The most common types of birth injuries that result from negligence by health care professionals include the following:

• Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy often results from brain injury before, during, or after childbirth. It can affect muscle control and lead to speech and developmental delays.
• Erb’s Palsy: Brachial plexus or Erb’s palsy is a birth injury resulting from paralysis of the child’s shoulder, arm, or hand. Severe cases may cause permanent damage or paralysis to the affected limb.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: Spinal damage during birth can affect a child’s movement and sense of touch. The injury often occurs when a doctor pulls the child’s spine too hard during delivery.
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, or HIE: A child may suffer from HIE if they lack oxygen and blood flow during delivery. In January 2025, a New Jersey family received a $17 million settlement after the failure to provide timely, appropriate medical intervention led to catastrophic outcomes for a mother and her newborn daughter. Jenna Doucette was diagnosed with placenta percreta, and days before her scheduled C-section, she suffered a uterine rupture and placental abruption, resulting in an emergency delivery. The delayed C-section left the child with HIE and cerebral palsy, while the mother endured severe hemorrhaging.
• Skull fractures: Skull fractures can result in newborn cephalohematoma, which occurs when small blood vessels crossing the thin tissues above the skull are ruptured, causing blood to accumulate between the thin layer of tissue and the skull.