Albuquerque, New Mexico Birth Injury Lawyer
Parents have the right to expect attentive, skilled care during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Medical errors during these events can lead to brain damage, lifelong disabilities, and the death of the child. If your child has suffered a birth injury, call our Albuquerque birth injury lawyers today at (312) 332-2872 for a free case review. You could be entitled to substantial compensation.
Quick Links
- Why You Can Trust Levin & Perconti To Handle Your Albuquerque Birth Injury Lawsuit
- Past Client Testimonials
- Why Hire an Albuquerque, NM, Birth Injury Lawyer?
- Fatal Birth Injury Statistics in New Mexico
- What Types of Birth Injuries Are Eligible for Compensation in New Mexico?
- Common Causes of Birth Injuries in New Mexico
- Legal Options if the Mother Was Injured
- How Much Is a Birth Injury Lawsuit in New Mexico Worth?
- New Mexico Birth Injury Lawsuit FAQs
- Contact the New Mexico Birth Injury Lawyers at Levin & Perconti
A birth injury is a harm that occurs during or shortly after pregnancy or birth. Birth injuries are often the result of substandard prenatal care, inadequate fetal monitoring during labor, or improper techniques by medical providers during birth. The consequences of medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, and delivery can be devastating.
According to the Department of Health, the neonatal death rate in New Mexico in 2019 was four deaths per 1,000 live births. In Albuquerque, the 2022 preterm birth rate was 10.4 percent, and the trend has worsened since 2021. Alarmingly, significant racial disparities are present throughout the state, with a death rate of 12.6 black infants per 1,000 births compared to 2.9 white infants per 1,000 births.
Health care providers have a legal duty to provide a reasonable standard of care, regardless of your socioeconomic status, skin color, or the circumstances of your pregnancy. If you or your baby suffered an injury during birth, you should not have to bear the financial costs alone. Contact our birth injury attorneys in Albuquerque today for a free case review.
Why You Can Trust Levin & Perconti To Handle Your Albuquerque Birth Injury Lawsuit
With more than 400 years of combined experience, our birth injury attorneys have the knowledge and resources to stand up to large health care organizations and insurance companies. We are pioneers in national birth injury litigation and have developed the most aggressive and effective approach to holding negligent providers accountable.
We refuse to accept less than you deserve, and we do not have to because we are successful trial lawyers with an outstanding record of landmark results and a demonstrated ability to win in court.
Our Successful Record of Results
We have won more than $1 billion in recoveries for our clients, including the following birth injury settlements and verdicts:
Our Satisfied Clients
We provide every client with personalized attention and maintain strong communication until the case is resolved. Below are a few examples of what our clients say about our services:
Past Client Testimonials
Don’t take our word for it. Hear from some of the medical malpractice victims we’ve helped:
Leading Advocates for Children Injured at Birth and Their Families
Our legal team includes Dov Apfel and Seth Cardeli—two national advocates for children with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities who have helped shape how birth injury litigation is handled. Both have obtained numerous seven- and eight-figure settlements and jury verdicts for families harmed by birth errors.
Dov Apfel has over 40 years of experience and has authored hundreds of law review articles and publications. He mentors other birth injury lawyers and is frequently called upon as a featured speaker.
Seth Cardeli has more than a decade of experience as an advocate for children and parents affected by birth injuries, and his stellar record of results has won him numerous prestigious leadership positions. He is the current co-chair of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the American Association of Justice. He is also a popular lecturer and respected law review author.
Why Hire an Albuquerque, NM, Birth Injury Lawyer?
Birth injury cases are complex due to the extensive burden of proof required to win a successful settlement or verdict. You will need extensive medical knowledge, access to medical experts, and a significant financial investment to develop your case. To win damages in a New Mexico birth injury case, you must be able to prove all of the following:
- The health care provider owed you a duty of care. This requires proof that you had established a provider-patient relationship.
- The health care provider breached the duty of care. This is where legal counsel becomes critical. Proving a breach of duty requires knowledge about what actions the health care provider should have taken. The appropriate actions are known as the reasonable standard of care.
- You or your baby suffered an injury. You must prove that an injury took place that would not have occurred were it not for the breach. You then must prove the extent of the damages, which typically requires analysis by financial and medical experts to establish your total financial damages, including projected future losses.
- The breach of duty was the proximate cause of the injury. You must establish a causal link between the provider’s actions and your child’s injuries. Again, this requires extensive medical knowledge.
The knowledge and resources needed to meet this burden of proof are generally out of reach for most individuals, but our birth injury attorneys in New Mexico can provide all of this for you. We will invest our own financial resources into proving your case, and you will owe us nothing unless we win.
Fatal Birth Injury Statistics in New Mexico
According to the New Mexico Department of Health, the top causes of infant deaths in New Mexico include the following:
- Premature birth
- Low birth weight
- Maternal complications of pregnancy
- Placenta, cord, and membrane complications
- Bacterial sepsis
- Respiratory distress
- Neonatal hemorrhage
These conditions are preventable in many cases. For example, skilled prenatal care and timely diagnosis of pregnancy-related complications, including preterm labor, can prevent premature birth. Premature birth is an important risk factor for low birth weight and numerous non-fatal complications such as cerebral palsy.
What Types of Birth Injuries Are Eligible for Compensation in New Mexico?
Any injury you or your child have sustained during childbirth as a result of medical malpractice may qualify for damages. We have helped clients with nearly every type of birth injury, but every case is unique. The most common birth injuries we have seen include the following:
- Brain damage leading to cerebral palsy, seizures, or neurological disorders often results from oxygen deprivation during birth.
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, also known as HIE, is damage to the brain as a result of blood and oxygen deprivation during birth.
- Brachial plexus injuries, such as Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy, are characterized by nerve damage and weaknesses or paralysis in all or part of the arms and hands.
- Intracranial hemorrhages and brain bleeds occur when there is bleeding between the brain and the skull.
- Maternal birth injuries can include hemorrhages, severe tearing, and postpartum complications.
- Hospital-born infections, such as staph infections, could lead to sepsis.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries in New Mexico
Medical malpractice is often the cause of birth injuries. We have identified the following medical errors as causes of severe birth injuries in cases we have handled, and these are just a few examples:
- Inadequate fetal monitoring
- Incompetent handling of fetal distress
- Mismanaged shoulder dystocia
- Inappropriate use of forceps
- Improper vacuum extraction techniques
- Delayed C-section
- Failure to detect maternal infections during pregnancy
- Misdiagnosed preeclampsia
- Undiagnosed gestational diabetes
- Unsafe administration of medications during pregnancy
Legal Options if the Mother Was Injured
According to U.S. News & World Report, the United States is the most dangerous country in the developed world to give birth, with the highest rate of maternal death of all developed countries. Most of these maternal deaths resulted from hypertension and hemorrhaging. According to the report, 60 percent of deaths caused by hypertension and 90 percent caused by hemorrhaging are preventable.
Common non-fatal maternal injuries during childbirth may include the following:
- Organ prolapse
- Severe tearing
- Urinary or fecal incontinence
- Post-traumatic stress disorder from birth trauma
- Broken pelvis
- Brain damage from excessive blood loss
If you suffered harm during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, you may have the right to pursue legal compensation in a birth injury lawsuit. Damages may include lost wages, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.
How Much Is a Birth Injury Lawsuit in New Mexico Worth?
In a birth injury lawsuit in 2023, you can pursue damages of up to $750,000 plus medical expenses and, in some cases, punitive damages against a doctor, midwife, or other individual health care provider. This damages cap will be increased to $1 million in 2024 and adjusted according to the consumer price index annually after that.
For claims against a hospital or hospital-controlled facility, such as a birthing center, you can pursue up to $4.5 million in damages in 2023 or up to $5 million in 2024. This compensation is in addition to your medical expenses.
The damages included in the above limits may include the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Education and childcare costs that stem from the injuries
- Loss of society
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Disability
- Loss of bodily functions
Damages for medical expenses can be significant because they may include future medical expenses, which our experienced New Mexico birth injury lawyers can project for you with the help of financial and medical experts in our network.
New Mexico Birth Injury Lawsuit FAQs
Below are answers to questions we often receive about birth injury lawsuits in New Mexico.
Is There A Difference Between Birth Injuries And Defects According To New Mexico’s State Law?
The law does not differentiate between birth defects and birth injuries. If your child is born with an abnormality, your doctor may call it a birth defect. However, this implies that the abnormality was not preventable. Sometimes, what the doctor calls a birth defect may be a preventable birth injury.
To recover damages for any abnormality, you must establish causation between a health care provider’s actions and the injury or defect. If you are successful, it does not matter what your doctor calls it–it is a birth injury.
If your child is born with any abnormality that your doctor calls a birth defect, contact our birth injury attorneys in New Mexico as soon as possible. It could be an attempt to cover up an injury.
Can I Still Sue The Doctor If My Baby Died During Birth?
What Is The Time Limit In New Mexico To File A Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Parents must generally file a birth injury lawsuit for their losses within three years of the date the doctor committed the error. If the injury is discovered later, you generally have three years after the date you discovered or should have discovered the injury.
A lawsuit on the child’s behalf must be filed within nine years. A parent can generally act as the child’s representative and file the claim on the child’s behalf.
If a birth injury leads to the death of either the mother or the child, the statute of limitations gives parents up to three years after the death to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
How Much Compensation Can I Receive for a Birth Injury?
Compensation for a birth injury is highly individualized because every case is unique. Numerous factors influence your compensation, including the severity of the injury, whether the injury resulted in death, the degree of pain and suffering involved, and the lifetime financial costs of the injury. Our Albuquerque birth injury attorneys will thoroughly investigate your injuries and calculate your claim value based on your circumstances.
Is Birth Injury No-Win, No-Fee?
Yes. We charge no upfront fees, and you only pay us if we successfully recover compensation for you. Our fee is a percentage of your settlement or verdict, which we will disclose to you upfront when we accept your case.
What Is Birth Malpractice?
Birth malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to provide a reasonable standard of care during pregnancy, during birth, or shortly after birth, and the mother or child suffers harm as a result.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury occurs when a mother or child suffers harm during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth. Not all birth injuries result from malpractice, but many do. If you or your child has suffered a birth injury, contact a knowledgeable birth injury attorney as soon as possible. Medical negligence is not always obvious. An attorney can determine whether medical negligence played a role and who is liable.
How Do Birth Injuries Happen?
Birth injuries can occur when the mother develops a health condition that impacts her or the fetus, the mother receives medication during pregnancy that is unsafe for the fetus, or complications arise during childbirth. The most common birth complications include oxygen deprivation, shoulder dystocia, and injuries caused by forceps and vacuum extraction. These injuries are almost always preventable with competent decision-making by health care providers.
How Do I Prove Medical Malpractice in a Birth Injury Case in Albuquerque, NM?
To prove medical malpractice, you must establish a health care provider’s failure to adhere to a reasonable standard of care caused the injury. You will need testimony from eyewitnesses, medical experts, child development specialists, and others. Our Albuquerque, NM, birth injury lawyers will investigate your claim and gather the information for you so you can focus on your family and recovery.
Who Can Be Liable for Birth Injuries in New Mexico?
Any health care provider whose failure to exercise a reasonable standard of care contributed to the injuries can be held liable, including doctors, nurses, midwives, hospitals, birthing centers, pathologists, pharmacists, and laboratories.
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Read Bio
Since 1979, Dov Apfel has been passionate about advocating for birth injury and medical malpractice victims. Mr. Apfel’s career-long record of achievements in birth injury litigation, education, and advocacy has been recognized by the Executive Board of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. His expertise is demonstrated by his numerous awards, presentations on birth injury topics at legal conferences for organizations like the AAJ and ATLA, and articles published by Trial Magazine and many others.
Related Pages
Notable Results
for failure to properly read pap smears, resulting in the misdiagnosis of cervical cancer and eventual death of a 35-year-old mother of three children.
for failing to biopsy a known breast tumor, resulting in the delay of diagnosis of breast cancer, causing death.
for failing to perform an annual pelvic exam, which resulted in the untimely diagnosis of ovarian cancer.
Contact the New Mexico Birth Injury Lawyers at Levin & Perconti
If you are facing the consequences of a health care provider’s negligence during childbirth, our skilled Albuquerque birth injury lawyers can help you get justice and recover the compensation you and your child deserve.
Time is limited, so it is important not to delay. Contact us online or call us at (312) 332-2872 now for a free consultation.
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