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New York Birth Injury Attorney

Pursue the Relief Your Family Deserves with Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP

When having a child, the last thing parents want or need to worry about is the possibility of their baby being harmed during the delivery. While most births go smoothly, some have complications. Birth injuries can range from minor to major; some births may even result in the wrongful death of the infant or the mother due to medical negligence.

If your child was injured at birth, contact Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP to learn more about your legal options. Your choice of attorney could mean the difference between successful negotiations or expensive, ongoing litigation. Our accomplished birth injury lawyers in New York have extensive experience handling claims involving infant brain damage, cerebral palsy, and other consequences of obstetrical malpractice and are here to help you explore your legal options.

Our advocates are ready to assist you during this difficult time. Call (212) 684-1880 to schedule a free and confidential consultation today.

Types of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries vary in severity and type. While many will correct themselves within the first months to year after delivery, not all of them do. In serious cases, the baby can suffer permanent injuries or disabilities. Many birth injuries result from the delivery itself as the baby makes its way down the birth canal, but others occur when the treating physician fails to adequately assess or respond to complications during a woman’s pregnancy or delivery.

Some common types of birth injuries include:

  • Forceps Injuries: Lacerations, bruising
  • Subconjunctival Hemorrhage: Burst blood vessels in the baby’s eye that normally clear up
  • Caput Succedaneum: Bruising or swelling of the baby’s scalp
  • Cephalohematoma: Collection of blood under the baby’s periosteum, a tissue that covers the bones in the head
  • Facial Paralysis: Caused by excessive pressure on the face during delivery
  • Fractures: Of the collarbone, limbs, or skull
  • Erb’s Palsy: Stretching or tearing of the nerves that control movement in the arms, hands, and fingers
  • Cerebral Palsy: Damage to the areas of the brain that control muscle function and movement; can be caused by a lack of oxygen during delivery

Birth injuries are different from birth defects. Birth injuries occur during difficult deliveries in which something goes wrong, whether the child is in a breech position, is too large to move through the birth canal, or suffers some other distress. Birth defects are caused by some factor before or during pregnancy, such as a genetic disorder, the mother’s use of illegal drugs, alcohol or tobacco, or some prescription medications.

Labor & Delivery Malpractice Attorneys

In a birth injury case, several parties may share liability for the injury to your child. The doctor or team of doctors who delivered the child may be liable for failing to follow the standard of care during your delivery. The hospital, nurses, and other care providers, such as interns, residents, techs and nursing aids, also may be named parties for their actions. If the doctor is part of a private practice, the practice also may be named in the suit in certain situations.

If a medication prescribed by your doctor and correctly taken by you led to a birth injury or birth defect, the manufacturer of the medication may be named in a products liability suit. Your New York birth injury lawyer can help determine which parties may be subject to liability based upon the facts and laws governing your situation.

Proving a Birth Injury Case

To prevail in a birth injury case, the plaintiff must prove:

  • The appropriate standard of care (the type of care and skill provided by the average doctor in the same or similar circumstances)
  • The doctor failed to adhere to the established standard of care
  • The child suffered a birth injury
  • But for the doctor’s failure to adhere to the standard of care, the child would not have been injured

The plaintiff must show that it is more likely than not that the birth injury occurred because of the doctor’s acts or omissions during the birth of the child. Failure on the part of the plaintiff to prove any one of these elements will result in the plaintiff losing his or her case.

How Our Firm Can Help

Our birth injury attorneys in New York are ready to help you assess the circumstances of your case. These are typically very complex cases, often made even more complicated due to the uncertainty of your child’s future. At Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP, we conduct exhaustive investigations to determine what happened, as well as the nature of your child’s injuries and their projected recovery. We take all relevant factors into account, including your need for immediate compensation and your child’s need for ongoing care. From there, we fight hard to maximize your recovery so that you can focus on healing and getting your child the critical treatment he or she needs.

Our attorneys genuinely care about you, your child, and the future of your family. We have been representing victims of medical malpractice and negligence since 1971 and have recovered over $2 billion for our clients in that time. To learn more about how we can help you, get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Call (212) 684-1880 to schedule your free initial consultation. You can also submit an online case evaluation form.