injury appears as facial asymmetry and typically disappears within three months.

In many difficult deliveries, Infants can often suffer from prenatal asphyxia due to a lack of blood flow or lack of oxygen in the blood delivered to the tissues. Our New York Birth Injury Lawyer team has learned fetal infection is among the most common causes of prenatal asphyxia, along with drug exposure, sudden blood loss or umbilical cord blood clot. Newborns enduring prenatal asphyxia may also suffer from other injuries, including brain damage.

During the birth of a large infant, the nerves in the shoulder can stretch leading to a brachial plexus nerve injury. Our New York Birth Injury Lawyer staff describes brachial plexus injury as paralysis or weakness of the hand or arm arising from a shoulder nerve injury. Brachial plexus injury is most often caused by excessive arm pull during birth. Typically brachial plexus injury heals within six months. In severe cases, surgery may be required and recovery will be prolonged. Brachial plexus injury can lead to decreased strength and stamina, decreased innervation, muscle atrophy, altered movements and biomechanics, joint dysfunction, osteoarthritis, impaired bone growth, limb length discrepancy, decreased bimanual dexterity, scapular winging, scoliosis and Glenohumeral Dysplasia. In some instances, nerve function may be repaired through the use of nerve transfer. Contractures and scar tissue development may be prevented with physical and occupational therapy. The knowledgeable New York Birth Injury Attorney staff at Stephen Bilkis and Associates, PLLC has learned brachial plexus injury may also lead Horner’s Syndrome to, Erb’s Palsy or Klumpke’s Palsy.

Cerebral palsy is a neurologic birth defect resulting from infant brain injury incurred during birth. According to the New York Birth Injury Lawyer group, cerebral palsy appears in one of every five hundred births. Symptoms may entail neurologic deficiency or a loss of mobility. Cerebral palsy elicits non-progressive neurological motor function impairment, often leading to physical impairment. The extent and type of brain damage determines the severity of the impairment. The New York Birth Injury Attorney faculty at Stephen Bilkis and Associates, PLLC agrees that involuntary movement is a common symptom of cerebral palsy, along with scissor walking, plasticity, muscle spasm, joint and bone deformities, unsteady gait, impaired balance, toe walking, abnormally low muscle tone, abnormally high muscle tone and contractures. Cerebral palsy can also cause speech impediment, seizure, cognitive impairment, learning disability, behavioral disorders, blindness or hearing impairment. Various medical errors, such as drug exposure, vacuum extraction, improper use of forceps, prolonged birth canal extraction, lack of oxygen or trauma, can lead to cerebral palsy. The excessive use drugs, such as Pitocin, can increase the frequency of contractions and reduce the placenta’s ability to provide oxygen. Severe cerebral palsy cases typically mandate a lifetime of 24-hour care. Since there is no cure, treatment for cerebral palsy focuses on maximizing function and reducing complications.

You and your child enduring a birth injury will face many challenges. It is crucial to understand the impact it will impose upon your entire family. Physical and social disabilities incurred from a birth injury will substantially affect your child’s development. Birth injury malpractice claims are time-consuming, expensive and complicated. An experienced attorney will retain experts to review neonatal care and birth records to determine liability. Consulting the New York Birth Injury Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis and Associates, PLLC can be essential in the successful pursuit of monetary compensation for your losses and your child’s injury.

If you or someone you know is suffering from the effects of a birth injury, contact our experienced New York Brain Injury Lawyer at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC to discuss your legal options. Contact us at 800.696.9529 or online to schedule your free consultation. Or stop by one of our many convenient office locations in New York City including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Queens or in Suffolk County or Nassau County on Long Island as well as Westchester County.