• Cerebral Palsy
• Erb’s Palsy
• Oxygen Deprivation
• APGAR Test Errors
• Negligent Neonatal Care

Cerebral palsy is a permanent condition caused by brain damage that typically results from a brain injury prior to birth or during delivery. Problems during labor such as oxygen deprivation to the fetus and prolonged bleeding in the infant’s brain can cause cerebral palsy. The physician is responsible for monitoring the health of the newborn baby and using past experience to recognize the warning signs of events that can cause cerebral palsy. Once warning signs have been recognized, the physician must take steps to prevent further damage. Cerebral palsy will result if these precautions are ignored. While there is nothing that you can do at that point to prevent cerebral palsy from developing, you do have legal recourse. A medical malpractice lawsuit can put the responsibility for the injury squarely in the physician’s hands and help you recover compensation for the medical bills and lifetime challenges that your child will inevitably face. For more information, please visit our page dedicated to cerebral palsy.

Sometimes, during birth, an infant’s shoulder may get stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. The doctor must coax out the shoulder very gently, because using too much force can severely damage the baby’s spinal cord. If the shoulder does not become dislodged, the doctor should order a caesarian section. Erb’s Palsy, also known as brachial plexus paralysis, is the result of careless handling of the arm and shoulder. This permanent condition causes limitations in the movement of the shoulder, arm, and wrist. For more information about this type of birth injury, please visit our page dedicated to Erb’s Palsy

Oxygen deprivation to the baby during delivery can cause not only cerebral palsy, but also many other types of brain injury. For this reason, it is important to take every precaution to ensure that the infant’s oxygen supply is not cut off during labor and delivery. Oxygen deprivation may occur during a prolonged labor or when the umbilical cord interferes with the baby’s oxygen supply. In a hospital setting, the baby’s heart rate and breathing are carefully monitored during labor. When fetal distress is recognized and nothing is done to ensure that the fetus receives sufficient oxygen, a serious brain injury can result. If you suspect that your child’s brain injury was caused by negligence on the part of the medical professionals involved in the child’s delivery, please consider asking birth injury attorneys in the Bronx, Staten Island, and New York City areas for information and assistance.

The APGAR test is vital to ensuring a baby’s health post-delivery. This test determines whether additional medical attention is necessary by measuring the newborns’ heart rate, responsiveness, muscle activity, breathing activity, and other factors. If the results of this test are misread or ignored, the consequences for the baby’s health can be dire. Serious health problems can go undiagnosed, and therefore untreated, because of negligence on the part of the nurses or physicians responsible for the child’s care. By reviewing APGAR scores, birth injury attorneys are often able to determine whether the injuries sustained by the baby could have been prevented.

A new life is an important responsibility. Parents trust medical professionals to do everything necessary to ensure the health and safety of each child in its first hours and days. Newborns are injured too often when poorly trained hospital workers provide care for them incorrectly or fail to monitor their health closely. If there is any indication that the baby has a health problem, he or she should be moved to the neonatal intensive care unit, where specialized care can be provided. Even within the confines of this special unit, significant errors can be made that may jeopardize the infant’s safety. In some cases, incorrect identification of which infant is which can cause a baby to receive the wrong medication or treatment. To determine whether your infant was a victim of negligence, speak with experienced birth injury attorneys.

It can be difficult to determine whether a birth injury is the fault of a medical professional or simply an unavoidable tragedy. Birth injury attorneys in the Bronx, Manhattan, and New York City areas with experience in these types of cases will be able to distinguish between the two types of birth injury. If it is the case that a medical professional is at fault, a birth injury lawyer can recover compensation for the injuries suffered. Contact a qualified birth injury lawyer for more information.