New Jersey Birth Defect Lawyers

Birth Defects

The birth of a child is a momentous occasion for any family.

Expectations and hopes are that a newborn will be healthy and that complications during childbirth, if any at all, will be minimal. Unfortunately, this is not always the case and birth injuries and defects affect children and their families in every state. Routine pre-natal care and fetal evaluations may allow for the early detection of birth defects. Early detection can afford the opportunity to have proper care administered to the expectant mother and her unborn child. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 3% of babies born in the United States, (approximately 1 out of every 33), are born with a birth defect of some kind. These birth defects may be minimal or they can seriously impair an infant’s ability to develop and live a healthy life and account for more than 20% of infant deaths each year. While some birth defects are easily treatable with non-invasive procedures, other birth defects may require extensive and/or invasive treatments and surgery.

Some of the birth defects that can afflict newborns include:

• Physical deformities, such as a cleft palate or clubbed foot
• Internal injuries, such as heart and bowel defects
• "Neural tube defects" such as spina bifida and anencephaly

So-called "birth defects" are often caused by genetic abnormalities. For example, Down’s syndrome is a genetic birth defect, the risk for which may be increased by maternal age at the time of conception/gestation. Many birth defects can be diagnosed within the first three months of pregnancy (first trimester). Proper prenatal care must be provided by healthcare providers in order to determine and recognize the risk factors for Down’s syndrome and other detectable birth defects; or in many states, including New Jersey, the Courts recognize a right of the expectant parents to consider their legal options concerning their pregnancy and birth of their child.

A failure to prenatally diagnose an abnormality may result in the birth of a child with severe and sometimes life-threatening conditions; consequently, the child’s condition will often affect the entire family, result in the need for costly medical care, and sadly, may result in a child’s death.

If your child suffers from a birth defect and you feel that various prenatal tests were not performed, tests results were not properly interpreted or reviewed by the physician, or the results of important tests were not provided to you as the parents, then you should contact an experienced personal injury lawyer that is familiar with medical malpractice in relation to birth defects and birth injuries.

At Blume Goldfaden, our skilled New Jersey birth injury attorneys will comprehensively investigate the merits of your case to determine whether or not your child’s birth injury or defect was due to medical negligence.

Contact us today at 973-635-5400 for a free consultation.