Birth Injury Lawyers in Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse, NY

Unfortunately, Birth injuries are more common than most people realize. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, in 2006, newborns and their mothers experienced more than 157,000 potentially avoidable birth injuries. 

Birth injuries can be directly related to negligence, recklessness, or incompetence of a medical professional. Families trust doctors to provide skillful, thoughtful care. When they fail to do so, and mothers or their babies are harmed, it can be devastating.

Unfortunately, birth injuries can be a source of lifelong medical complications, creating mounting medical bills, time taken off work to care for a medically fragile child, or premature death.

Birth Injury Lawyers in Buffalo, NY Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC

The first step in evaluating whether you or your child has a birth injury claim is meeting with one of our attorneys to discuss the specific facts of your situation. The attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC understand that each situation is unique and extremely difficult. We want to listen to your story, learn the specific facts of your situation, and make the legal process as simple as possible for you and your family. Throughout this process, we understand that your top priority is, and should be, the health, treatment and care of your child’s birth injury, not a potential lawsuit. Our job is to make the legal process as easy as possible for you and your family.

We will obtain all medical records related to the birth injury and perform a comprehensive review of these records, along with the facts related to the injury, to determine if you or your child has a viable birth injury claim.

At Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, we’ve been helping victims of birth injuries secure the justice they deserve for decades. If you suspect that your birth injuries were the result of medical malpractice or negligence, please contact us today.

What Is Negligence?

Negligence is a leading cause of medical malpractice suits against doctors, hospitals, and other medical professionals. Personal injury law provides people injured or killed by a third party’s negligence the opportunity to receive compensation for their damages.

Keep in mind that some injuries at birth are true accidents. An honest accident does not qualify as medical malpractice. But when injuries occur because a doctor made a mistake that a care provider reasonably shouldn’t have made, they should be held liable for the resulting damages.

Doctors keep full caseloads and a busy schedule. In some instances, negligence can happen when a doctor rushes through a procedure. Other times, they may not pay close enough attention to what they’re doing, perhaps failing to ask about known allergies, administering the wrong medicine, or failing to account for relevant medical factors.

Unfortunately, some birth injuries happen because the doctor was reckless in the decisions that they made.

Doctors are required by law to provide an acceptable standard of care. In order to prove medical malpractice in New York, the patient is required to prove two things: that the medical professional deviated from the accepted standards of medical care; and that the deviation caused the patient substantial harm. When a medical professional deviates from the standard of care, endangering the lives of the mother and child entrusted to their care, they should be held accountable.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

There are many different kinds of birth injuries that families can face. These can be divided into a few categories:

Injuries to Babies

Babies are quite fragile. If a doctor is rushing or being careless in their care, there can be lasting consequences, including:

  • Bone Damage: Bones may be fractured from the use of forceps or doctors using other surgical tools improperly
  • Brain Damage: A lack of oxygen can cause brain damage that results in lifelong mental or physical problems
  • Skull Injuries: When an infant’s skull is damaged at birth, it can create lasting negative effects
  • Spine or Nerve Damage: This can quickly happen when the baby is positioned wrong or removed poorly at birth

If a medical professional uses the forceps incorrectly, it can cause bones to fracture and create extensive spinal damage — all of which can have lasting health implications. 

Likewise, if a baby is in distress for too long, it can cause a lack of oxygen to their brain, leading to conditions like cerebral palsy.

While some birth injuries are obvious right away, others are more subtle. If you suspect that your child was injured by negligent care, please contact the skilled legal team at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, right away.

Injuries to Mothers

Mothers may also suffer Birth injuries during childbirth. Common birth injuries experienced by  mothers include:

  • Improper medications or dosage administered
  • A placental rupture that is not recognized in a timely manner
  • A protracted delivery that causes excessive pain
  • C-section mistakes that result in emergency sterilization

These are just a few of the examples of birth injuries that happen every day. If you or a loved one have sustained birth injuries, Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC can help you secure the maximum compensation you deserve.

Product Defect Injuries

In rare cases, a birth injury could be caused by a defective product. Medical products are not invincible. A bad batch of medication may have been used or an oxygen machine may fail. 

Whatever the circumstances, when products are defective, they can cause irreparable injuries.

Manufacturers and retailers are required to recall defective products once they’ve learned that their products may be unsafe, but that doesn’t always happen in a timely manner. 

Sometimes, the recall is delayed. In other cases, manufacturers try to cover up their defective products. In either case, when a company knows that there is a problem with their product and they fail to take timely action to remedy the issue, they may be held liable for the resulting damages.

At Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, we understand how to effectively fight for the rights of birth injury victims. Whether your family is facing a birth injury from negligence, recklessness, or a product defect, let us help you seek the compensation you deserve.

Economic Damages

When you face a birth injury, you might quickly incur bills and expenses that you would not otherwise have. 

Medical bills can be expensive, particularly if a mother or child suffers a birth injury and needs additional care for the remainder of their lives. No mother or child should have to pay for the expenses brought about by the negligence or incompetence of a doctor. 

Mistakes at birth that cause lifelong injuries are not solely limited to medical bills and expenses.

Examples of the types of compensation that you can pursue include:

  • Birthing costs
  • Testing fees
  • Expenses for extended hospitalizations
  • Lost wages from work
  • Ongoing medical care, physical therapy, and psychiatric care
  • Specialty daycare services
  • Home health care services
  • Special tutors and schooling

If the birth injury caused your child to suffer from brain and head injuries, the resulting medical bills may be astronomical. Let Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, fight for you and hold the responsible parties accountable.

Non-Economic Damages

When you are the victim of a birth injury, there are many damages that do not come with a financial figure attached. 

Non-economic damages are designed to compensate victims for things that are hard to quantify. For example, if your child suffers from significant brain damage, they may face significant emotional distress. As a mother, if your injury leaves you unable to hold your child without pain, you deserve compensation for that loss.

Common factors considered for non-economic damages include:

  • Anxiety and distress
  • Fear
  • Lingering pain
  • Social life changes
  • Embarrassment
  • Depression
  • Sex life changes
  • General life enjoyment changes

If a birth injury causes a baby to have spinal damage, for instance, that injury will dramatically change the parents’ lives. Caregivers may not socialize as much because they’re too focused on taking care of their child. 

If the mother was injured at birth, she may experience pain during intercourse. 

Birth injuries can drastically change the quality of life for a new mother and father. A birth injury that occurs as a result of care providers’ negligence, inattention, lack of focus, recklessness, or incompetence of care providers can also affect the entire life of a newborn child. 

You don’t have to face this problem alone. Turn to the birth injury attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC, for the compassion and support you need as you fight for justice.

Has Your Family Been Affected By a Birth Injury?

New York State imposes strict time limitations on the amount of time that can pass before you file a personal injury suit.  If you believe you or your child experienced a birth injury as a result of negligent care, you should call the experienced attorneys at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford for a free consultation.

Things to ask yourself include:

  • Does your newborn have a critical injury, illness, or disease?
  • Were there unexpected birth complications?
  • Did you or your baby receive unwanted medical procedures?
  • Did the doctor take time to answer all of your questions?
  • Was the doctor attentive or distracted?
  • Does something just seem wrong?

It can be difficult to gather the documentation that you need to pursue a case on your own. You can contact legal counsel before you even leave the hospital if you suspect that you’ve been the victim of a birth injury. 

If you suspect that you or your baby suffered a birth injury caused by negligence, do not sign any paperwork or forms without a lawyer present. You may want to avoid signing insurance papers until your attorney can look at them, as well.

Doctors and hospitals actively work to protect themselves legally, so they may try to rush you into signing statements that can negate a later claim against them.

Keep detailed notes about what was said and done before, during, and after your baby’s birth. Noting everything down while it is fresh in your mind will help you to recall it properly later.

Call the personal injury experts at Lipsitz, Ponterio & Comerford, LLC. Our birth injury attorneys have been representing clients in Rochester, Syracuse, and Buffalo, NY since 1995. Our attorneys have recovered over a billion dollars for our clients.

If you or a loved one has experienced a birth injury in Buffalo, Rochester, or Syracuse, NY, please contact us for a free and confidential evaluation.

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