Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

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.

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.

A settlement totaling $77,418,670 was recently reached with St. John’s Riverside Hospital for the family of a three-year-old boy who developed cerebral palsy due to unnecessary delays during birth. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the hospital, and the obstetrician/genecologist who delivered the baby, failed to perform an emergency c-section despite the presence of signs that indicated that the baby was suffering from oxygen deprivation. Instead, the doctor opted for a vaginal delivery, which was alleged to have been initiated almost an hour later.

Click on the following link for more information about this $77 Million cerebral palsy settlement.

A $3.35 million Euro (About $4.65 Million in US currency) settlement was reached because of a birth injury that took place. The Hospital in this case failed to get proper information including information relating to the baby’s fetal heart rate and the doctor carried out a Caesarean section too late causing the birth injury. The birth injury caused asphyxiation at birth, motor dysfunction and mild cerebral palsy. To read the entire article click here “Birth Injuries”

A lawsuit was filed in St. Clair County, IL on behalf of a baby that died due to birth injuries. The child’s grandmother filed the birth injury lawsuit against the doctor that delivered him and the hospital where he was born. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor failed to perform a cesarean or treat the baby during delivery. The baby suffered neonatal hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy during delivery and died several months later from his birth injury. Read full coverage of this Illinois medical malpractice case.

Earlier this week, a jury returned a verdict awarding $4 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit for birth injuries found to have been caused by a delayed c-section.

The injured baby’s mother had been pregnant with twins, but one died in utero. A few weeks later, doctors discovered that the surviving twin was in distress and determined that an emergency c-section was necessary. The operation was delayed for several hours, however, and the baby ended up being born with permanent brain damage that led to cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The award should help to guarantee that the child receives the necessary treatment that she will require for the rest of her life.

Read more about this delayed c-section case here.

When it comes to babies who are deprived of oxygen during birth, every second counts. Delays in the performance of c-sections can cause serious injuries to oxygen-deprived babies, such as brain damage and cerebral palsy. Hospitals and doctors can significantly reduce the length of c-section delays, however, by implementing quality improvement programs by doctors and hospitals, according to a new study published in this month’s issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In particular, the study found that, after 2 years of following such a program, the number of emergency c-sections that were delayed for over 30 minutes was reduced by up to 30% in some situations. These findings suggest that many devastating birth injuries could be prevented if hospitals and doctors simply implemented programs to address the delays.

Click the following link for more information about the quality improvement program study and its findings.

There are serious risks, both to the mother and her baby, when having a “natural birth” after having delivered an earlier child by c-section. The procedure, known as vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC, for short), has been shown to cause serious injuries. For instance, there is a risk of the mother suffering a uterine rupture, which can be fatal to both her and her baby. There is also a chance that the VBAC will cause the baby to suffer oxygen deprivation (or birth hypoxia), leading to brain damage and cerebral palsy. These risks are compounded by doctors’ errors such as hesitation to perform the delivery or delaying a c-section. Recognizing that the decision to proceed with a VBAC may cause these birth injuries, and potentially be grounds for pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit, many doctors are now refusing to perform them, opting instead for another c-section delivery.

Read more about the risks of VBACS, and the difficulties of finding doctors willing to perform them, in an article by Time Magazine.

Last Friday, a jury in a medical malpractice trial awarded $4.4 million to the parents of a child who suffered a severe brain injury at birth. Three days before her scheduled induction, the mother went to the hospital with nausea and vomiting. A fetal heart monitor showed that the baby was in dire stress and in need of an emergency c-section but a nurse misread the data. This delay lead to prolonged oxygen deprivation, causing her daughter to suffer severe brain damage and later develop cerebral palsy. She died a year ago, at the age of less than 4 and a half, of complications from the disorder.

Read more about this birth injury trial here.

The umbilical cord delivers oxygen-rich blood to the fetus. During labor, the cord can become stretched or compressed, interrupting this vital flow. Umbilical cord compression is a relatively common condition, occurring about once every ten deliveries, and often transpires when the cord becomes caught between the baby’s head and the mother’s pelvic bone or when it becomes wrapped around the baby’s neck. Once this happens, the blood flow is interrupted and the level of oxygen that the baby receives begins to decrease. If the baby is deprived of oxygen for a significant amount of time, a condition called hypoxia, it can develop severe injuries including brain damage, cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, or developmental delays. Fortunately, this deprivation is detectable. The diminished blood flow can cause short and sudden decreases in the baby’s heart rate, which become visible on a fetal heart rate monitor. Often times, when this is detected, simply administered oxygen to the woman to increase the amount available to the baby is sufficient. In some cases, however, if the baby’s oxygen level is extremely low or if it begins showing other signs of distress, it is necessary to deliver the baby as soon as possible and the doctor may have to perform an emergency c-section. Under these circumstances, time is essential. Mistakes and carelessness by doctors and nurses that delay the operation amount to medical malpractice and can cause permanent brain damage to the baby.

A jury awarded a child with cerebral palsy $20.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit that was filed as a result of mistakes that occurred at the time of the child’s birth. The case involved the June 2001 birth of a boy who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The family alleged that the disability was caused by damage to the brain during a four hour delay in his delivery. The medical malpractice lawsuit states that after the mother arrived at the Community Medical Center she was hooked up to a fetal monitoring system which demonstrated that the baby was in distress, yet the doctor did not arrive to deliver the child for approximately two hours, and even after his arrival, attempts were made to induce labor instead of doing an emergency caesarean section. Cerebral palsy is a motor disability which is caused by brain damage that can occur before, during or immediately after birth. The family successfully argued that the doctor and hospital’s failure to do an immediate c-section resulted in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, which resulted in the permanent brain damage. Cerebral palsy is a motor disability which is caused by brain damage that can occur before, during or immediately after birth. The family was able to successfully argue that the doctor and hospital’s failure to do an immediate c-section resulted in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, which resulted in the permanent brain damage. The boy is now 7 years old, requires 24 hour care, is unable to use his hands, is mentally retarded, blind and functions at the level of a 9 month old. The cerebral palsy malpractice lawsuit awarded the family $2 million for past expenses incurred by the parents and $18.5 million for the child’s pain and suffering, lost earning capacity and future medical expenses. To read the full story, click here.

A jury found a hospital liable for medical malpractice and awarded $4.25 million to the family of a girl who, after a traumatic birth, was born with Cerebral Palsy and brain damage. The baby’s heart rate began to drop while the mother was lying in a hospital bed but the doctor had gone home for dinner. By the time another doctor arrived and performed an emergency Cesarean Section, the baby had been deprived of oxygen for 20 minutes.

The jury found that the hospital ignored signs of fetal distress, failed to notify a doctor in time to perform a timely emergency C-Section, and that this delay caused the child’s injuries.

The jury awarded compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost future earnings and pain and suffering.

For the full story, click here.