Chicago Developmental Disabilities Due to Birth Injuries
Many different types of developmental disabilities can affect a baby in infancy and through childhood and into adulthood. While developmental disabilities can have a wide variety of causes, many can result from birth injuries that occur during pregnancy or during labor and delivery. When a birth injury results in a developmental disability, it is important for parents to speak with a Chicago birth injury attorney about filing a lawsuit. It will be important to have a lawyer evaluate your case and discuss your options for filing a claim.
What Are Developmental Disabilities Caused by Birth Injuries?
What are developmental disabilities, and how can they be caused by birth injuries in Chicago? According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavioral areas,” and they “may impact day-to-day functioning, and usually last throughout a person’s lifetime.” Approximate 1 out of every 6 children will have at least one developmental disability, according to the CDC, and the following are among the most common types of developmental disabilities, many of which can result from birth injuries:
- ADHD;
- Autism spectrum disorder;
- Cerebral palsy;
- Hearing loss;
- Intellectual disability;
- Learning disability; and
- Vision impairment.
Causes of Chicago Birth Injury Developmental Disabilities
What are some of the most common causes of developmental disabilities linked to birth injuries? The following are among the most common risk factors identified by the CDC:
- Maternal infections during pregnancy, including cytomegalovirus infection, especially those that are not properly treated;
- Head trauma to the baby during labor and delivery;
- Low birth weight;
- Premature birth;
- Multiple births, such as twins or triplets;
- Jaundice that is not properly treated; and
- Kernicterus, which is a kind of brain damage that can result from untreated jaundice.
Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Developmental Disabilities Claim in Chicago
If you want to file a birth injury claim as a result of your child being diagnosed with a developmental disability, it is critical to understand that you will only have a short time window in which to file a lawsuit. The Illinois statute of limitations for most medical malpractice lawsuits is two years. However, the statute of limitations is usually 8 years for a claim based on a birth injury to a child. The clock on the statute of limitations will begin to tick on the date of the birth injury, and from that point forward, a claim typically must be filed within 8 years from that date.
The statute of limitations is extended for birth injury claims because Illinois law recognizes that the extent of most birth injuries may not be fully known until the child is older, and after the typical two-year statute of limitations on other medical malpractice lawsuits has run out.
Contact a Developmental Disability Injury Lawyer in Chicago
If your child has a developmental disability caused by a birth injury, one of our birth injury attorneys in Chicago is here to help. Contact Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC to find out more about filing a birth injury lawsuit.
