Reviewed by Mazie Slater’s specialized birth injury attorney [David A. Mazie – Managing Partner of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman]

Few events carry more hope and anticipation than the birth of a child. Expectant parents place their trust in obstetricians, nurses, midwives, and hospital teams to guide mother and baby safely through labor and delivery. When that trust is violated by negligence — when a preventable error causes a newborn to suffer a serious, life-altering injury — the consequences can be devastating and permanent.

In New Jersey, serious birth injuries affect approximately seven of every 1,000 children born. While many birth injuries are unavoidable complications of a difficult process, others are the direct result of obstetric malpractice: failures to monitor fetal distress, errors in the use of delivery instruments, delayed C-sections, and inadequate aftercare. When medical professionals fall below the accepted standard of care, families deserve accountability.

The birth injury malpractice attorneys at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman have spent decades advocating for New Jersey families whose children have been harmed by obstetric negligence. We understand the medical complexity of these cases, the lifelong care that injured children often require, and the legal skill it takes to hold hospitals, physicians, and delivery teams accountable. If your child was injured at birth due to a medical error in New Jersey, we are here to help.

Birth injury malpractice cases are among the most complex and high-stakes matters in civil litigation. They require an in-depth understanding of obstetric medicine, neonatal care, and fetal monitoring standards, as well as the litigation experience to take on large hospital systems and their insurers. Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman brings all of that — and a documented track record of significant results — to every family we represent.

Our New Jersey birth injury attorneys have secured meaningful compensation for families whose children were harmed by obstetric negligence, including:

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Medical malpractice, including birth injury cases, falls under the broader umbrella of personal injury law. Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman has been recognized among the leading personal injury and medical malpractice firms in both New Jersey and the nation. Our attorneys approach every birth injury case with the same level of commitment that has earned us recognition from the industry’s most respected legal publications. Some of our awards and recognitions include:

Birth injury malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider — an obstetrician, midwife, nurse, anesthesiologist, or hospital team — fails to meet the accepted standard of care during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or neonatal aftercare, and that failure directly causes harm to the mother or child. Not every difficult birth outcome constitutes malpractice. But when a preventable error leads to injury, families have the right to pursue legal accountability.

To establish a birth injury malpractice claim in New Jersey, four elements must be proven: that the healthcare provider owed the patient a duty of care; that the provider breached that duty by deviating from accepted medical standards; that the breach caused the child’s injury; and that the injury resulted in measurable damages. Our attorneys work with leading medical experts to analyze the facts of each case and establish each of these elements with precision.

Although childbirth is a naturally traumatic process, the risk of serious injury increases with premature babies, infants that are large for gestational age and instrumental deliveries involving forceps or vacuum extractions. Birth iInjuries can even occur after the child is delivered due to forceful resuscitation and improper aftercare. Sadly, obstetric and birth injury malpractice subjects otherwise healthy babies to birth trauma and life-changing injuries that could have been prevented. Here are a few common birth injuries caused by obstetric negligence and malpractice:

Many birth injuries resolve themselves within months after the delivery, but some never get better. Proving obstetric negligence requires evidence and experience handling birth injury malpractice cases. Our New Jersey birth injury attorneys analyze data to determine if the standard of care was breached and to prove that this error caused the child’s injuries. We will hold the nurses, doctors, hospital and all parties responsible for their actions or failure to act. Common causes of obstetric malpractice include the following:

If you believe your child’s birth injury may have been caused by one or more of the failures described above, contact the experienced New Jersey birth injury malpractice attorneys at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman. We will review the facts of your case and advise you on your legal options.

Discovering that your newborn has been injured — or that an injury may have been preventable — is overwhelming. The steps you take in the days and weeks that follow can meaningfully affect the strength of a future legal claim.

Seek a Second Medical Opinion. 

If you have concerns about your child’s condition or the care provided during delivery, consult an independent specialist. A second evaluation not only protects your child’s health but also creates an objective medical record that may be critical to establishing negligence.

Request and Preserve All Medical Records. 

Obtain copies of all records related to the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postnatal care, including fetal monitoring strips, operative notes, nursing records, and NICU documentation. These records form the factual foundation of any birth injury malpractice claim.

Document Everything. 

Keep a detailed written record of your child’s symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and developmental milestones. Note the dates of all medical appointments and document how the injury is affecting your child’s daily life and development.

Do Not Provide Statements to the Hospital or Its Insurer. 

If the hospital, its attorneys, or a liability insurer contacts you seeking a statement or offering a quick settlement, do not respond without first speaking with an attorney. Early settlement offers are frequently well below the true value of a birth injury claim.

Contact a New Jersey Birth Injury Malpractice Attorney Promptly. 

In New Jersey, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is generally two years from the date the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. For claims involving minors, special rules may extend this deadline, but waiting too long can jeopardize your ability to recover compensation. Our birth injury attorneys can advise you on the applicable deadlines based on your specific circumstances.

Liability in a birth injury malpractice case depends on the specific circumstances of the delivery. Multiple parties may share responsibility, and identifying each potentially liable defendant is an essential part of maximizing your family’s recovery. Potentially liable parties include:

The physician responsible for managing labor and delivery is the most common defendant in birth injury cases. Liability may arise from failures to monitor the mother and child, delays in ordering a C-section, improper use of delivery instruments, or other departures from the obstetric standard of care.

Liability in a birth injury case often extends beyond the delivering physician to include midwives, labor and delivery nurses, anesthesiologists, neonatologists, and NICU staff. Each member of this team carries distinct responsibilities — from monitoring fetal distress and administering anesthesia during labor to providing critical care in the hours and days following delivery — and a failure by any one of them to meet the applicable standard of care can contribute to a malpractice claim.

Hospitals can be held liable for the negligence of their employed staff and, in some circumstances, for independent contractors practicing within their facilities. Institutional failures, including inadequate staffing levels, deficient training, or systemic communication breakdowns, can also support a direct negligence claim against the hospital.

If a defective medical product — such as a malfunctioning fetal monitor, a defective vacuum extractor, or a contaminated surgical instrument — contributed to the birth injury, the manufacturer may be liable under product liability theories.

Our medical malpractice lawyers who specialize in birth injuries conduct thorough investigations at the outset of every case, reviewing medical records, consulting with obstetric experts, and identifying every party whose negligence may have contributed to your child’s injury.

Families affected by birth injury malpractice may be entitled to recover substantial compensation reflecting both the measurable financial costs and the profound personal losses caused by a preventable injury. New Jersey does not impose a cap on compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases, meaning our attorneys can pursue the full extent of our clients’ losses without an arbitrary legal ceiling.

Economic damages include all quantifiable financial losses caused by the birth injury, both past and future. These may include:

Non-economic damages compensate for the deeply personal losses that cannot be measured in dollars but are equally real and significant. These include:

In cases where a birth injury results in the wrongful death of the infant, the family may also be entitled to bring a wrongful death claim, seeking damages for funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship.

The birth injury malpractice attorneys at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman have dedicated their careers to securing justice for New Jersey families whose children have been harmed by obstetric negligence. We understand that no verdict or settlement can undo the harm your child has suffered, but we fight relentlessly to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that your family has the financial resources to provide your child with the best possible care.

If your child was injured during labor, delivery, or neonatal care at a New Jersey hospital, do not wait to get the legal guidance you need. Contact our firm today for a free, confidential consultation. Our birth injury lawyers will review your case and advise you on your legal options. There are no upfront fees; we work on a contingency basis and only collect a fee if we recover compensation for your family.