Illinois Birth Injury Attorney
Labor and delivery is a very physically stressful time for mothers and babies. Their bodies are pushed to the limit. Healthy, strong mothers can usually handle the physical strain. Fragile newborns are another matter. Many newborns are not much heavier than a two-liter bottle of soda. Any excessive strain could cause a serious, permanent, or even a fatal injury. These injuries are more likely if the mother has an untreated or unmanaged condition that affects the baby’s health and safety.
The standard of care is very high in life-or-death situations, like labor and delivery. Negligence, or a lack of care, often causes L&D emergencies. This negligence could be a lack of preparation or an improper reaction to an emergency situation. Too many doctors, especially those who see a great many patients, consider prenatal visits routine. As a result, they often take dangerous shortcuts in the weeks and months prior to a baby’s birth. Largely as a result of these shortcuts, doctors are often unprepared and blindsided in the delivery room. When the pressure is on, they often make bad decisions, as we are all prone to do.
If medical negligence has adversely affected your family, you can rely on the experienced Illinois birth injury attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman to obtain the compensation you need and deserve. Quite frankly, these victims need money to pay the staggering current and future medical bills associated with a serious birth injury. Furthermore, victims deserve this compensation, since the childbirth injury was someone else’s fault, from a legal and moral perspective.
Types of Childbirth Injuries
Injuries during early or late labor do not only blindside doctors. Frequently, mothers and families have no idea there was a problem until their babies are clearly not growing and developing at nearly the same pace as other children their age. Developmental delays and chronic health problems often have their roots in a serious birth injury, such as:
- Cord Emergencies: The aforementioned physical stress is especially hard on the umbilical cord. The cord is the baby’s only developmental lifeline. If anything goes wrong, even if the problem is relatively minor, the result could be a serious injury, especially if the doctor doesn’t react properly.
- Nerve Damage: Any excessive force during delivery around a baby’s neck or shoulders could rup the brachial plexus nerves away from the baby’s spine. If that happens, the resulting facial and arm paralysis, a condition known as Erb’s palsy, is normally permanent.
- Head Injuries: Babies have fragile bones, especially fragile skulls. Additionally, their brains are very underdeveloped, particularly if they are even a few weeks premature. An ill-conceived push or pull could literally dent the baby’s skull. The excessive motion often causes a brain injury, much like shaken baby syndrome can badly injure a slightly older child.
Other childbirth injuries could be related to the baby’s size. Macrosomic (dangerously large) fetuses strain the thin umbilical cord. Frequently, they also displace the umbilical cord during labor and delivery.
As mentioned, such injuries may not be noticeable for months, years, or decades. Even if the two-year negligence statute of limitations has passed, an Chicago childbirth injuries attorney can still fight for life-changing financial compensation.
Connect with a Dedicated Chicago Cook County Birth Injury Attorney
Injury victims are usually entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced childbirth injuries attorney in Chicago, contact Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman by going online or calling 410-567-0800. We have recovered millions of dollars for these victims over the years.
