At Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC, our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer Team defines a birth injury as any type of accident or trauma that happens to a newborn during birth. Our team has also found that it’s fairly common for a child to receive some minor birth injury such as swelling or bruising. These minor injuries can often heal without the need for medical attention. There are more serious forms of birth injury that can affect newborns, such as brain damage, brain injury and spinal injury. Many of these forms of birth injury can be traced back to an act of medical malpractice or mistakes made during the pregnancy/delivery. If you believe that your child's birth injury was caused by medical malpractice, call our experienced Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer staff to discuss your case and review your legal options.
More serious forms of birth injury can happen. Examples of severe injury include cerebral palsy, paralysis, Klumpke's Palsy, shoulder dystocia, Horner's Syndrome, birth defects and Erb's Palsy. These types of birth injury can be caused by numerous situations; however, most severe birth injuries usually involve either an abnormally sized baby or an abnormally small-sized birth canal. Additionally, the position of a child in the uterus can play a role in birth injury. A skilled obstetrician or doctor will notice these potentially dangerous situations and know how to take precautions to prevent any harm from coming to the child or mother.
Negligence during the delivery can often lead to birth injury. This negligence can come in many forms, but commonly includes a physician over prescribing medication, not properly responding to maternal hemorrhaging, failing to act urgently regarding fetal distress, and failing to anticipate other labor and delivery complications.
Our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer group has found that there are additional types of birth injury that can occur ranging from a fetal death to a permanent disability associated with a spinal injury. During birth, the fetus usually travels through the birth canal head first, which causes excessive pressure to be applied to the child's soft skull. Because of this, the child may sustain some form of head injury during birth. Minor bruising or scalp swelling happens all the time and will generally heal without the need for further medical involvement. However, when the delivery becomes complicated because of a large infant or small birth canal, the doctor may have to use tools like forceps or a vacuum extractor. Improper use of these tools can cause various forms of head injury including a subdural hematoma or skull fracture. If your newborn child sustained brain damage, head injury, skull fracture, intracranial hemorrhage or other serious birth injury, call our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer team at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC to see what your legal options are.
When a delivery includes complications, such as in a large infant delivery, the newborn can suffer a birth injury known as brachial plexus injury, which happens when the shoulder is stretched too far due to excessive arm pulling. During a breech deliver, the doctor may use forceps or vacuum extractors and pull the child by their arms. Pulling too hard will result in nerve damage, which can require surgery in severe cases. Brachial plexus injury can, in the long run, cause muscle atrophy, altered movements, limb length discrepancy, Glenohumeral Dysplasia, scoliosis, scapular winging and osteoarthritis. Our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer team says that brachial plexus injury can also lead to further complications such as seen with Erb's Palsy, Klumpke's Palsy and Horner's Syndrome.
Perhaps one of the most serious types of birth injury -- and most well-known -- is cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a neurological deficiency that happens when the brain is deprived of oxygen during the pregnancy or delivery. Our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer group has learned that 1 in 500 children will be affected by cerebral palsy each year. Since brain damage is the cause of cerebral palsy, the area of the brain that's damaged and the extent to which it's damaged will dictate how severe the cerebral palsy is and what the ramifications are for the child. Typical symptoms of cerebral palsy include: muscle spasms, involuntary movement, joint and bone deformities, seizures, lack of proper balance and scissor walking. It is also common for those suffering from cerebral palsy to have impaired learning, potential behavioral disorders and require extensive supervision and medical attention.
If you had a child that sustained a birth injury such as cerebral palsy or any other type of devastating and life-altering birth injury, then you know that you and your child will face a many challenges. In addition to the emotional distress caused by such a birth injury, there is also the financial distress that comes with year after year of medical treatment and expenses. Our Nassau County Medical Malpractice Lawyer team will employ all their resources and experts to review every aspect of your case to determine liability. Having our Nassau County Birth Injury Lawyer team can be essential for helping you put your life back together and for getting the necessary damages you need to pay for your medical expenses.
If you or someone you know is suffering from the effects of a birth injury, contact our experienced New York 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.