Medical Malpractice and Birth Injuries in New York: What You Need to Know

By seriousl April 7, 2025

Cerebral palsy, brachial plexus damage, skull fractures, and oxygen deprivation are just a few of the devastating outcomes that fall under the term birth injury. When a delivery team fails to follow accepted obstetric procedures, those injuries rise to medical malpractice—and New York law gives families a limited window to hold negligent providers accountable. If your child was hurt during labor or delivery, speak with a skilled New York medical malpractice attorney at Poissant, Nichols, Grue, Vanier & Babbie, P.C. for a free case evaluation or call 518-483-1440 today.

Common Delivery Errors That Cause Lifelong Harm

Delivery teams in New York owe parents a duty to anticipate and correct complications the moment they arise. Failure to do so can expose a child—and often the mother—to irreversible harm and staggering long-term costs. The errors most frequently cited include:

• Mismanaged shoulder dystocia. If a baby’s shoulder lodges behind the mother’s pubic bone, the obstetrician must perform stepwise maneuvers within minutes. Prolonged traction increases the risk of brachial plexus avulsion; about 10 percent of these nerve injuries remain permanent despite therapy.
• Delayed decision-to-incision for emergency C-section. Many U.S. hospitals follow a 30-minute benchmark; exceeding it during fetal distress sharply raises the odds of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and later cerebral palsy.
• Improper use of instruments. Vacuum extractors and forceps, when applied at a wrong angle or with excessive pressure, can cause skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, or facial-nerve palsy—traumas reported in up to 10 per 1,000 births.
• Medication errors. Excessive oxytocin may overstimulate the uterus, cutting placental oxygen; inadequate antibiotics after a missed Group B strep screen invite neonatal sepsis.
• Undiagnosed macrosomia or breech presentation. Maternal diabetes and late-term ultrasounds must be tracked; a nine-pound infant delivered vaginally faces a seven-fold jump in traumatic injury risk.

According to recent national estimates, roughly seven of every 1,000 deliveries end in a preventable injury—about three babies every hour. When such outcomes stem from negligence, a skilled medical malpractice lawyer can seek lifetime funding for wheelchairs, home modifications, and educational support, as well as damages for maternal hemorrhage, infection, or pelvic-floor trauma. 

Legal Duties in the Delivery Room

Under New York negligence law, physicians, nurses, and hospitals must act with the same skill and prudence as reasonably careful peers in similar circumstances. When a provider breaches this duty—by skipping critical prenatal screenings or ignoring abnormal vitals—the facility can be liable for medical expenses, therapy, lost earning capacity, and the child’s diminished quality of life. Working with a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer helps parents secure neonatal records, fetal-monitor tracings, and staffing logs before they disappear.

Statute of Limitations

Most malpractice lawsuits in New York must be filed within 2 years and 6 months of the negligent act or the conclusion of continuous treatment (New York CPLR § 214-a). Birth-injury claims benefit from an important exception: for infants, the statute is tolled for up to ten years, but no later than the child’s 10th birthday. Missing these deadlines, even by a day, can bar recovery forever.

Recoverable Damages

Birth-injury verdicts frequently exceed other malpractice awards because they must finance lifelong medical and assistive care. Damages may cover:

• Neonatal and future medical costs
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Special-education resources
• Lost future earnings
• Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life

A qualified medical negligence lawyer can also pursue structured settlements that protect government-benefit eligibility.

Building a Compelling Medical Negligence Claim

Success hinges on meticulous investigation. Your NY medical malpractice lawyer will:

• Secure complete prenatal, delivery, and NICU records.
• Compare treatment steps to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) guidelines.
• Calculate economic losses with vocational and life-care planners.
• Identify all responsible parties—obstetricians, anesthesiologists, nurses, and hospital owners.

Early legal intervention preserves electronic fetal-monitor data, anesthesia logs, and blood-gas results that hospitals often purge after a short retention period.

One Call Can Change Everything

New York birth-injury law is designed to shift the financial burden of medical negligence from families to negligent providers and their insurers. Securing that relief, however, requires swift action, detailed proof, and relentless advocacy. Poissant, Nichols, Grue, Vanier & Babbie, P.C. has recovered significant compensation for children harmed at birth throughout Northern New York.

Ready for Answers?

Call 518-483-1440, speak with a New York medical malpractice lawyer, or use our secure message form to begin protecting your child’s future today.