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 that our birth injury attorneys often see 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:

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.

Proving a Birth Injury Claim

The first step toward gaining financial compensation for a birth injury is proving that negligence occurred during the birthing process. Initially, you and your birth injury attorneys will need to prove that you and the doctor who delivered your child had a professional relationship. In short, you must be able to prove that you were a patient of this doctor at the time that the incident occurred. This can be a simple process and can be done with medical records or hospital bills.

You will also need to collect evidence that a breach of care occurred during the birth. Evidence of this is crucial and your case cannot proceed without it.

Once you have the evidence, you will need to prove causation between the evidence and the outcome suffered by your child or the mother. Additionally, you will need to prove the damage to you or your child.

An experienced Long Island attorney can assist with this process and help you know where to look for all of the necessary elements of a strong birth injury lawsuit.

What Specifically Will a Birth Injury Lawyer Do to Help with My Claim?

First and foremost, a Long Island birth injury lawyer from our team can take the lead in investigating the circumstances leading up to your child’s birth injury, from interviewing members of the medical team that provided maternal care to collecting documentation of specific treatment you received or were denied. Then, we can turn that evidence into a comprehensive case naming a specific person—or potentially more than one person—directly liable for causing your child’s injury through a violation of the applicable standard of care.

After completing initial filing procedures, we can proactively advocate for your needs and best interests during settlement negotiations with malpractice insurance providers. Finally, if you cannot reach a fair settlement agreement out of court, we are not afraid to pursue birth injury claims all the way to a civil courtroom in order to get you and your family the restitution you deserve.

Is It Possible to Sue Over a Birth Injury Without an Attorney?

While you do have the legal option to file a birth injury lawsuit without a malpractice lawyer’s support, it is rarely ever a good idea. On top of how uniquely complex the rules governing malpractice claims are, the insurance companies who provide malpractice coverage to doctors have years of experience pressuring unaware plaintiffs into accepting lowball settlements or even dropping valid claims altogether.

If you are worried about upfront costs, you should know that Duffy & Duffy operates on a contingency basis. We do not get paid unless we accept your claim and get you a favorable case result first. We are ready to stick with tough cases for years on end if we know there is a good chance we can achieve a positive outcome for your family.

Limitations in Birth Injury Cases

As with many legal matters, birth injuries have a statute of limitations. In short, you have a limited amount of time during which you can file a birth injury claim. You’ll need to check with your birth injury lawyer in Long Island to find out what the time frame is for New York state.

Call Our Experienced Birth Injury Attorneys in Long Island

Our dedicated team of experienced Long Island birth injury lawyers is passionate about helping families receive the financial compensation that they are entitled to following a birth injury. The experience of having a mother or child sustain an injury during birth is incredibly traumatic and can result in high treatment costs and lasting psychological trauma. As such, our team is devoted to easing the burden as much as possible and working diligently to hold the necessary parties responsible. Contact us to learn more about your legal options.

Call (516) 394-4200 For a Free Consultation

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Birth Injury Attorney Frequently Asked Questions

If you or your child sustained injuries during birth you may be wondering if you could be entitled to financial compensation. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about birth injury lawsuits and the process of filing a case: