Birth Injuries

A medical accident during prenatal care or delivery can result in death or serious injury to both mother and child. These tragic incidents occur due to negligence involving:

• Poor prenatal care of either the mother or fetus
• Mistakes made during delivery and childbirth

The firm has extensive experience representing birth injury victims in a range of medical malpractice scenarios, including:

• Babies who die or suffer severe brain damage due to lack of oxygen
• Mothers who fail to receive a timely cesarean section and hemorrhage to death due to a ruptured uterus
• Mothers who suffer severe brain damage from anesthesia mistakes during delivery
• Infants who survive negligent prenatal care or delivery, but suffer from neurological problems, seizures, cerebral palsy, and learning difficulties

Proven Results

Because doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare provider defendants want to avoid negative publicity, they usually only agree to confidential financial settlements. Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky has secured numerous multimillion-dollar settlements for our clients in connection with birth injuries, including:

• $15,000,000 — Failed abortion resulting in child’s deformities
• $5,000,000 — Improper obstetrical care resulting in mother’s death
• $3,500,000 — Delayed C-section resulting in newborn’s permanent brain damage
• $3,000,000 — Delayed diagnosis and treatment of seizures in newborn resulting in cerebral palsy
• $1,875,000 — Delayed C-section resulting in death
• $1,500,000 — Delayed C-section resulting in newborn’s permanent brain damage
• $1,100,000 — Improper obstetrical care resulting in stillbirth
• $1,000,000 — Improper obstetrical care resulting in newborn’s death

Proven Experience

Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky’s lawyers work together with experienced neonatal nurses and independent physician experts to:

• Exhaustively review all medical records
• Review hospital policies, procedures, and protocols
• Investigate the competencies of all doctors and nurses involved in our client care

Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky’s medical malpractice lawyers have also pioneered the innovative use of high-tech visual tools—including audio and video presentations—to reenact how the injury or trauma occurred. These powerful techniques are very effective in proving our clients’ cases and convincing defendants to settle with our clients (or if settlement discussions fail, convincing juries to award large verdicts).

Hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers may all be liable for a birth injury. Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky will work tenaciously to help you get the compensation to which you may be entitled—including payments for pain and suffering, emotional trauma, past, and future medical expenses, lost income, and future earnings.

If you or a family member has been severely injured as a result of negligent prenatal care or delivery, or a family member has been killed by such malpractice, Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky is committed to obtaining the results you need and deserve.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can vary widely in type and severity, impacting both the immediate and long-term health of the newborn.

• Brachial Plexus Injuries: Damage to the nerves controlling the muscles of the arm and hand, often caused by shoulder dystocia during delivery
• Cerebral Palsy: A group of neurological disorders affecting movement and coordination, often caused by brain damage during childbirth
• Facial Nerve Injuries: Damage to the facial nerve during delivery, leading to facial paralysis
• Fractures: Fractures of the clavicle or collarbone can occur during difficult deliveries
• Intracranial Hemorrhage: Bleeding within the baby’s skull, which can lead to various complications
• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): Lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby’s brain, which can result in brain damage
• Perinatal Asphyxia: Insufficient oxygen supply to the baby before, during, or after birth, leading to potential organ damage
• Meconium Aspiration Syndrome: Inhaling meconium (the baby’s first stool) into the lungs, causing respiratory problems
• Erb’s Palsy: A type of brachial plexus injury affecting the upper arm and shoulder.
• Caput Succedaneum: Swelling of the soft tissues of the baby’s scalp due to pressure during delivery.