Long Island Birth Injury Lawyer

Many people are probably familiar with the concept of personal injury lawyers, but have you ever heard of a birth injury lawyer? If not, the concept is similar to medical malpractice attorneys, but with a narrowed focus on the preventable injuries sustained by newborns during birth.

Giving birth is a scary time for many, and it can be made all the scarier by the fact that accidents can happen during delivery. As human beings, doctors are not infallible and are as prone to making mistakes as you or I may be. Unfortunately, their mistakes can often be long-lasting and severe.

When a mistake occurs during the delivery of a newborn baby, it can have a negative impact on the future of the baby in question, and it can result in staggering medical costs for the family as they attempt to rectify or cope with the mistake. In some cases, newborns can even sustain permanent physical or brain damage during delivery that could have been prevented.

Long Island birth injury lawyers are dedicated to helping the families of such infants—and any infants who sustained preventable injuries during birth—to receive financial compensation for their suffering. While no amount of money can rectify many of the harms that can occur from doctor negligence, the funds can lighten the burden placed upon the families who have to care for their injured child in the coming years.

Birth Injuries and Medical Negligence

Medical negligence during birth is one of the most common reasons that a parent may choose to file a birth injury lawsuit against the doctor or hospital where the incident occurred. In many spaces, medical negligence is synonymous with medical malpractice. It basically means that a doctor acted—or failed to act—in any way that deviates from standard medical care or procedure.

Given the complex nature of giving birth and the many ways that this could, by nature, go wrong, there are plenty of ways that medical negligence could occur during childbirth. Some common examples of medical negligence or medical malpractice during childbirth include:

• Using too much force when twisting or pulling a baby during the delivery
• Failure to prevent and/or control the hemorrhaging or tearing in the mother’s birth canal, vaginal area, or any other location during delivery
• Failure to detect fetal distress with heartbeat monitoring or other such means
• Failure to perform a necessary emergency cesarean section (C-section)
• Misusing tools during a forceps or vacuum delivery
• Failing to inform the mother about the potential risks involved in any procedure, including forceps or vacuum delivery

Types of Birth Injuries Caused by Medical Negligence

The most common types of injuries that can be caused by medical negligence include things like brain damage, newborn jaundice, vacuum extraction complications, Erb’s Palsy, Cerebral Palsy, Kernicterus, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, Newborn Cephalohematoma, Intrauterine Fetal Demise, and Spinal Cord Injuries.

Possible Effects Of A Birth Injury On Your Child’s Life

Studies have shown that even in cases where children grow to be completely healthy, a difficult birth can have a damaging psychological impact on them for years to come. Their unconscious minds imprint the early experience of birth and manifest later in childhood as aggression, anger, anxiety, and other such behavioral problems.

These effects are compounded by separation from the mother at birth caused by stays in the NICU or the death of the mother during childbirth.

According to a study conducted at Harvard and Brown Universities in 2011, negative birth circumstances can increase a child’s predisposition for autism. Additionally, further research has indicated that children who experience a traumatic birth are often developmentally delayed or afflicted by learning disabilities like attention deficit disorder. Studies even go so far as to estimate that 80% of children who have disorders like ADD or autism had a history of a difficult birth.

This is not to mention the lasting impact that physical injuries sustained at birth can have on a child. Spinal cord injuries can lead to partial or full paralysis, brain injuries can result in total or partial loss of cognitive function and motor skills, etc. Physical deformities or disabilities are of further concern as these may cause lasting pain or psychological trauma for the child throughout their lives.