Syracuse, New York, Pregnant Woman Car Accidents

Jed Dietrich, Esq., Is a Recognized Super Lawyer Who Has Spent Decades Standing Up for the Rights of Parents, Infants, and Unborn Children Injured in Serious Car Accidents. If You or Your Baby Has Been Injured in a Syracuse or Onondaga County Motor Vehicle Collision That Was Not Your Fault, The Dietrich Law Firm P.C. Could Help You Explore Your Best Options for Effective Legal Relief.

Almost every car accident has the potential to inflict life-altering injuries.

However, for pregnant women and expecting mothers, the financial costs of a serious collision are often superseded by concerns about their unborn child, a child whose life could be changed or cut short before it begins.

For nearly 20 years, the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. has helped families secure the resources they need to weather times of unprecedented personal tragedy. A recognized U.S. News & World Report Best Law Firm, we know what it takes to build a compelling, evidence-based case, and we have the results to prove it. Please send us a message online or call us at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to an unborn child injury car accident lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your free consultation.

Certain types of physical trauma can raise a woman’s risk of birth and labor-related complications. These complications could include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Premature Labor: Car accidents always present a minor risk of inducing premature labor. Even if they give birth to a healthy child, mothers who give birth or go into labor earlier than expected face higher risks of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and postpartum depression.
2. Prolonged Contractions: Pregnant women who give birth within several days or weeks of an accident have a much higher chance of suffering prolonged labor or prolonged contractions. Aside from posing risks to the unborn child, prolonged labor can sometimes necessitate a cesarean section or other unexpected medical intervention.
3. Placental Abruption: Placental abruption is a rare type of injury caused by the separation of the placenta from the inner wall of the uterus. These injuries can trigger heavy internal bleeding and pose serious risks to both mother and child.

In a car accident, babies could face risks relating to the following types of injuries:

1. Fetal Injuries: Serious collisions can sometimes inflict physical trauma to the fetus, causing bruising, fractures, and organ damage.
2. Placental Abruption: Placental abruptions can accelerate bleeding in pregnant women and send mothers into shock. This can prevent babies from receiving much-needed oxygen and nutrients, increasing the risk of premature birth, stillbirth, and disability.
3. Uterine Ruptures: A uterine rupture is a tear to the uterine wall. Most ruptures are reported during labor, but they can be triggered by direct physical trauma, too. Uterine ruptures are very serious injuries that can cause the death of either the mother or the child if not treated immediately.

The long-term consequences of a car accident are not always obvious.

Although conditions like placental abruptions and uterine ruptures pose an immediate threat to the lives of both expecting mothers and unborn babies, other injuries, especially those to the brain, are more difficult to detect and may not be evident for years after the initial accident.

A car accident could raise a baby’s risk for injuries and conditions, including the following:

1. Contrecoup Injuries: A contrecoup injury can occur when the brain hits the opposite side of the skull after the head is either struck or subjected to sudden and intense movement. Unborn babies can suffer these injuries without any direct application of physical force and can have an effect similar to that of “shaken baby syndrome.”
2. Developmental Delays: Different types of head and brain injuries, including contrecoup injuries, can have long-term consequences for unborn babies. These include the risk of developmental delays, the results of which may not be noticeable for years after the initial accident.
3. Permanent Disability: Motor vehicle accidents can sometimes cause permanent disability in unborn children. Babies who are born premature and shortly after a collision, for instance, are much more likely to be diagnosed with cerebral palsy than those born at term.

New York is a no-fault state, which means that anyone injured in a motor vehicle accident must file a claim for no-fault benefits through their own insurance company before filing a lawsuit.

However, if you or your unborn baby sustained serious injuries or losses that exceed the limits of your policy, you may be entitled to additional compensation.

Here is what you need to know about the Empire State’s personal injury process:

Accident victims are typically only permitted to file a personal injury lawsuit if they have suffered a “serious injury.” This term is defined by New York law and encompasses the following types of accident-related injuries and outcomes:

1. Death;
2. Dismemberment;
3. Fracture;
4. Loss of a fetus;
5. Permanent disabilities; and
6. Certain non-permanent disabilities that last for at least 90 out of the 180 days immediately following the accident.

Pregnant mothers have a right to file a claim on behalf of their unborn children, even if the severity of a baby’s injury is not apparent until or after birth.

Every personal injury claim, whether it involves an adult victim or an infant, can only succeed if the plaintiff establishes each of the following elements:

1. Duty of Care: A duty of care is a legal obligation to act as a reasonable person would under similar circumstances. Everybody has a duty of care. For drivers, this duty often takes a simple form of abiding by the law and respecting the rights of other motorists.
2. Breach of Duty: A driver breaches their duty of care and is “at-fault” for an accident if they commit an act of negligence. Examples of negligence include speeding, texting behind the wheel, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
3. Causation: You must be able to establish that the at-fault driver’s negligence was the actual cause of injury, whether to yourself or to your baby.
4. Damages: New York’s courts can only provide compensation for pregnancy-related injuries if the accident caused or resulted in certain types of loss.

Your “damages” are the money that you receive for the physical, financial, and psychological losses you incur as the direct result of a serious motor vehicle accident.

Although the amount of your damages will be determined by the unique circumstances of your claim, awards in cases involving pregnant women and injured babies are often substantial and may include compensation for the following types of loss:

1. Paid hospital bills, for yourself or your baby;
2. Anticipated care needs;
3. Physical rehabilitation;
4. Lost income from work;
5. Diminished earning potential;
6. Pain and suffering;
7. Mental anguish;
8. Loss of enjoyment;
9. Loss of companionship; and
10. Wrongful death.

New York does not cap or otherwise limit compensation in most personal injury claims involving pregnant women or unborn children. However, strict statutes of limitations define how long you have to take action against a negligent motorist.

If you have been involved in an accident or believe that your baby’s injuries could have been caused by a recent collision, you must act fast; if the statute of limitations lapses, you could lose your rights to a legal technicality.

Do not delay: send the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. a message online, or call us at 1-866-529-5334 to speak to a pregnancy-related car accident lawyer near Syracuse and schedule your 100% free, no-obligation consultation as soon as possible.

Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at 1-866-529-5334 so that our aggressive, tenacious, and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Syracuse, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!