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Chicago Medical Malpractice Attorneys > Chicago Brain Damage or Swelling Attorney

Chicago Brain Damage or Swelling Attorney

Learning that your newborn has suffered brain damage or swelling as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence is devastating for new parents. No one should ever have to fear that an obstetrician’s carelessness or failure to diagnose certain risk factors will result in a baby being born with significant brain damage or swelling due to an avoidable injury. Yet brain damage and swelling can occur before labor and during delivery. While some types of swelling will heal, other newborns can experience permanent brain damage as a result of a birth injury. An experienced and aggressive Chicago brain damage or swelling attorney at our firm can speak with you today about filing a birth injury claim.

What is Brain Damage or Swelling in Chicago?

Brain damage or swelling can take many different forms, and it can range widely in terms of severity. In some birth injury cases, brain damage can result from a permanently disabling skull fracture, or swelling can result from caput succedaneum. Depending upon the cause of the brain damage or swelling, a newborn might also experience bleeding in the brain and damage to other organs as a result of limited oxygen. Common types of newborn brain damage or swelling may include, for example:

  • Caput succedaneum, or swelling;
  • Subarachnoid hemorrhages, which are somewhat common and can be remedied;
  • Significant skull fracture;
  • Subdural hemorrhage; and/or
  • Lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain.

Birth injuries that result in brain damage or swelling tend to vary from mild injuries from which the baby will recover to moderate and severe injuries that may result in permanent brain damage, especially without immediate diagnosis and treatment.

Causes of Chicago Brain Swelling or Caput Succedaneum

There are many different causes of brain damage and swelling that may occur before or during labor and delivery. Most frequently, a physical injury can result from excessive force used to deliver the baby, especially during a difficult delivery. When forceps or a vacuum are used, the newborn can sustain trauma to the head. Hypoxia, or a condition in which the newborn is deprived of oxygen, is also a common source of brain damage and can result from a wide variety of complications during labor and delivery, such as umbilical cord problems and negligent fetal heart rate monitoring.

When it comes to brain swelling, caput succedaneum is the term used to describe swelling in a newborn’s scalp, according to MedlinePlus. In most cases, caput succedaneum results from excessive pressure to the baby during labor and delivery, and it tends to occur after the membranes have broken. It is particularly common in a head-first delivery, which is also known as a vertex delivery. Unlike other more severe types of birth injuries, caput succedaneum does not usually require treatment, and it will usually heal itself in a few days from the baby’s birth.

Contact Our Chicago Brain Damage and Swelling Attorneys Today

If your newborn suffered brain damage before or during childbirth, your healthcare provider may be liable. You should have an experienced Chicago birth injury attorney assess your case for you to determine your eligibility to file a negligence lawsuit. Contact Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC for more information about the birth injury and medical malpractice services our firm provides to clients in Illinois.

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