New York Birth Injury Lawyer helping families in New York

Many cases of brain damage which occur at birth involve an intracranial hemorrhage. This is defined as bleeding that occurs within the skull. They include:

• Cerebral hemorrhage – bleeding that occurs within or around the brain tissue. Small arteries bring blood to the brain. If these arteries rupture, blood is released into the brain tissue. The blood forms a clot (hematoma), which can grow and exert pressure on surrounding tissue.
• Intraventricular hemorrhage -Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) of the newborn is bleeding into the fluid-filled areas, or ventricles, surrounded by the brain. The condition is most often seen in premature babies, and the smaller and more premature the infant, the higher the risk for IVH.
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage -(SAH) is a type of stroke. Head trauma is the most common cause.
• Subdural hemorrhage – (or subdural hematoma) occurs when a blood vessel in the space between the skull and the brain (the subdural space) is damaged. Blood escapes from the blood vessel, leading to the formation of a blood clot (hematoma) that places pressure on the brain and damages it.
• Cephalohematoma – cephalohematoma is an accumulation of blood under the scalp. During the birth process, small blood vessels on the head of the fetus are broken as a result of minor trauma.
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) (Birth Asphyxia) – a non-specific term for brain dysfunction caused by a lack of blood flow and oxygen to the brain. Sometimes, HIE is also referred to as birth asphyxia, but this term only pertains to very strict criteria of infants with brain injury.

When a doctor, the medical staff, or the hospital facility commits a medical error which leads to a preventable injury to your newborn child, you are entitled to an infant brain damage claim for compensation. Seeking compensation is important to securing the care your baby will need in the present and in the future.

The hospital and its staff may be responsible for the injury to your baby if the injury is due to a medical error. Such errors can occur if:

• The doctor did not screen the mother for infections or untreated conditions which led to the brain injury. 
• Inappropriate birthing instruments.
• Failure to perform a Cesarean section when there are complications or failure to diagnose and treat a condition in the newborn child. 

Peripheral nerve birth injury is commonly referred to as Erb’s palsy. Erb’s palsy is muscle weakness in the arm or shoulder that can occur as a result of an injury sustained during birth or later in life. It’s most common in infants who injured their shoulders during delivery. Some cases resolve on their own, but your healthcare provider may suggest exercises to help prevent permanent stiffness.

Injury to the nerves and spinal cord of a newborn Child are commonly the result of pulling, stretching, and rotating of the baby during delivery. The two common forms of cranial nerve and spinal cord injuries include:

• Facial nerve paralysis: facial nerve paralysis is an inability to move the muscles in one’s face that control smiling, blinking, and other facial movements. A person’s ability to display emotions may be severely affected. Most of the time, facial paralysis is limited to one side of the face. Paralysis can occur if any part of the facial nerve, called “the seventh cranial nerve“, becomes inflamed or damaged.
• Spinal cord injury: A spinal cord injury will damage the connection of nerves between the brain and the rest of the body. This damage is caused by trauma to a specific area of the spinal cord. Approximately, 17,500 people experience a spinal cord injury each year. 5% of those affect are children. A spinal cord birth injury can occur when a doctor strains a child’s neck by pulling, twisting or using tools to remove the baby from the birth canal. An undiagnosed damage to the spine before birth can also result in a spinal cord injury during delivery. 

Fractures during birth commonly occur during breach deliveries, shoulder dystocia births and large infants.

Fracture of the clavicle or collarbone is the most common fracture during birth. The clavicle may fracture when there is trouble delivering the baby’s shoulder or during a breech delivery. 

Other common fractures that may occur to a newborn includes long-bone fractures and bone-cartilages separations. 

A rare occurrence. When this injury does occur in infants it usually affects the liver. The common types of lacerations that may occur in the liver include a subcapsular hematoma and a splenic rupture. These lesions can be caused by a pull on the peritoneal support ligaments or, if the child suffered asphyxia, by the resuscitation effort. Some predisposing factors that may increase an infant’s risk of suffering an intra-abdominal laceration, include postmaturity, prematurity, and coagulation disorders.