NICU Errors in Connecticut

70 Years of Plaintiff-Only Representation. Half a Billion Recovered.

A NICU stay means a newborn is already fragile. When hospital or NICU staff breach the standard of care owed to that infant, causing harm beyond what the underlying condition would otherwise cause, that’s a NICU error, and it’s a distinct legal and medical question from injuries that occur during labor and delivery. Not every complication of prematurity or serious illness is malpractice. But when the care itself causes the harm, families have the right to answers and, where malpractice is established, to pursue a claim.

At RisCassi & Davis, P.C., we’ve settled and tried to verdict many birth trauma cases where malpractice was established. We know how to separate an unavoidable outcome from a preventable one.

Common NICU Errors That Can Give Rise to a Claim

Newborns in the NICU are acutely sensitive to small errors. Their physiology leaves little margin, which is why the standard of care in neonatal intensive care demands close attention and precise execution.

Recognized categories of NICU malpractice include:

• Medication and dosing errors: Newborns metabolize drugs differently than older patients, and small miscalculations can cause serious harm
• Misplaced feeding tubes: A tube inserted into the lung rather than the stomach can cause immediate and severe injury
• Misplaced or malpositioned IVs and central lines: Incorrect placement can restrict blood flow or deliver fluids and medications to the wrong location, raising the risk of stroke
• Improper intubation: Failure to correctly secure a newborn’s airway is a recognized standard-of-care violation
• Failure to monitor vital signs: When warning signs go undetected because monitoring was inadequate, preventable harm can follow
• Delayed diagnosis or treatment of infection: An infection not caught early can progress to sepsis
• Failure to diagnose and treat newborn jaundice: Untreated jaundice can lead to kernicterus, a form of brain damage caused by excess bilirubin accumulating in brain tissue
• Patient identification errors: Mix-ups that result in the wrong treatment being administered to the wrong infant

Conditions That Can Result From NICU Errors

The consequences of NICU malpractice can be permanent. Medication errors, misplaced lines, and monitoring failures have been linked to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition where the brain is deprived of oxygen and blood flow, and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), damage to the white matter surrounding the brain’s ventricles. Both can affect a child’s development for the rest of their life.

Kernicterus, if allowed to progress, can cause hearing loss, cognitive impairment, and a form of cerebral palsy. In the most severe cases, a NICU error may result in an infant’s death. Under Connecticut General Statutes Section 52-555, the executor or administrator of the infant’s estate may bring a wrongful death claim on the family’s behalf.

Why Connecticut Families Choose RisCassi & Davis, P.C.

NICU malpractice cases require medical professionals who understand what the standard of care demands in neonatal intensive care. We consult neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons, and other professionals matched to the issues in each case. Our assessment goes beyond the birth itself to examine every stage of the infant’s hospital care.

We’ve represented families across Connecticut for more than 70 years and have never represented an insurance company. Our entire practice is devoted to people who have been harmed. Seven of our attorneys are Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy, and we’ve recovered over half a billion dollars for clients across hundreds of cases. Every case we take is prepared as though it will go to trial, and that preparation shapes how we approach settlement negotiations as well.