Illinois Maternal Birth Injury Attorney
From a physical standpoint, the labor and delivery (L&D) experience is very hard on both mothers and babies. Even in relatively routine L&D experiences, the strain involved pushes both bodies to the breaking point. If there are any complications, the strain might be too much. Sometimes, complications arise because doctors failed to recognize and fully appreciate warning signs earlier in the PLDR (prenatal, labor, delivery, and recovery) process. Other times, doctors are completely unprepared for unexpected emergencies. In these situations, like many of us are prone to do, doctors often make poor decisions.
In contrast, the diligent Illinois maternal birth injury attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman firmly believe that hard work and attention to detail on the front end usually leads to better results on the back end. So, instead of taking dangerous shortcuts, we take the time necessary to do things right, and to do them the right way. Later, when your case goes to court, unexpected things happen. The judge could make an adverse pretrial ruling, or the insurance company could pull something out of its bag-o-tricks. We are not caught flat-footed in these situations. Instead, we work around the unexpected development and keep fighting for you.
Kinds of Maternal Birth Injuries
Contrary to popular myth, birth injuries don’t only happen during the birth experience. As mentioned, they could happen at any time during the following process:
- Prenatal: The aforementioned physical strain usually affects chronic illnesses, like diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure). Conditions like these which are normally manageable can quickly become unmanageable if the doctor does not fully address risks in these areas.
- Labor: In today’s world, very few women go into labor naturally. Instead, doctors usually schedule inductions on or around the mother’s due date, or the oddly-named EDC (estimated date of confinement). When they arrive at hospitals, mothers usually begin receiving massive doses of Pitocin, a labor-inducing drug. As a result, these women usually experience early and intense labor, whether their bodies are ready for it or not.
- Delivery: An episiotomy is perhaps the most common cause of maternal injuries during the birth experience. The doctor cuts the mother’s perineum (area between the genitals and anus) to widen her narrow birth canal. In 2006, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) advised doctors to stop performing episiotomies, because these incisions usually cause excessive bleeding at a very difficult time. Yet many doctors continue to use this tactic.
- Recovery: Just because the birth experience is over does not mean that mothers are out of the woods. Hospitals are normally breeding grounds for dangerous infections. Because of the mother’s vulnerable physical condition at this time, even a relatively mild infection could be life-threatening.
Doctors have a very high duty of care throughout this process. As a result, nearly all these situations involve negligence, or a lack of care. As a result, a Chicago maternal birth injury attorney can usually file a legal claim for compensation.
Resolving Your Claim for Damages
Usually, medical negligence claims settle out of court. Frequently, these claims settle during mediation, which is a court-supervised negotiation session.
During mediation, both parties have a duty to negotiate in good faith. They cannot make low-ball initial offers or unreasonable counteroffers, and they cannot simply go through the motions of negotiating a settlement.
Because mediation and out-of-court settlement is so important, your attorney must be a good negotiator. That means knowing when to compromise on certain points and when to stand firm.
Rely on an Experienced Chicago Cook County Attorney
Injury victims are usually entitled to significant compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced Chicago maternal birth injury attorney, contact Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman by going online or calling 410-567-0800. We have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in court for families just like yours.
