Carro, Carro & Mitchell has successful experience representing children injured during labor and delivery.
The birth of a child is an occasion for joy. But negligence or medical malpractice by a doctor or hospital during labor and delivery can cause serious injuries to a newborn baby. These birth injuries may be relatively minor, or can be devastating, resulting in life-long impairment of intellectual or physical function.
Thorough case preparation and aggressive representation are the keys to obtaining very large financial settlements or verdicts to compensate a child and parents for loss of enjoyment of life as well as future medical and other expenses in cases of medical malpractice leading to birth injury.
Two Most Common Causes of Birth Injuries
Experienced birth injury lawyers know that two major causes of birth injury are oxygen deprivation and mechanical trauma. Oxygen deprivation may be caused by trauma to the umbilical cord during birth, failure to treat an infection, low amniotic fluid, fetal distress and failure to perform a proper c-section or delay in performing a necessary c-section.
If a baby’s delicate brain has an insufficient supply of oxygen, traumatic brain damage will result. It is not always the case, but frequently this will be the result of negligence or medical malpractice by the doctor or hospital. This may be seen as cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, speech/language problems, impairment of balance and movement, seizures, or coma.
Mechanical-trauma birth injuries may result when a baby is large and has difficulty passing through the birth canal or is turned in a position other than head first, which can complicate delivery. Both of these situations can be anticipated and detected and with proper preparations, birth injuries can be avoided. The failure to detect these conditions places a baby at risk, and may be medical malpractice.
Mechanical trauma injuries include Erb’s palsy, which is an injury to the brachial plexus, an area of the upper shoulder and neck. A network of nerves passes through this area, and trauma during delivery can cause serious injuries: paralysis to the arm, loss of sensation or control of the muscles of the shoulder, arm or hand, or facial paralysis. Parents may notice that their child is having difficulty crawling or sitting up. Fortunately, many Erb’s palsy injuries resolve with physical therapy. However, severe cases may result in life-long injury.
The New York City birth injury lawyers of Carro, Carro & Mitchell, have decades of experience, and have obtained very large financial settlements and verdicts for children who have suffered serious birth injuries during labor and delivery as a result of negligence or medical malpractice. If you suspect that your child suffered cerebral palsy, brain damage, Erb’s palsy or other serious injuries at birth, call Carro, Carro & Mitchell. We will review the hospital and medical records, and advise you of your rights, free of charge. You and your child may be entitled to a very large settlement or award. If you have a case, we will aggressively pursue the largest settlement or award to which you are entitled.
