New York Birth Injury Lawyer

Any birth can have complications. How a physician responds to these complications can make all the difference to the health and safety of the infant. When a doctor, surgeon or nurse is negligent, birth injuries can occur. If medical negligence causes your child to have a birth injury such as brain damage or Erb’s palsy, which is a paralysis of the arm, a hospital or birthing center may owe you compensation. Contact our New York birth injury attorneys at Fiedler Deutsch, LLP today for a free consultation about your rights.

Why Hire Us?

• We stand by parents and fight for maximum compensation for a child’s serious injuries.
• We bring more than 50 years of combined experience in medical malpractice law to the table.
• We dedicate close, personal attention to each client’s unique case, goals and needs.
• We have spent our careers creating relationships with top medical experts to testify as witnesses.
• We obtain top results through a reputation as an aggressive law firm that wins injury trials.

What Can Cause Brain Damage During a Birth?

An infant’s brain is extremely delicate. Anything that interrupts its development during pregnancy, labor, delivery or shortly after birth could cause permanent brain damage. While the most common cause of brain damage to infants during birth is a lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia), any failure on the health care provider’s part could lead to infant brain damage during a complicated delivery.

Some causes include:

• Failure to diagnose maternal conditions or infections
• Failure to monitor fetal heart rate and vital signs
• Failure to notice lack of blood or oxygen to the baby’s brain
• Failure to intervene at the first signs of an emergency
• Failure to respond correctly to umbilical cord prolapse
• Failure to order an emergency C-section
• Failure to conduct the correct birthing procedures

An infant could also suffer brain damage shortly after birth if a negligent provider drops the baby or bumps the baby’s head. Intubation errors during an emergency surgery could also lead to a lack of oxygen to the infant’s brain and subsequent brain damage. If a doctor has diagnosed your child with any type of brain injury or brain damage after a complicated birth, consult with our lawyers about a possible medical malpractice claim.

What Causes Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s palsy is a condition that affects the brachial plexus – a bundle of nerves near the neck that controls the arm, hand and fingers. Any Westchester County severe injury or damage to the brachial plexus during a complicated delivery could cause symptoms such as weakness and loss of mobility in the affected arm. Erb’s palsy specifically refers to a condition in which damage to the upper portion of the brachial plexus causes numbness or immobility in the arm, hands and/or fingers.

The most common cause of Erb’s palsy is an infant’s neck stretching too far to the side during labor or delivery. This can happen during a difficult delivery, such as one with a large baby, breech position or long labor. The overextension of the infant’s neck could damage the network of nerves and cause Erb’s palsy. Even a prudent doctor could unintentionally cause a birth injury to a child’s brachial plexus. However, if your physician did not act as a reasonable doctor would have in the same situation, he or she may be guilty of medical malpractice.

Contact Our New York Birth Injury Lawyers Today

If your child has a brain injury or brachial plexus injury due to medical malpractice, contact Fiedler Deutsch, LLP today for guidance. Our attorneys can help you hold the responsible party accountable and support you during this difficult time. Call (914) 993-0393 for a free consultation in Yonkers, New Rochelle, or anywhere in New York. We are here for you.