Fighting for Victims in
Times of Need
Times of Need
Birth Injuries
The birth of a child should be a joyful and hopeful experience. Many families looking forward to a lifetime of positive memories find themselves devastated when a preventable medical mistake causes a serious injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care. In addition to the emotional pain, parents in this situation may suddenly face significant care costs and difficult questions about their child’s long-term health and quality of life.
At The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel, we understand how devastating these situations can be. Attorney Mark A. Siesel has spent decades representing injured New Yorkers and their families in injury and negligence cases. Our firm approaches birth injury claims with compassion and a commitment to helping families pursue accountability and financial security during an incredibly difficult time.
What Are Birth Injuries?
A birth injury occurs when a baby suffers physical harm before, during, or shortly after delivery. Some birth injuries are unavoidable despite proper medical care, but many happen because healthcare providers fail to follow accepted medical standards.
Doctors and medical staff are expected to monitor both mother and child carefully throughout labor and delivery. When warning signs are ignored or errors occur, babies may suffer from:
- Brain injuries caused by oxygen deprivation
- Nerve damage affecting the arms or shoulders
- Fractures
- Infections
Mothers, too, can suffer severe Infections, tearing, excessive bleeding, trauma, and other harm. In some cases, these injuries can prove fatal.
Common Birth Injuries Linked to Medical Negligence
The following conditions are frequently associated with preventable delivery complications:
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy can occur when a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen during labor or delivery. In some cases, doctors fail to recognize fetal distress quickly enough or delay performing an emergency caesarean section. Children with cerebral palsy may require lifelong medical care and specialized support.
Brachial Plexus Injuries
These injuries affect the network of nerves controlling the shoulder, arm, and hand. Excessive force during delivery, particularly in cases involving shoulder dystocia, may lead to conditions such as Erb’s palsy. Some children recover fully, while others experience permanent weakness or limited mobility.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
HIE is a serious brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow to the brain. Prompt medical intervention is critical. Delays in recognizing distress or responding appropriately can result in severe neurological damage.
Skull Fractures and Physical Trauma
Improper use of delivery tools or excessive force during labor may cause fractures, facial injuries, or internal bleeding. These injuries can sometimes lead to long-term developmental complications.
Maternal Infections and Untreated Complications
Medical providers are responsible for identifying infections, preeclampsia, gestational complications, and other risks that may endanger both mother and child. Failure to diagnose or respond appropriately can lead to preventable injuries.
Signs That a Birth Injury May Have Occurred
Parents are often told that complications are simply “part of the process,” even when something may have gone wrong. While not every medical complication is malpractice, there are situations where further investigation may be necessary. Potential warning signs include:
- Seizures shortly after birth
- Difficulty feeding
- Limited movement in one arm or leg
- Delayed developmental milestones
- Excessive stiffness or muscle weakness
- Breathing problems at birth
- Low Apgar scores
- Extended NICU stays
- Diagnoses involving neurological damage
If you suspect your child’s injury may have been preventable, it is important to seek a consultation with a lawyer as early as possible. Facilities and the insurance companies that cover medical professionals often act quickly to limit liability, and you want to take steps to ensure you get the medical and financial support you need.
Why Birth Injuries Happen
Pregnancy and childbirth involve complex medical decisions that require timely action. While some complications are unavoidable, many serious birth injuries occur because medical professionals fail to follow accepted standards of care during labor and delivery.
Birth injuries may happen for several reasons, including:
Failure To Recognize Fetal Distress
Healthcare providers are expected to carefully monitor a baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels during labor. Abnormal fetal monitoring strips can indicate that a baby is not receiving enough oxygen. When doctors or nurses fail to recognize these warning signs or delay intervention, the child may suffer serious brain injuries.
Delayed Emergency Cesarean Sections
There are situations where a prompt C-section is necessary to protect the health of both mother and baby. Delays caused by poor communication, understaffing, or failure to appreciate the seriousness of complications can lead to devastating outcomes.
Improper Use of Delivery Tools
Forceps and vacuum extraction devices can sometimes assist with difficult deliveries, but improper use may cause skull fractures, nerve damage, bleeding in the brain, or spinal injuries. Medical providers must use these tools carefully and only when medically appropriate.
Errors During Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia occurs when a baby’s shoulder becomes lodged during delivery. This emergency requires specific medical techniques to safely complete the birth. Excessive pulling or improper maneuvering can damage the nerves in the neck and shoulder, potentially causing brachial plexus injuries or Erb’s palsy.
Failure To Address Maternal Health Complications
Conditions such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, infections, and high blood pressure can place both mother and child at risk. Medical teams are responsible for identifying these complications early and responding appropriately throughout pregnancy and delivery.
Medication and Anesthesia Mistakes
Errors involving labor-inducing drugs, epidurals, or anesthesia administration may create dangerous complications for both mother and baby. Improper medication dosing or inadequate monitoring can contribute to oxygen deprivation and delivery trauma.
In many birth injury cases, families are initially told that complications were unavoidable. However, a thorough investigation of medical records, fetal monitoring data, and delivery decisions may reveal that preventable mistakes played a role in the child’s injuries.
What Makes Birth Injury Cases Different
Birth injury claims are among the most medically and emotionally complex cases in personal injury law. Unlike many injury cases involving temporary harm, birth injuries often affect a child’s health and quality of life for years or even a lifetime.
Birth injury litigation also often involves reviewing thousands of pages of medical documentation, including:
- Fetal heart monitoring strips
- Labor and delivery notes
- NICU records
- Imaging studies
- Medication logs
- Surgical records
- Prenatal care documentation
To further complicate matters, some birth injuries become noticeable only as a child grows and misses developmental milestones. Parents may not fully understand the extent of an injury until months or years later when speech delays, mobility challenges, or cognitive impairments begin to emerge.
This delayed recognition can make birth injury cases especially complicated for families trying to determine what happened.
Birth injury cases are also deeply personal. Parents are often coping with grief, guilt, anxiety, and uncertainty about their child’s future while simultaneously managing medical appointments and financial stress.
The Long-Term Impact on Families
Birth injuries often affect every aspect of a family’s life. Parents may need to reduce work hours or leave employment entirely to provide care. Homes and vehicles may require modifications. Medical expenses can continue for years or even decades. Siblings may get less support or attention because of the added needs of a brother or sister born with an injury.
Families may also face emotional burdens that are difficult to measure financially, including stress, exhaustion, anxiety about the future, and the emotional pain of watching a child struggle with avoidable complications.
A successful birth injury claim may help recover compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Specialized educational support
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Lost income and diminished earning capacity
- Long-term care needs
Every case is unique, and the value of a claim depends on the severity of the injury and its long-term effects.
How Our Firm Investigates Birth Injury Cases
Birth injury litigation is highly complex. Our firm works to identify:
- Whether medical providers followed accepted standards of care
- When warning signs first appeared
- Whether treatment delays contributed to the injury
- What actions should have been taken to prevent harm
- The long-term medical and financial impact on the child and family
Our goal is to provide clear communication throughout the legal process.
Why Families Choose Attorney Mark A. Siesel
For decades, Mark A. Siesel has represented injury victims throughout White Plains, Westchester County, New York City, and surrounding communities. Our firm is known for thorough case preparation, responsive client communication, and dedicated advocacy for injured individuals and families.
Clients often come to our office during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. We believe families deserve honest answers, respectful treatment, and legal representation focused on protecting their future.
What To Do if You Suspect a Birth Injury
If you believe a medical error contributed to your child’s condition, taking early action can help preserve important evidence.
You should consider:
- Requesting copies of all medical records
- Keeping notes about symptoms, diagnoses, and treatment
- Documenting expenses and medical appointments
- Avoiding discussions with insurance representatives before speaking to an attorney
- Consulting an experienced birth injury lawyer as soon as possible
New York imposes deadlines for filing medical malpractice and birth injury claims. Waiting too long could affect your ability to pursue compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injury Cases
Can a birth injury affect a child emotionally or behaviorally later in life?
Yes. Some birth injuries are associated not only with physical challenges, but also with emotional, behavioral, or developmental difficulties that may become more noticeable as a child grows older. Problems involving concentration, social interaction, impulse control, learning, or emotional regulation sometimes emerge during preschool or early school years. Families are often unprepared for these long-term effects because certain symptoms may not appear immediately after birth.
Can repeated reassurances from doctors delay a family from realizing malpractice may have occurred?
Yes. Many parents are initially told that complications were unavoidable or that a child will “catch up” over time. While that may sometimes be true, these reassurances can delay families from investigating whether medical mistakes contributed to the injury. This is one reason why independent legal and medical review can be important in complex birth injury cases.
Are birth injury cases only about what happened during delivery?
No. Some cases involve mistakes made during pregnancy or shortly after birth. Failures to diagnose maternal infections, monitor high-risk pregnancies, recognize fetal growth problems, or provide appropriate neonatal care may all contribute to preventable injuries.
Can staffing problems at a hospital contribute to birth injuries?
In some situations, yes. Delays in treatment may occur when hospitals are understaffed, communication breaks down between providers, or specialists are not available quickly enough during emergencies. Birth injury cases sometimes involve broader systemic issues in addition to individual medical mistakes.
Why do birth injury cases often take longer than other injury claims?
These cases frequently require extensive investigation and expert analysis. Attorneys may need to review years of medical records, consult multiple specialists, and evaluate future care needs before determining the full impact of the injury. Because children may require lifelong support, careful financial planning is often necessary before resolving a claim.
Consult With a White Plains Birth Injury Lawyer
No parent should have to wonder whether their child’s injuries could have been prevented. While legal action cannot undo the harm that has already occurred, it may provide financial resources that help secure medical care and long-term stability for your child. It can also offer answers that are important in helping you move forward.
Contact The Law Office of Mark A. Siesel to schedule a free consultation if you suspect birth injury may have harmed you or your child. We’re here to help families seek answers.