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Posted On: April 19, 2010

$9.5 Million Settlement in Illinois Cerebral Palsy Case

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.

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Posted In: Cerebral Palsy, Illinois Birth Injury, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Verdicts and Settlements

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Posted On: April 12, 2010

Medical Malpractice Causes Maternal Childbirth Death

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.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay, Death During Child Birth, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Uterine Rupture

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Posted On: April 6, 2010

$29.1 Million Verdict for Chicago Birth Injury

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.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Prevention, Birth Injury Trial, Cerebral Palsy, Illinois Birth Injury, Medical Malpractice Lawsuit, Verdicts and Settlements

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Posted On: April 2, 2010

Doctor’s Failure to Treat Jaundice Causes Baby to Suffer Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury

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.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Prevention, Cerebral Palsy

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The purpose of this blog is to deliver news and information that is relevant to our areas of practice. The news and information reported on this blog represent the legal actions of attorneys throughout the United States. Our firm does not claim to represent plaintiffs in all of the lawsuits, settlements, and jury verdicts reported, only those noted as Levin & Perconti cases.

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