Long Island Birth Injury Lawyers
When a child is injured during or shortly after pregnancy, labor, or delivery, there can be lifelong consequences for the infant and their family. Not all birth injuries are preventable, but in many cases, these injuries occur due to the medical errors or negligence of the delivery team or other health care providers.
- Last Updated Date: February 23, 2026
Long Island families whose children experienced birth injuries due to medical malpractice deserve justice. If your child suffered a birth injury, contact a Long Island birth injury lawyer at the Birth Injury Center to learn more about your legal rights and options for pursuing justice and compensation.
At Birth Injury Center, we partner with lawyers who know what it takes to win birth injury cases, and get you the justice you deserve.
Mathew Shooshtary
Associate Attorney at The Sanders Law Firm
Jay Kenneth Margolis
Senior Partner at The Sanders Law Firm
Contact a lawyer for a free case evaluation today!
Support for Long Island Families After a Birth Injury
Aside from the physical impact a birth injury has on a child, it can also cause a major emotional and financial impact on the child’s family. At Birth Injury Center, we know this is a painful, draining time for your family, and we partner with The Sanders Law Firm to help families pursue birth injury malpractice lawsuits across Long Island and throughout Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
If your child has suffered a birth injury, the New York birth injury lawyers we partner with can help you understand your legal rights, determine if you are entitled to pursue a claim, and file a lawsuit to recover compensation.
Common Birth Injuries in Long Island
Birth injuries don’t just affect infants—in many cases, the birthing mother can also be injured. When a mother experiences untreated complications during pregnancy or delivery, both she and her baby may become injured.
Between 2017 and 2022, the New York Department of Health reported that hospitals in Nassau-Suffolk had some of the highest rates of severe maternal morbidity in the state. Severe maternal morbidity refers to a group of potentially life-threatening health conditions or complications that can occur unexpectedly during childbirth, causing serious consequences. During this time period, the severe maternal morbidity rate in New York was about one in 100, and rates increased by 50% over the five years.
Birth injuries can cause physical and neurological conditions that significantly impact a child’s health. Some of the most common types of birth injuries on Long Island include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries, or Erb’s palsy
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE
- Oxygen deprivation
- Brain bleeds and head trauma
- Shoulder dystocia injuries
- Nerve damage
When Is a Birth Injury a Legal Case?
Several underlying factors, such as pregnancy complications, may cause birth injuries. However, if a birth injury results from negligence or mistakes by a medical provider, it may give rise to a birth injury claim.
A birth injury lawsuit is a type of medical malpractice claim. Thus, in New York, you must establish the following four elements of medical negligence:
- Duty of care: A doctor-patient relationship existed, giving rise to a legal duty of care.
- Breach of accepted medical standards: The health care provider failed to provide the accepted standard of medical care, breaching their duty of care.
- Causation: The medical provider’s negligence caused your child to suffer an injury, harm, or a worsened medical condition.
- Damages: Your child’s injury caused physical, emotional, or financial damages.
Who Can File a Birth Injury Lawsuit on Long Island?
Birth injury lawsuits allow families to seek compensation from a negligent medical provider who caused or contributed to their child’s birth injury. These lawsuits can be filed by the parents or legal guardians of the injured child, or sometimes by extended family members if the parents are deceased.
If the birth injury has resulted in the child’s death, their parents or legal guardians can file a wrongful death claim to pursue compensation for their loss.
Long Island Birth Injury Lawsuit Deadlines
New York’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims typically requires lawsuits to be filed within 2.5 years of the incident or when the harm is reasonably discovered. But for minor victims, the period is tolled, or paused, until they reach age 18. However, New York law sets a hard cap of 10 years from the incident for medical malpractice claims on behalf of minors. Thus, families typically have until the child’s 10th birthday to file a lawsuit on behalf of their minor child.
Even though these timeframes are long, it’s crucial to act early after a birth injury to preserve evidence. Before filing a medical malpractice claim in New York, you may need to file a Notice of Intent to Sue, depending on who you are filing the lawsuit against. Your attorney can help you file that notice if necessary.
What Compensation Is Available in a Long Island Birth Injury Case?
When you bring a birth injury claim, you can usually seek two types of damages: economic and non-economic. Economic damages compensate you for the quantifiable monetary losses caused by the injury, while non-economic damages compensate you for more subjective losses, such as emotional and physical suffering.
You can typically pursue compensation for the following damages:
- Future medical care
- Therapy & rehabilitation
- Assistive technology
- Home modifications
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of quality or enjoyment of life
Legal Fees & Costs
There are no set costs to hire a New York City birth injury lawyer, as fees depend on several factors, including the case’s complexity. When you choose an attorney, they should be transparent about their fee expectations and the percentage they will receive if they win your case.
The birth injury attorneys at The Sanders Law Firm work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you will not pay any upfront costs. Instead, your legal team will receive a portion of any compensation they obtain through a settlement or judgment in your favor.
Why Choose Birth Injury Center?
At Birth Injury Center, we partner with The Sanders Law Firm to provide legal assistance to families struggling with the aftermath of birth injuries on Long Island. The firm’s Long Island birth injury lawyers have years of experience handling birth injury cases across New York. They will take a comprehensive approach to your case, listening to your story and learning about the circumstances surrounding the injury. An attorney will then clearly explain your legal options so you can choose the right path for your family.
Working with a local attorney is crucial for a birth injury case. The Sanders Law Firm’s birth injury attorneys have experience in Long Island courts and familiarity with local hospitals and providers. They also have access to respected local medical experts to provide testimony in birth injury cases.
Long Island Birth Injury FAQ
It can take months to years for a birth injury case on Long Island to resolve, depending on several factors, including the severity of the injury, the type of malpractice, the evidence available, and more.
Most Long Island birth injury cases do settle before proceeding to trial, as most hospitals and medical providers would rather not spend extra money litigating cases in court. This is especially true when there is substantial evidence of negligence.
Many birth injury cases result in multi-million dollar settlements or verdicts, with non-economic damages like pain and suffering making up a large portion of that compensation.
Yes, you can sue a public hospital for a birth injury in New York if the negligence of hospital staff caused the birth injury. However, you may need to file a notice of claim and abide by a shorter statute of limitations when suing a public hospital.
New York’s statute of limitations provides several years for families to file birth injury lawsuits, so even if the injury did not become noticeable until some time after birth, you may still be able to file.
Speak With Long Island Birth Injury Lawyers Today
If your child suffered from a birth injury due to a medical provider’s negligence on Long Island, your family may be entitled to compensation for your financial and emotional losses. At Birth Injury Center, our team is here to help you navigate the legal process, seek justice, and pursue compensation.
Contact us today to get connected with a Long Island birth injury lawyer at The Sanders Law Firm who can help you fight to hold those responsible for your child’s injury accountable.
- Last Updated Date: February 23, 2026
"*" indicates required fields
