Labor and Delivery Negligence at NYU Langone: Your Legal Options

NYU Langone Hospital System Overview

NYU Langone Health operates several hospitals where labor and delivery occurs:

• NYU Langone Tisch Hospital (Manhattan): The flagship academic medical center — with high-volume obstetric and neonatal services, including a Level IV NICU. [Link to: /hospital-negligence/suing-nyu-langone]
• Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone (Manhattan): A specialty pediatric hospital — with neonatal intensive care and pediatric neurology services.
• NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn (Sunset Park): A major Brooklyn hospital with obstetric services.
• NYU Langone Hospital–Long Island (Mineola): A major Long Island hospital with obstetric and neonatal services.

Common Labor & Delivery Errors at NYU Langone

Labor and delivery errors that may constitute medical negligence include:

• Failure to monitor fetal heart rate: Not recognizing Category III fetal heart rate tracings — or failing to act promptly on Category II tracings that indicate fetal distress. [Link to: /labor-delivery-errors/fetal-heart-rate-monitoring]
• Delayed C-section: Failure to perform a timely cesarean delivery when indicated — by fetal distress, failure to progress, or other obstetric emergencies. [Link to: /medical-malpractice/delayed-c-section]
• Shoulder dystocia mismanagement: Failure to properly recognize and manage shoulder dystocia — causing brachial plexus injuries (Erb's palsy) or hypoxic injury. [Link to: /birth-injury/shoulder-dystocia-lawyer] [Link to: /birth-injury/erbs-palsy-lawyer]
• Forceps and vacuum extraction errors: Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors — causing skull fractures, brain bleeds, and nerve injuries. [Link to: /birth-injury/forceps-vacuum-injury-lawyer]
• Failure to recognize fetal distress: Not recognizing signs of hypoxia or acidosis on fetal monitoring — allowing brain damage to occur. [Link to: /labor-delivery-errors/failure-to-recognize-fetal-distress]
• Pitocin errors: Improper administration of oxytocin (Pitocin) — causing hyperstimulation, fetal distress, and HIE. [Link to: /labor-delivery-errors/pitocin-negligence]
• Placental abruption mismanagement: Failure to promptly diagnose and manage placental abruption — causing maternal hemorrhage and fetal hypoxia. [Link to: /birth-injury/placental-abruption-lawyer]
• Uterine rupture: Failure to recognize and manage uterine rupture — particularly in VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) patients. [Link to: /labor-delivery-errors/uterine-rupture]
• Postpartum hemorrhage: Failure to recognize and manage postpartum hemorrhage — causing maternal injury or death. [Link to: /labor-delivery-errors/postpartum-hemorrhage]
• NICU negligence: Errors in neonatal resuscitation, ventilation, or monitoring in the NICU. [Link to: /birth-injury/nicu-negligence]

Types of Birth Injuries We Investigate

Birth injuries from labor and delivery negligence at NYU Langone include:

• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage from oxygen deprivation during birth — the most devastating birth injury, often causing cerebral palsy. [Link to: /medical-malpractice/hie-claims] [Link to: /cerebral-palsy-lawyer/hie-and-cerebral-palsy]
• Cerebral palsy: Motor disability from brain damage sustained before, during, or after birth. [Link to: /cerebral-palsy-lawyer/new-york]
• Brachial plexus injury (Erb's palsy): Nerve damage from shoulder dystocia — causing arm weakness or paralysis. [Link to: /birth-injury/erbs-palsy-lawyer] [Link to: /birth-injury/brachial-plexus-injury-lawyer]
• Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH): Bleeding in the brain's ventricles — common in premature infants. [Link to: /birth-injury/ivh-lawsuit]
• Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL): White matter brain damage — often from HIE or infection. [Link to: /birth-injury/pvl-lawyer]
• Seizures and neonatal stroke: From hypoxia or trauma during delivery. [Link to: /birth-injury/neonatal-stroke-lawyer]
• Skull fractures and cephalohematoma: From traumatic delivery or instrument use. [Link to: /birth-injury/cephalohematoma-vs-caput]
• Meconium aspiration syndrome: From fetal distress during labor. [Link to: /birth-injury/meconium-aspiration-lawyer]

Proving Negligence at NYU Langone

To prove medical malpractice at NYU Langone, your attorney must establish:

1. Duty: NYU Langone and its staff owed the patient a duty of care — established by the physician-patient relationship.

2. Breach: The standard of care was breached — through delayed C-section, failure to monitor fetal heart rate, improper use of delivery instruments, or failure to recognize complications. Expert testimony from a board-certified obstetrician or maternal-fetal medicine specialist is required.

3. Causation: The breach caused the birth injury — not an underlying condition or unavoidable complication. This often requires showing that prompt intervention would have prevented the injury.

4. Damages: The child and family suffered quantifiable harm — including medical expenses, future care costs, pain and suffering, and loss of future earning capacity.

Under CPLR § 3012-a, a certificate of merit is required — confirming that a qualified medical expert reviewed your case. [Link to: /medical-malpractice/certificate-of-merit] [Link to: /medical-malpractice/what-is-medical-malpractice]

The Certificate of Merit Requirement

New York requires a certificate of merit (CPLR § 3012-a) in all medical malpractice cases — including birth injury cases against NYU Langone. The certificate confirms that a qualified medical expert has reviewed the case and found a reasonable basis for the claim. This prevents frivolous lawsuits — but also means that your attorney must have the medical expertise and expert witness relationships to evaluate and support your case before filing. At MDLaw Firm, we work with board-certified obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, neonatologists, and pediatric neurologists to review and support our birth injury cases. [Link to: /medical-malpractice/certificate-of-merit]

New York Statute of Limitations

Under CPLR § 214-a, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice is 2.5 years from the date of the negligent act. However, for birth injuries to minors, the infancy toll (CPLR § 208) pauses the clock until the child reaches age 18 — giving the child until their 20th birthday (18 + 2.5 years) to file a claim. However, parents' claims for economic damages (medical expenses) are NOT tolled during minority — they must be filed within the standard 2.5 years. For wrongful death (if the birth injury caused death), the deadline is 2 years from the date of death (EPTL § 5-4.1). [Link to: /birth-injury/statute-of-limitations] [Link to: /cerebral-palsy-lawyer/statute-of-limitations]

Frequently Asked Questions

The value of a medical malpractice case in New York depends on several factors, including the severity of the injury, the strength of liability evidence, and the economic and non-economic damages involved. New York is one of the few states with no caps on medical malpractice damages, meaning there is no artificial limit on what you can recover. Below are typical settlement ranges based on injury severity.