Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

According to the Orland Sentinel, a mother who sued EVAC for injuries her son received during a premature birth has reached a settlement for $1.4 million with EVAC ambulance services. Margarita Chess was six months pregnant when she gave birth to her son, Addison, inside an ambulance owned and operated by EVAC. Addison was born with cerebral palsy and suffered brain damage.

Chess first arrived at the Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach, where a doctor decided to transfer her to Halifax medical Center in Daytona because Bert Fish Medical Center was not equipped to handle her prematurely born son. Halifax Medical Center did not accept the transfer, citing that they lacked specialists who could handle premature births.
At the trial EVAC argued that paramedics could not refuse the emergency-room doctor's order. The jury found EVAC negligent for accepting transport and for the care it provided. Originally Chess brought suit against both the hospitals and doctors but settlement was reached with EVAC for a total of $1.4 million.

The Illinois birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti have years of experience representing clients who have suffered birth injuries, including those resulting in Cerebral Palsy. If you believe that your child has suffered a birth injury or brain injury as a result of the negligence of medical personnel, please contract our Chicago birth injury lawyers to discuss your case.

Parents who suffer from a combination of gestational diabetes (GDM) and obesity have recently been linked to an increased chance of delivering children with macrosomia. Macrosomia, having a very high birth weight, can lead to various birth injuries if not recognized and approached correctly by a patient’s doctor.

A recent investigation reported by Dr. Metzger, M.D., of Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago found that obese women had a 13.6% increased chance of delivering a baby with macrosomia compared to women of a healthy weight. If an obese woman then develops gestational diabetes her risk of delivering a macrosomic child is 20.2% above that of a woman of normal weight.

Delivering a baby with a high birth weight takes much more finesse than delivering a baby of normal weight. If a doctor fails to recognize that a baby is macrosomic they may not be able to take the necessary precautions to minimize the risks posed by the delivery. According to Allahyar Jazayeri, M.D. in an article posted by emedicine, attempts at perinatal diagnosis of macrosomia have proven difficult and are often inaccurate so a doctor should always be prepared for the possible complications of macrosomia.

Our Chicago, Illinois birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti recently received a settlement for a child born macrosomic whose doctors failed to properly deliver her. During delivery, the baby’s left shoulder became stuck on the mother’s pubic bone, causing a shoulder dystocia. A shoulder dystocia is a medical emergency that requires a series of careful maneuvers to disimpact the baby’s shoulder. If the doctor or nurse applies too much force the baby’s brachial plexus nerves can be damaged and the baby can develop a personal injury.

It is always devastating when a child is born with a preventable birth injury due to medical malpractice. When medical malpractice does occur, it is important to seek legal counsel to receive compensation that will allow the newborn child to receive the medical treatment necessary to give him a long and fulfilling life.

The Supreme Court in British Columbia awarded in excess of $1.4 million U.S. dollars in a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a child suffering from severe cerebral palsy. The child’s mother sued the health authority overseeing the hospital, a doctor and two nurses over the child’s cerebral palsy which was attributed to a placental abruption. A placental abruption occurs when the placenta peels away from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery. Placental abruption can deprive the baby of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding in the mother. According to mayoclinic.com placental abruption is an uncommon and serious complication of pregnancy and requires immediate medical attention. It is crucial for healthcare providers to determine a newborn's risk for placental abruption in order to develop a plan of action in the event that a birth complication occurs. When practitioners are properly prepared to address complications in a timely fashion, they reduce a child's risk for birth injuries such as cerebral palsy.

In the case at hand, the medical malpractice of the personnel involved led to an interruption in the supply of oxygen to the child’s brain. If a baby suffers from oxygen deprivation during birth, this may cause brain damage which can result in cerebral palsy. The child’s mother argued that her physicians and nurse failed to properly consider the signs indicating the onset of the abruption and to intensely monitor the fetus’ health during labor among other things. The Judge in the case stated that the injuries to the child were catastrophic citing her inability to ever walk and most likely not developing intelligence beyond that of a four-year-old.

The Chicago birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti believe that all victims of medical malpractice at birth should be fairly compensated for their injuries. If your child suffered injury or death due to malpractice at birth, contact us to discuss your potential claim and all of your legal options.

Parents of children who suffer birth injuries now can seek post-natal treatment for their newborns to reverse brain damage. A researcher at the University of Florida has discovered that the use of cooling blankets within six hours of birth may help to reduce the effects of brain damage in infants. WPTV and the Examiner.com report that these findings come after an 18 month study that looked at how these medical devices may help babies by essentially cooling their brains. This new treatment will help babies who have suffered brain damage during birth due to a low blood supply or lack of oxygen. A lack of oxygen can occur when the placenta separates from the mother’s uterus too early, and may also occur if the umbilical cord becomes wrapped around an infant’s neck or is compressed during the birthing process. When these complications happen during birth, practitioners have very little time to extract the baby before brain damage can occur. This brain damage can lead to cerebral palsy, seizure, blindness and even death.

The cooling blankets are effective at treating newborns who are under six hours old. The babies are wrapped in the cooling blankets for 72 hours and during this time their body temperature drops to 91 degrees. This drop in body temperature reduces cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain, to prevent further damage. The treatment has proven effective in reducing death and neurological defects. This is the first treatment available to reduce brain injuries in infants.

Although the treatment is currently only available in teaching hospitals, it is promising to hear that researchers are finding ways to reduce the devastating effects of brain injuries at birth. When children suffer brain injuries at birth, the impact on both the child and its family is great. In many instances, these children must endure life-long medical treatment and care which can lead to millions in medical expenses over a lifetime. Hopefully, the number of children severely injured by brain injuries will drop with this new medical procedure.

To read more about the new treatment to reduce brain damage due to birth injuries, follow the link.

A jury recently awarded over $23 million to 5-year-old boy and his mother in a birth malpractice trial in Milwaukee that lasted over two weeks. The jury found the woman’s doctor negligent for the birth injury her son sustained during delivery in 2005. According to a report in the Journal Sentinel, the boy suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of the brain damage that he sustained during his delivery. The jury found the doctor negligent for failing to perform a C-section despite the woman’s prolonged labor and signs of distress. Instead of a C-section, the doctor ordered a medical resident to deliver the baby with forceps.

Most likely, the child’s brain damage was the result of hypoxia, or lack of oxygen. When complications arise during the labor and delivery process, it can cause a newborn’s oxygen supply to be cut off. When a child goes without sufficient oxygen for an extended period of time, this can lead to brain damage which can cause conditions like cerebral palsy. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines cerebral palsy as term used to describe a number of neurological disorders that affect one’s movement and coordination. The effects of cerebral palsy can range in severity, but in many instances sufferers will have to undergo lifelong medical care and treatments. In the above example, the damages will help to compensate for future medical costs as well as the loss of future potential income and pain and suffering.

To learn more about the recent birth injury verdict, follow the hyperlink.

Our Chicago birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti have recently launched a newly-designed firm website. The Chicago personal injury website offers a number of new resources, including community pages, the Nursing Home Attorney Resource Center, a directory of commonly used legal terms and expanded practice area information.

We represent a number of individuals and families throughout Illinois who were injured or killed as a result of healthcare provider error during the birth process. Due to this, we felt it was important to expand our birth injury practice area pages to include more information for the public on some of the most common types of birth injuries. We have created new web pages specifically focused on injuries such as cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries and injuries caused by vacuum extraction. Visit our main birth injury practice area page to access our expanded pages, and also to learn why birth injury cases differ from other types of medical malpractice lawsuits. After viewing this information, feel free to contact a Chicago injury lawyer to discuss your potential claim.

A jury has awarded the family of a 12-year-old boy $18.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital and obstetrician, according to The Star-Ledger. An emergency cesarean section became necessary for his birth back in 1998, but it was unnecessarily delayed, causing brain damage and the development of cerebral palsy. Experts testified at trial that, if the procedure would have been performed just eight minutes sooner, he would not have developed the condition.

When a fetus begins showing signs of distress, such as an irregular heartbeat, it may mean that it is not getting enough oxygen. If so, it becomes critical to deliver the baby as soon as possible, usually by performing an emergency c-section. Delays in the performance of these emergency c-sections can cause serious, permanent injuries to oxygen-deprived babies, such as brain damage and cerebral palsy. Many of these delays are not only avoidable, but caused by the negligence of doctors and hospitals.

If you believe that your child suffered a birth injury as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence, please contact us to discuss your case. Our Illinois birth injury lawyers are here to help.

A Cook County judge and mediator approved a $9.5 million settlement on behalf of a baby born with Cerebral Palsy as a result of medical malpractice, according to the Chicago Breaking News Center. This Illinois birth injury occurred because a nurse failed to call a doctor after the mother began experiencing complications after arriving at the hospital in labor with her son.

The American Pregnancy Association describes how a Cerebral Palsy birth injury like this can happen. About 70% of babies with Cerebral Palsy developed the disorder as a result of complications occurring before or during birth. Maternal infections during pregnancy, insufficient oxygen reaching the fetus, and asphyxia during labor and delivery are among the most common causes of Cerebral Palsy. Furthermore, because Cerebral Palsy affects a child’s control of movement and posture, a health care team is often needed to assist a child with Cerebral Palsy throughout their lifetime. These teams can include pediatricians, rehabilitation physicians, surgeons, physical therapists, speech and language pathologists, and social workers.

The need for a specialized team of doctors often means significant expenses must be paid by the family of a Cerebral Palsy child. When this birth injury is the result of medical malpractice, a lawsuit may be a family’s best option to recover costs already spent and defray the high cost of the child’s future medical care. The Chicago birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti have experience representing the families of children who suffer from Cerebral Palsy as a result of doctor error. For example, they have recovered a $4.5 million settlement and a $2.3 million settlement on behalf of children who developed Cerebral Palsy because of medical malpractice.

CBS 6 Albany reports this month that a $5.2 settlement was ordered in a lawsuit brought on behalf of a mother’s death during childbirth that occurred as a result of medical malpractice. Doctors cut or tore the mother’s uterine arties during a Caesarean section delivery, and this resulted in the mother hemorrhaging in the operating room and losing about 60% of her blood volume. The doctors failed to take timely action, not addressing the mother’s continued internal bleeding or repair it in surgery until more than six hours had passed. By then it was too late and the mother bled to death. The doctors were additionally found negligent in not performing the mother’s Caesarean section delivery in the morning when the mother’s labor progressed irregularly, and in not recording the mother’s vital signs when the Caesarean section delivery was eventually performed.

Maternal death ratios have increased in the United States recent years, according to Amnesty International USA. In 1987 there were 6.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, but by 2006 that ratio had increased to 13.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. This ratio is greater than that of 40 other countries. Furthermore, birth injury complications affecting a mother’s health occur to 1.7 million women every year in this country. Amnesty International USA attributes these maternal risks in part to inadequate staffing and quality protocols and a lack of accountability and oversight.

As the lawsuit illustrates, medical malpractice can result in serious consequences such as the preventable death of a mother during childbirth. Filing a lawsuit might be the best route to take to hold the doctors liable when this occurs. Similar to the New York lawsuit, the Illinois birth injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti received a $7.62 million verdict on behalf of a mother who bled to death after her HMO doctor disregarded the mother’s complaints of postpartum bleeding. If you believe a similar preventable tragedy has occurred to your family, please contact our Chicago birth injury attorneys.

The Daily Herald reports that a medical malpractice lawsuit resulted in a $29.1 million verdict for a boy suffering the effects of a severe birth injury. Medical malpractice occurring during the boy’s delivery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago resulted in the child’s Chicago birth injury and brain damage. The boy is now six years old and suffers from quadriplegia and Cerebral Palsy, disorders that resulted from brain injury during his birth. NBC Chicago explains that a doctor ignored an infection in the mother prior to birth, and failure to treat the infection resulted in the child being born with Cerebral Palsy. As a result of the birth injury, the boy cannot walk, talk, or eat through his mouth.

Cerebral Palsy Information explains that Cerebral Palsy is often caused by brain injury either during pregnancy, during birth or shortly after birth. Several infections during a mother’s pregnancy can severely damage a fetus’ nervous system and result in Cerebral Palsy. Quadriplegia is a form of Cerebral Palsy that affects a child’s arms and legs and causes stiff, permanently contracted muscles.

4MyChild notes that about ten to twenty percent of children with Cerebral Palsy acquired it after birth, while many more children developed it during pregnancy or at birth. Two aspects of long labor send signals to doctors that brain damage can result in a birth injury to a baby. If a baby becomes stuck in the mother’s birth canal without oxygen or a doctor does not deliver the baby within 24 hours of the mother’s water breaking, the baby is at a significantly increased risk for a birth injury. Furthermore, doctors need to pay attention to whether the mother develops a fever during pregnancy because this too can lead to brain damage.

As 4My Child explains, quick action is the key to giving birth to a healthy baby instead of one with serious birth injury consequences like Cerebral Palsy. No child should have to suffer the effects of birth injuries that occurred because of medical malpractice. When medical malpractice does occur, however, and a child suffers the life long consequences of a doctor’s negligence, our Illinois birth injury lawyers are here to help.

According to Delaware Online, a Delaware Superior Court jury recently determined that a doctor’s medical malpractice and negligent failure to treat properly treat jaundice caused a newborn baby boy to develop Cerebral Palsy. The jury awarded $6.25 million in damages to the baby’s family. The baby was born without complications, but his mother took him to see the doctor four days later when his appearance turned yellow. The doctor failed to properly treat the jaundice by not testing the baby’s bilirubin level and not doing phototherapy. Had the doctor actually done these tests, the doctor would have found toxic levels of bilirubin in the baby’s system and could have cured the baby very quickly. Instead, the baby’s illness went undiagnosed and untreated until it was too late to reverse the damage done. The baby developed Cerebral Palsy.

March of Dimes explains that Cerebral Palsy is a group of conditions that cause abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements, and Cerebral Palsy affects a person’s movement, balance and posture. Severe jaundice can cause Cerebral Palsy. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin and eyes that results in a pigment called bilirubin building up in the bloodstream. When the levels of bilirubin become too high, such as the toxic levels found in the Delaware baby, a baby is at risk for permanent brain damage which leads to Cerebral Palsy. Severe jaundice needs to be treated quickly, such as with special lights and blood transfusions.

The Illinois birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti have years of experience representing clients who have suffered birth injuries, including those resulting in Cerebral Palsy. Because Cerebral Palsy leads to lifelong medical expenses and often the need for special medical care, receiving a verdict or settlement can help compensate the families affected by Cerebral Palsy. As explained to Delaware Online, the Delaware baby’s mother was “thankful the award will enable her son to receive the care that he needs”. If you believe your baby has suffered a birth injury or brain injury as a result of the negligence of medical personnel, please contact our Chicago birth injury lawyers to discuss your case.

As cerebralpalsy.org reports, Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that can be caused by a birth injury or brain damage later in life, and it results from the brain’s inability to control the body adequately. Cerebral Palsy affects chronic movement and posture, causing stiff or difficult movement, loss of depth perception and balance, and/or involuntary or uncontrolled movements. Approximately 10,000 babies each year in the United States will develop Cerebral Palsy, and it is estimated that 800,000 people in the United States live with the disorder. Of that number, about 2-3 children out of every 1,000 children have Cerebral Palsy.

A York Daily Record interview with Kyle Barnhart, a 19 year old college student, shows that people affected by a Cerebral Palsy birth disorder can overcome their disability and become very successful. Barnhart lives with Cerebral Palsy, and while he travels across campus in a motorized wheelchair, uses an electronic communication device to help him speak, and is assisted by aides, his life reflects that of a typical college student. Barnhart throws around a football with his friends, participates in dorm pranks and antics and regularly speaks in class. Cerebral Palsy is thought to be caused by a prenatal brain injury, but Barnhart does not have mental disabilities; in fact, he made the Dean’s List during his first semester of college.

Our Chicago birth injury attorneys represent clients who have developed Cerebral Palsy as a result of medical malpractice and doctor error. For example, we reached a $4.5 million settlement on behalf of a child who suffered brain injury leading to Cerebral Palsy because a doctor failed to perform a timely Caesarean section despite fetal distress. The Illinois birth injury lawyers at our firm also reached a $2.3 million settlement for another child who suffered a severe brain injury and Cerebral Palsy when a physician failed to perform a Caesarean section in a timely manner after the child’s mother complained of a ripping and tearing feeling in her uterus. Birth injuries, such as Cerebral Palsy, often require lifelong medical care. Verdicts and settlements reached on behalf of victims can help to compensate for lifetime medical expenses, potential loss of income and pain and suffering from these injuries. If you believe that your child suffered a birth injury as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence, please contact us to discuss your case.