For parents, a birth is a joyous occasion, but finding out your child is injured transforms the excitement into extreme concern. Six to eight out of 1,000 births result in significant injury; although some children recover, others require lifelong care. For this reason, our Connecticut birth injury lawyers at Trantolo & Trantolo treat such cases with maximum attention and respect, not stopping their fight until they win maximum settlements for our clients.
Because of the great expense associated with follow-up surgeries, treatment, and care and states’ statute of limitations, parents are advised to pursue a lawsuit not long after learning about the injury. However, causes and the injuries resulting cover a wide range.
Damage During the Birthing Process Our Connecticut Birth Injury Attorneys Represent
Difficult child birth may cause certain injuries. Compression, traction, or forces restricting the blood vessels or oxygen may result in the birth canal. Similarly, a birth canal may be too small, or a child may be too large (over 8 pounds, 13 ounces) to pass through. Other factors may contribute:
- The mother has diabetes or cephalopelvic disproportion.
- The child was born before 37 weeks; premature children tend to have more fragile bones.
- Prolonged labor
- A child is positioned abnormally (feet first instead of head)
No matter how it occurs, oxygen deprivation results in injuries to the child. The condition stems from an umbilical cord that’s compressed, twisted, or wrapped around the child’s neck or from the fetus remaining in the birth canal too long.
Similarly, Meconium Aspiration Syndrome involves a child inhaling meconium and amniotic fluid and choking to death during the birth process. The presence of both indicates fetal stress before or after delivery.
While proper prenatal planning and having trained staff assists with reducing these risks, other factors contribute to a potential birth injury. In certain cases, medical staff may be negligent, careless, or intentionally act with malice, from waiting too long to perform a C-section to incorrect usage of forceps, vacuums, and other equipment to excessive force during the procedure.
For specific instances, negligence or malice significantly harm the child:
- Failure to diagnose or treat seizures after delivery
- Failure to properly monitor changes in the mother’s health, including high blood pressure and toxemia.
- Incorrect intubation for a child requiring oxygen results in oxygen deprivation that causes brain damage or death.
Common Birth Injuries Our Birth Injury Lawyers in Connecticut Could Seek Damages For
Several types of injuries may occur at birth, including the following:
Caput Succedaneum
Caput succedaneum is a swelling on a newborn’s head caused by pressure during delivery. It happens when the baby’s scalp is compressed against the birth canal, leading to fluid buildup.
Traumatic Brain Injury
A TBI occurs when a baby’s head experiences force or pressure during birth. This can happen due to prolonged labor, improper use of a forceps or a vacuum, or oxygen deprivation. Depending on their severity, TBIs can cause developmental delays, seizures, or long-term disabilities.
Cerebral Palsy
This birth injury is a movement disorder caused by brain damage that occurs prior to, during, or soon after birth. It often results from oxygen deprivation, infections, or trauma during delivery. Children with cerebral palsy may struggle with muscle control, coordination, and speech, requiring lifelong therapy and care.
Bruising
Newborns can develop bruising from the natural pressure of birth, especially if delivery is long or assisted by tools like forceps or a vacuum. Bruising is usually harmless and fades within a few days, but in some cases, it can indicate more serious underlying injuries.
Cephalohematoma
Cephalohematoma is a blood collection between a baby’s skull and scalp, often caused by pressure during labor or the use of forceps or a vacuum. It may take weeks or months to fully heal, but in some cases, it can lead to complications.
Anoxic Brain Injury
An anoxic brain injury happens when a baby’s brain doesn’t receive any oxygen for a period of time. Unlike other oxygen-related injuries, blood flow may still be present, but without oxygen, brain cells quickly die. This can cause severe disabilities, including cognitive and motor impairments.
Hypoxia
Hypoxia is when a baby’s tissues and organs don’t receive enough oxygen, often due to complications like umbilical cord compression, placental issues, or prolonged labor. If not treated quickly, hypoxia can lead to brain damage, organ failure, or long-term developmental delays.
Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia occurs during delivery, when a baby’s shoulders get caught behind their mother’s pelvic bone. This can cause nerve damage, fractures, or oxygen deprivation if not handled quickly. While some cases resolve without harm, others can lead to long-term injuries like brachial plexus damage.
Brachial Plexus
The brachial plexus represents a nervous network localized in the shoulder. It controls arm and hand movement. When stretched or torn during birth—often due to shoulder dystocia or forceful pulling—a baby may suffer weakness, loss of movement, or even permanent paralysis in the affected arm.
Breech Birth Complications
This birth injury occurs when a baby is positioned feet- or bottom-first instead of head-first. This increases the risk of difficult delivery, oxygen deprivation, head injuries, and nerve damage. In many cases, a C-section is recommended to prevent serious complications.
Brain Damage
Brain damage at birth can result from oxygen deprivation, infections, trauma, or improper medical care. The severity can range from mild developmental delays to severe disabilities like cerebral palsy or epilepsy. Early diagnosis and therapy can help improve a child’s quality of life.
Death or Trauma Related to Medication Dosage
Incorrect medication dosages during labor and delivery—such as too much anesthesia or misused labor-inducing drugs—can lead to serious harm, including brain damage, respiratory failure, or even death. Careful monitoring is crucial to prevent these tragedies.
Injury from Vacuum Extraction
Vacuum extraction is sometimes used to assist with delivery, but improper use can cause scalp wounds, skull fractures, brain bleeding, or nerve damage. While minor swelling is common, severe injuries can have long-term effects on the baby’s health.
Injury from an Untimely Caesarean Section
If a C-section is delayed when medically necessary, a baby may suffer from oxygen deprivation, head trauma, or complications like meconium aspiration. On the other hand, a poorly performed C-section can also cause injuries, such as accidental cuts or breathing difficulties.
Nerve Injury from Forceps
Forceps are metal instruments used to help deliver a baby, but if applied with too much force, they can cause nerve damage in the face, neck, or shoulders. This can lead to temporary or permanent weakness, difficulty swallowing, or breathing problems.
Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Meconium is a baby’s first stool, and sometimes it is passed into the amniotic fluid before birth. If a baby inhales this fluid, it can block airways and cause serious breathing problems. In extreme situations, it can cause lung damage, infections, or even death.
Broken or Fractured Bones
Fractures can happen during birth, especially in problematic deliveries or when doctors use forceps or vacuum extraction. The most common broken bone is the clavicle (collarbone), which usually heals well with time, but some fractures may require medical intervention.
Facial Paralysis
Facial paralysis occurs when pressure on a baby’s face—often from forceps or prolonged pushing—damages the facial nerves. This can cause drooping on one side of the face, difficulty closing an eye, or trouble feeding. While some cases resolve on their own, others may require surgery.
Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries during birth are rare but extremely serious. They often result from excessive pulling, improper use of forceps, or breech deliveries. These birth injuries usually lead to paralysis, loss of movement, or lifelong disabilities.
Bacterial Infection
Newborns are vulnerable to bacterial infections, which can come from the mother during birth, medical instruments, or hospital environments. If not treated quickly, infections like sepsis or meningitis can cause severe complications, including organ failure or brain damage.
Although a child may recover from certain injuries, most are life-altering. In the case of brain damage or cerebral palsy, signs don’t start to show for few years, or when the child isn’t meeting growth and physical milestones. Many resulting conditions require significantly costly long-term care, medication, surgery, physical therapy, or special education.
If you suspect medical malpractice is the root cause of child’s injury, you must act quickly. Contacting a Trantolo & Trantolo birth injury attorney in Connecticut ensures you have a professional to investigate the circumstances, gather evidence, and advocate for your rights.
Additionally, our personal injury lawyers in Connecticut are skilled in handling complex cases involving medical malpractice and can help secure compensation to cover medical bills, future care, and other damages. Call us today to schedule a free consultation and start building your case.
Common Causes of Connecticut Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can happen even in the best medical settings, but when healthcare providers fail to act appropriately, these injuries may be due to negligence. A provider’s actions—or inactions—can mean the difference between a healthy birth and a devastating outcome. Below are some common causes of preventable birth injuries.
Failure to Address or Recognize Fetal Distress
Fetal distress happens when a baby isn’t getting enough oxygen before or during birth, because of umbilical cord problems, placental issues, prolonged labor, or maternal health conditions. Healthcare providers are trained to monitor a baby’s heart rate, oxygen levels, and overall well-being through fetal monitoring tools.
Warning signs of fetal distress include a slowed or irregular heart rate, decreased fetal movement, or meconium (a baby’s first stool) appearing in the amniotic fluid. If medical professionals fail to recognize and quickly treat fetal distress —whether through repositioning the mother, increasing oxygen flow, or performing an emergency C-section—the baby may suffer brain injury, cerebral palsy, or even stillbirth.
Improper Use of Birth Tools
When labor becomes difficult, doctors may use instruments like forceps or vacuum extractors to help guide the baby through the birth canal. These tools can be lifesaving in some cases, but if they are used inappropriately, they can cause serious injuries.
- Forceps: These are metal instruments shaped like large tongs, placed on the baby’s head to help guide them out. If forceps are used incorrectly, they can put too much pressure on the baby’s skull, leading to brain bleeds, skull fractures, facial nerve damage, or even permanent paralysis in the face. Forceps use also increases the risk of vaginal or perineal tears for the mother.
- Vacuum extraction: A vacuum extractor uses suction to help pull the baby out during delivery. If too much force is used, the baby can suffer scalp wounds, skull fractures, bleeding inside the brain, or cephalohematoma (a blood collection under the scalp). Vacuum extraction must be performed carefully, and if the baby is not moving down as expected, an emergency C-section may be the safer option.
Both of these tools require a high level of skill and proper technique. When misused, they can lead to permanent disabilities, including cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, or developmental delays.
Delayed C-Sections
A C-section is sometimes the safest way to deliver a baby, especially if labor is not progressing or if the baby is in distress. However, delays in performing a C-section can put both the baby and mother in danger.
Doctors may hesitate to perform a C-section due to hospital policies, an attempt to avoid surgical risks, or misjudgment of the situation. However, delaying this procedure in critical situations can lead to:
- Prolonged oxygen deprivation – which might cause brain damage or cerebral palsy.
- Umbilical cord complications – the cord gets wrapped around the baby’s neck.
- Uterine rupture – fatal for both the mother and baby.
- Meconium aspiration – which can lead to lung complications.
A C-section should never be delayed when a baby is in distress. If warning signs are ignored or a doctor hesitates too long, the consequences can be lifelong disabilities or even death.
Failure to Diagnose or Treat Maternal and Fetal Health Concerns
Pregnant patients rely on their doctors to monitor their health and their baby’s development. Certain conditions, if left untreated, can create serious risks during birth.
For example, preeclampsia is a condition that causes dangerously high blood pressure in pregnant people. If not managed, it can reduce blood flow to the placenta, leading to fetal distress, premature birth, or stillbirth. Other undiagnosed maternal infections, diabetes, or conditions like gestational hypertension can also put both mother and baby at risk.
Doctors must carefully monitor for warning signs and take action early. Failure to do so can mean preventable complications that affect a child’s health for life.
Medication Errors
Medications play a critical role in pregnancy and labor, but when given incorrectly, they can cause serious harm. Common medication errors during labor and delivery include:
- Giving the wrong dosage of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin, which can cause overly strong contractions, leading to fetal distress and uterine rupture.
- Administering incorrect anesthesia, which can cause severe drops in blood pressure, reducing oxygen flow to the baby.
- Overlooking maternal allergies or drug interactions, putting the mother and baby at risk for complications.
Even a small medication mistake can have life-altering consequences. That’s why doctors and nurses must follow strict protocols to ensure safe medication use.
These and other negligent actions by medical providers can have distressing and even devastating consequences. Our Connecticut birth injury attorneys are here to help your family fight back and seek the compensation you need.
What to Expect When Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Connecticut
Winning a lawsuit against a negligent hospital or medical professional may result in an award to cover past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, loss of quality of life, and loss of future earnings.
Cases typically take from 18 months to two years. If you suspect medical malpractice, it’s advised that parents request the records from the hospital where the delivery was performed and then have a doctor review the information to perform tests on the child for possible mental or physical disabilities. From here, research what surgeries, treatments, or care and the costs that may be required.
After you’ve gone through these steps, get in contact with a lawyer. In Connecticut, law firm Trantolo & Trantolo handles birth injury lawsuits, as well as related medical malpractice claims. Here’s what else you should expect!
You Can Recover No-limit Damages in a Connecticut Birth Injury Claim
Winning a lawsuit against a negligent healthcare provider can provide vital financial relief for families facing the devastating consequences of a birth injury. In Connecticut, unlike many other states, there are no caps on economic or non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. This ensures families our Connecticut birth injury lawyers can pursue the full compensation they need for both immediate and long-term needs.
You Must Comply with the Statute of Limitations in Connecticut for Birth Injury Lawsuits
Connecticut’s statute of limitations for filing a birth injury lawsuit is typically two years from the date the injury was discovered or should have been reasonably discovered. However, there is also a broader three-year statute of repose, which generally bars claims filed more than three years after the date of the negligent act. Consulting with an experienced Connecticut birth injury attorney as soon as possible ensures your case is filed within the required timeframe and protects your right to seek compensation.
Who Can You Sue for Your Child’s Birth Injury in Connecticut?
In Connecticut, several parties may be held legally responsible for a birth injury, depending on the circumstances of the case. Potential defendants include:
- Doctors: Obstetricians, pediatricians, or other physicians involved in prenatal care, labor, or delivery who failed to meet the accepted standard of care.
- Nurses and midwives: Medical staff who failed to properly monitor the mother or baby, administer care, or act on signs of distress.
- Hospitals and medical facilities: Institutions may be liable for inadequate training, poor staffing, or failure to enforce proper protocols and procedures.
- Medical device manufacturers: If defective tools or equipment, such as forceps or fetal monitors, caused the injury, the manufacturer may be held responsible.
Each birth injury case is unique, and determining liability requires an experienced legal team to investigate thoroughly. At Trantolo & Trantolo, our Connecticut birth injury attorneys will identify all responsible parties and seek the maximum compensation your family deserves. Contact us today to learn more!
Why Choose Our Connecticut Birth Injury Lawyers for Your Case
At Trantolo & Trantolo, we understand the immense emotional and financial burden families face when a birth injury occurs. Our experienced Connecticut birth injury attorneys provide aggressive representation to help you secure maximum damages for your child’s injuries. Here’s why families trust us with their birth injury cases:
Proven Case Results in Connecticut Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice
Our team has a history of achieving excellent results in Connecticut birth injury and medical malpractice cases. Some of our notable results include:
- $5,000,000 settlement: A child suffered severe injuries at birth due to a medical error, resulting in permanent damage.
- $1,000,000 settlement: An infant was born with Erb’s Palsy due to negligence by medical staff, resulting in a significant recovery for the family.
- $1,250,000 settlement: Achieved prior to trial for a client who became ill during her second pregnancy. The client tragically passed away two days after giving birth.
These results demonstrate our commitment to holding negligent medical professionals accountable and obtaining meaningful compensation for our clients.
Contingency Fee Representation
At Trantolo & Trantolo, pay no upfront costs or legal fees unless we win your case. This ensures that every family has access to high-quality legal representation without financial barriers.
Trial-Ready Representation
While many birth injury cases settle before they reach the courts, our Connecticut birth injury attorneys are fully prepared to take your case to trial if necessary. We have extensive courtroom experience and are not afraid to face hospitals, medical providers, insurers, and more. As a Connecticut-based law firm, we are deeply familiar with state laws, regulations, and courts. This local knowledge gives us an edge in handling the complexities of birth injury and medical malpractice cases in the Constitution State.
Comprehensive Legal Support
From filing claims and gathering evidence to working with medical experts, we provide full-service legal representation tailored to your family’s unique needs. Our team will:
- Investigate your case thoroughly to establish liability
- Work with top medical professionals to evaluate the standard of care
- Calculate the full extent of your compensation
Compassionate Client Advocacy
We know how overwhelming and emotional birth injury cases can be. Our Connecticut birth injury attorneys provide compassionate, personalized attention to guide you through the process, keeping you informed every step of the way.
Contact Our Connecticut Birth Injury Lawyers Today
Don’t wait to take action if you believe medical negligence caused your child’s birth injury. The attorneys at Trantolo & Trantolo are here to provide the aggressive representation you need to pursue justice for your family. With a proven track record of success and a commitment to fighting for maximum compensation, our Connecticut birt injury attorneys are ready to stand by your side every step of the way. Call us today for a free, no-obligation consultation and let us help you start building your case. Your family deserves justice—reach out now to take the first step.
