Red Bank Birth Injury Attorneys

Fact Sheet: Medical Malpractice

No expectant family in New Jersey or elsewhere looks forward to the birth of their child anticipating that a serious birth injury will occur. Although many births in the United States occur without any complications, a significant number result in a birth injury to the mother or child:

• Slightly less than seven out of 1,000 males are born with a birth injury, and slightly less than six out of every 1,000 females are born with a birth injury;
• Children born at privately-owned, non-profit hospitals are slightly more likely to suffer a birth injury than children born at private, for-profit hospitals; and
• Although rare, some birth injuries result in permanent brain damage and other injuries to the newborn.

A serious birth injury can require the parents to pay for continued medical care and treatment for the child for the rest of the young boy’s or girl’s life. Even minor birth injuries can require additional medical treatment. Where a birth injury is caused because a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional was careless, however, the negligent individual can be held responsible for these costs along with any other individual or entity who contributed to the birth injury.