English 
Spanish When bringing a new family member home after birth, you should be able to focus solely on your new bundle of joy. However, this isn’t possible for every parent. In some cases, parents also have to struggle with unforeseen medical bills and injuries they weren’t prepared for. After a birth injury, clients like you may find themselves lost and too overwhelmed to seek justice. Fortunately, that is what Shaevitz & Shaevitz is here for. We believe that parents deserve compensation for birth injuries caused by someone else’s negligence, and a skilled lawyer to take on their case. If your baby has experienced a birth injury, book a free consultation to learn what we can do for you.
What Can a Birth Injuries Lawyer Help With?
To receive compensation for birth injuries, the cause of said injuries must be the negligence of another party.
Sometimes, birth injuries are unavoidable. However, if the negligence of a doctor, nurse, or other staff member results in your baby’s injury, you may be eligible for compensation.
A lot of birth injuries are a result of a lack of oxygen. Oxygen deprivation is incredibly dangerous, as it can have detrimental effects on the baby’s health.
In certain cases, depending on the baby’s position and the location of the umbilical cord, oxygen deprivation is unavoidable during birth. However, the doctor must properly assess the risks before delivery and use appropriate delivery tools to mitigate them as much as possible. When they fail to do so, that is considered medical malpractice.
Common Birth Injuries
Common birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy: If your baby loses access to oxygen during delivery or suffers brain damage, they may experience this neurological condition. Typically, cerebral palsy affects movement, muscle control, and posture, resulting in adverse effects like functional decline, chronic pain, and seizures.
- Erb’s palsy: During delivery, your doctor should be well-practiced in careful delivery techniques. If they fail to employ them by using excessive force or pulling on the baby’s arms or head, they can cause lasting damage. Erb’s palsy can result in weakness or paralysis, caused by damage to a network of nerves near the ear. While this condition isn’t always avoidable, a medical oversight can overlook it as a possible risk.
- Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): HIE is another condition caused by a lack of oxygen or blood during delivery. Depending on how long your baby was without oxygen, the effects vary widely. In some cases, HIE has lifelong effects like epilepsy or cognitive impairments. Without proper care, birth issues like fetal distress and long-term labor can cause HIE.
- Broken bones: Broken bones may be unavoidable during some births. But, in some cases, fractures may be the result of excessive force on the part of the doctor or improper use of delivery tools. Most commonly, babies suffer broken clavicles or upper arms. However, it is possible for a skull fracture to occur.
- Brain damage: Without enough oxygen to the brain at the time of birth, babies may suffer brain damage. These can lead to many of the conditions above, as well as cognitive impairments, physical disabilities, and even mood swings or depression.
Building Your Legal Case
After a birth injury due to someone else’s negligence, contact a skilled birth injuries lawyer like those at Shaevitz & Shaevitz. With our expertise and knowledge, we can help you navigate your legal claim and secure fair compensation.
We’ll begin by collecting evidence, as we need to prove that negligence directly caused your birth injuries.
Witness statements from the staff or present family members, medical testimonies, and even the official medical record of the birth can help us determine the cause of birth injuries. Once we determine fault, we’ll then help you file a claim with a specific malpractice insurance.
However, we recommend letting us negotiate with the insurance agents on your behalf to protect you from their minimizing tactics. While they try to diminish your compensation, we will fight for your interests and aim to maximize your compensation.
If the insurance company refuses to provide fair compensation, we will go to court to fight for your family!
Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer in Queens, NY
After a birth injury, you don’t have to handle your legal case alone. Trust a birth injury lawyer to take on your case and fight for fair compensation!
Book a free consultation to discover the true value of your case.
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