Philadelphia, PA personal injury attorney Leon Aussprung M.D., ESQ. talks about his experience with handling birth injury cases. He shares that he brings a unique perspective to birth injury cases, having been formally trained in pediatrics and practicing medicine for many years. His background included extensive experience moonlighting in neonatal intensive care units and attending thousands of deliveries, giving him a deep understanding of both the birthing process and the critical first hours of a newborn’s life.

When discussing birth injuries, he emphasized that the scope is broad. Injuries may occur in utero, where modern medicine sometimes allows for earlier diagnosis and intervention. They may also arise during delivery, with one of the most concerning being an anoxic brain injury—when the baby does not receive sufficient oxygen in the first minutes of life. Another common example is a brachial plexus injury, where nerves in the shoulder are damaged, potentially causing lifelong impairment of the arm.

Beyond the delivery itself, injuries can also develop after birth. A child may appear healthy with strong Apgar scores and normal oxygenation, yet conditions such as a patent ductus arteriosus or other complications may go undiagnosed or untreated in the early hours or days of life.

In his view, birth injuries encompass a wide spectrum of medical issues, and addressing them effectively requires an experienced and highly skilled expert in the field.