Brain Injury to Child During Delivery

Few moments are more heart-wrenching than learning that your child has suffered a preventable injury at birth. A brain injury to a child during delivery can transform what should be a celebration into a lifetime of uncertainty, medical intervention, and hardship. These injuries often occur when healthcare providers fail to recognize or respond to distress signals during labor, delay critical interventions, or mishandle delivery tools. The damage caused may not be immediately visible but can manifest over time in the form of seizures, developmental delays, motor impairments, or lifelong conditions like cerebral palsy. Families are often left struggling not only with grief and frustration but also with the financial burden of ongoing medical care. If your child sustained brain damage during birth, you have the right to pursue claims against the providers that caused their harm, and you should talk to an attorney as soon as possible. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Birth Injury Lawyers, our seasoned Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys can assess your case and aid you in pursuing any available damages to help ensure your child receives the care they need. We represent families in birth injury cases in Syracuse, as well as in Rochester, and throughout Upstate New York.

The causes of a brain injury during delivery vary but often stem from avoidable errors in the labor and delivery process. One of the most common causes is oxygen deprivation, also known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, which can occur when a baby’s umbilical cord becomes compressed, wrapped around the neck, or when labor is prolonged without appropriate medical intervention. Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors can also cause direct trauma to a newborn’s skull and brain. Failure to monitor fetal heart rate or to respond promptly to signs of fetal distress may likewise result in irreversible harm.

The consequences of a brain injury to a child during delivery are profound. Some children may experience mild cognitive or developmental delays, while others may suffer from severe neurological conditions requiring round-the-clock care. These outcomes often necessitate expensive long-term medical treatment, physical and occupational therapies, specialized equipment, and significant lifestyle adjustments for families. Beyond the medical consequences, parents must cope with the emotional toll of knowing that their child’s future was altered by mistakes that competent medical care could have prevented.

Parents seeking justice for a brain injury to a child during delivery will often pursue medical malpractice claims against the providers responsible for the mother’s and child’s care during the birthing process. In most cases, a plaintiff in a birth injury case must establish the defendant’s negligence to recover damages. In New York, this requires establishing duty, breach, causation, and damages.

First, the plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty to the mother and baby to provide treatment consistent with the accepted standard of medical care. Next, the plaintiff needs to prove that the defendant breached that duty by failing to act as a reasonably competent practitioner would have under the circumstances, for example, by ignoring signs of fetal distress, mismanaging prolonged labor, or misusing forceps or vacuum extractors.

Lastly, the plaintiff has to establish causation and damages, which means they must demonstrate that the provider's breach of duty directly caused them to suffer quantifiable losses. Birth injury cases nearly always require expert testimony. Typically, the expert will testify regarding the standard of care and explain how the defendant’s conduct deviated from accepted practices and how those failures caused the injury.

A brain injury to a child during delivery has lifelong repercussions, not only for the child but for the entire family. If your child suffered harm at birth due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, it is in your best interest to speak to an attorney as soon as possible. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Birth Injury Lawyers, our experienced Syracuse medical malpractice attorneys understand the profound challenges parents face when raising a child with a brain injury, and if you hire us, we will help you seek accountability for your losses. We have an office in Syracuse and we represent clients throughout Syracuse, Rochester, and Upstate New York. Call us at 833-200-2000 or complete our online form today to learn more about your legal options.