Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

Virtually all Illinois birth injury claims stems from accusations of medical malpractice on the part of doctors, nurses, and other medical providers during the labor process. When a lawsuit is filed following this malpractice, the central issue in the case is whether or not the medical providers acted according to reasonable medical standards when providing care during the labor. That presents the obvious question: what constitutes reasonable care?

The main way that the question is answered for a jury during a trial is via use of expert witnesses. Jury members are not expected to know based on their own knowledge what should have been done by the medical professionals which might have prevented the injury. Instead, experts who are trained in the area testify based on credible information and scientific theories to explain what the reasonable standards are and how a breach of those standards did or did not play into the cause of the injury. Each Chicago birth injury attorney at our firm is aware of the crucial role played by these experts.

However, not all experts are created equal.

In order to ensure that juries are not deceived into considering expert opinions which have very little scientific merit, judges are charged by the U.S. Supreme Court with being “gatekeepers” on this issue. In short, judges are only supposed to allow an expert witness to testify if the science on which they are speaking meets certain criteria. The goal is to prevent “junk science” from being introduced and unfairly skewing the jury’s consideration of the issue. According to the rules outlined in the most famous Supreme Court case on this topic (Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals), the court is suppose to consider five criteria when deciding whether to let an expert testify regarding a certain theory.

1) Is the theory based on empirical testing that is testable, refutable, and falsifiable?
2) Has the theory be published on frequently and subject to peer review?
3) Is there a known error rate?
4) Is the evaluation process for the theory subject to various standards and controls?
5) How thoroughly has the scientific community accepted or rejected the theory?

For example, in the birth injury context, defense attorneys may try to get an expert to testify based on some alternative theory which might fail to affirmatively meet the basic conditions outlined above. As a recent article from the New York Personal Injury Attorney Blog explained, this is the case in some Erb’s palsy defenses. Erb’s palsy is an injury that is often suffered by children during the birthing process. It arises when a child’s shoulder becomes caught in the mother’s pelvis. If the doctor pulls on the child’s head during this process, the brachial plexus nerve bundle may become damaged. This often leads to nerve problems in the child’s arms. Our Illinois birth injury lawyers have worked with many local families whose children have developed Erb’s palsy as a result of medical malpractice.

In trying to defend lawsuits stemming from Erb’s palsy, some defense lawyers offer a “natural birth theory” to argue that the excessive force may have been caused by the birth itself and not the doctor’s conduct. The problem is that there has essentially been zero empirical studies that suggest that this defense has merit. Instead, only half a dozen doctors have published on the subject—each citing one another in their work. Those same doctors frequently travel across the country to testify about this “alternative” theory that they have worked up.

Recently, for the first time ever, a state trial court and appellate court did not allow the “natural forces” defense to be used at trial for failure to meet the required standards for proper expert testimony. Hopefully more courts across the country follow this lead and demand more of expert testimony from defense witnesses in these cases.

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Our Chicago birth injury attorneys just read about a recent birth injury lawsuit that resulted in an award of $1.3 million dollars for a couple whose baby was injured during birth as a result of the baby’s shoulders getting stuck during the delivery process. The lawsuit alleged that the doctor that delivered the baby negligently failed to notice that the baby’s shoulders were stuck and the doctor then used too much force to get the baby out, which resulted in permanent shoulder injuries to the baby. According to About Lawsuits, at trial evidence was presented which showed that the baby, who is now almost five years old, has limited use of one of her arms as a result of the birth injury. The young girl also has to undergo physical therapy on a regular basis in order to make sure the shoulder injury does not get worse over time. The judgment included damages not only for the medical bills, but also for the young girl’s future lost earnings, the pain and suffering the family has experienced, and the loss of family consortium (which means the loss of the family relationship that would have be expected had it not been for the negligent acts of another person).

This type of injury is a common birth injury and is commonly referred to as a brachial plexus injury, shoulder dystocia or Erb’s palsy. The brachial plexus is a nerve bundle connecting a person’s spinal cord to their shoulder, arm, and hand. During child birth, when a baby’s shoulders are stuck in the wrong position, or against the mother’s pubic bone, the doctor needs to be very careful during delivery and very aware of what is happening with the baby at all times during the delivery so the doctor can adjust the position of the baby so as not to damage the nerves and permanently damage the baby’s shoulder functioning. If proper care is not taken and the doctor tries to pull too forcefully on the baby to get them out, the doctor may case severe damage to the baby’s brachial plexus nerves.

While physical therapy and occupational therapy can help with a brachial plexus injury, the best way to prevent these types of injuries is for a doctor to realize that the baby’s shoulder is stuck and try to adjust the baby’s position before the damage is done. According to the United Brachial Plexus Network, nearly all brachial plexus birth injuries are preventable as long as proper delivery techniques are used. Unfortunately, since doctors do not always take the proper precautions around 2-3 births out of every 1000 result in an injury to a baby’s brachial plexus nerves. Given that this many babies are injured in this manner during child birth and that it is such a preventable injury, it is crucial that all doctors helping out at birth are aware of this problem and are extremely careful during delivery.

If you or a loved one gave birth to a baby who suffered a brachial plexus injury during birth, and you believe that the doctor handling the birth failed to take the necessary precautions, please call our birth injury attorneys today. Our Chicago personal injury law firm has helped families all over Illinois receive the compensation that they deserve for what they have had to suffer through as a result of the birth doctor’s negligence that led to their baby suffering from a brachial plexus injury.

Our Chicago birth injury attorneys often receive troubling calls from heartbroken parents describing incidents of shoulder dystocia. According to a recent article from MissionLocal.org, shoulder dystocia is a birth complication often associated with, but not limited to pregnant women with diabetes. Shoulder dystocia occurs when a child’s head is delivered, but the shoulders of the child are unable to pass through the birth canal. When this occurs, the child is immediately in jeopardy of suffering serious birth injuries or even death. According to the report, sometimes doctors are able to avoid injury by quickly repositioning the child, but others aren’t so lucky.

Shoulder dystocia is one of the most dangerous birth complications. Once the head of a baby is delivered, significant strain is placed on the umbilical cord. In a typical childbirth setting this is not a problem because of the relatively short period of time between delivery of a baby’s head and shoulders. In shoulder dystocia cases, however, the prolonged stress often leads to permanent injuries.

John Perconti filed a lawsuit against Evanston Hospital in 2005 for complications suffered by Denise Juarez when the birth complication of shoulder dystocia caused her to ultimately suffer from Erb’s palsy, which is the weakness or loss of movement caused by damage to the nerve bundles at one’s shoulders.

While some cases involving shoulder dystocia can not be predicted, many others can, and failing to diagnose a fetus with a high propensity of suffering a shoulder dystocia is medical malpractice. In the case of Denise, the facility was negligent in a number of ways. The staff failed to perform an ultrasound prior to delivering Denise to determine her size, given the fact that Denise’s mother had previously delivered a large baby. Additionally, the staff failed to inform Denise’s mother of her increased risk for shoulder dystocia and failed to offer a Caesarean section as an option to reduce these risks. Finally, during delivery, the labor and delivery team failed to perform the proper disimpaction techniques, and the doctors applied excessive force causing Denise’s permanent nerve damage.

John and the rest of the birth injury lawyer team at Levin and Perconti, using their knowledge gained over many years practicing in the area, were able to settle Denise’s case for $1.3 million dollars. This money will help provide Denise the care and treatment necessary to live a more normal life.

The McKinney Courier-Gazette reported on a pregnant woman who was forced to give birth to her daughter at home after she was turned away from her local hospital. The woman reported to the hospital’s emergency room for treatment. She told the staff in the emergency room that she was suffering from sudden and severe pelvic pain. But the staff discharged her the same day without conducting an examination. When the woman returned home, she went into labor. Her delayed delivery caused her newborn daughter to sustain a traumatic birth injury.

When an unborn baby is delayed during labor, there may be tragic consequences affecting the health of the child. A delayed delivery may cause hypoxia resulting in brain injury due to lack of oxygen. Delayed deliveries may also cause cerebral palsy, Erb’s Palsy (paralysis of the arm), and other learning or developmental disabilities.

Delayed births may be the result of the inattentiveness or the negligence of the attending physician or hospital staff. Victims of birth injuries are sometimes awarded multi-million dollar verdicts or settlements to compensate for the medical costs, pain and suffering, and even the disability the child and their family may face.

Continue reading "Lawsuit filed after hospital released a woman in labor" »

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.

An obstetrician recently received a public reprimand from her state’s medical board. The reprimand states that the doctor’s negligence caused a newborn baby to suffer Erb’s Palsy. According to the report in The Mercury News, the negligent doctor tried a suction delivery, but the baby was too large for natural birth. This risky move caused the baby’s shoulder to become locked on the mother’s public bone, damaging the baby’s shoulder nerves and causing Erb’s Palsy, which left his arm and shoulder paralyzed.

Levin & Perconti have represented clients in a number of Chicago birth injury cases involving Erb’s Palsy. In 2009, John Perconti and Patricia Gifford settled a lawsuit for $1.35 million on behalf of a 9-year-old Waukegan girl who lost movement in her arm. Her doctors failed to inform the girl’s mother of her increased risk for shoulder dystocia. They also failed to perform the proper techniques during labor and delivery to disimpact the newborn's shoulder, causing her injury. To learn more about this birth injury lawsuit, read our latest newsletter.

Birth injury can lead to Erb’s Palsy, which is a condition in which nerves are stretched and cause the hand, arm, shoulder and face to be injured. The disease is frequently caused by the excessive force or inappropriate traction on a newborn’s head or neck during childbirth. This will not happen without medical error. Characteristics of Erb’s Palsy include a limp arm, delayed healing of skin on the affected arm, loss of motor function and loss of sensation. Although Erb’s Palsy can be immediately apparent, the extent of the birth injury may not be known for some months after the baby’s birth. Recently, the birth injury lawyers at Levin and Perconti received a settlement for a birth injury case involving Erb’s Palsy. To learn more about the birth injury settlement, please check out Levin and Perconti’s newsletter.

A Massachusetts birth injury law firm recently announced a new website for parents of children who suffered serious birth injuries, www.childrc.com. The birth injury website contains valuable information, including contacts and tools to help parents who are affected by birth injuries such as cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy. The website also gives parents the opportunity to interact with birth injury experts. Follow the link to learn more about this new resource for birth injury information.

A new study published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology finds that women who experience shoulder dystocia incur an increased risk of the complication recurring in subsequent deliveries. The study, which looked at the deliveries of womens’ second children, found that shoulder dystocia occurred in 0.8% of all women, but that women with shoulder dystocia in their first delivery had a 7.3% risk of recurrence. While the prior experience of shoulder dystocia does increase the likelihood of future delivery complications, the study’s authors emphasized that the baby’s birthweight is the most important factor in predicting the probability of the birth injury's occurrence.

Click the following link for more information on the shoulder dystocia study.

Next week, October 19-26, will be the 9th annual Brachial Plexus Injury Awareness Week. This event was created by the United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc. with the goal of increasing general awareness of brachial plexus injuries.

A brachial plexus injury occurs when the network of spinal nerves which controls the muscles of the fingers, hand, arm, and shoulder, called the brachial plexus, is damaged. These nerves originate at the back of the neck and extend through the axilla (armpit) and into the arm, where they form 3 trunks in the upper shoulder. Erb’s Palsy refers to an injury to the upper trunk while a lower trunk injury is called Klumpke's Palsy.

A brachial plexus injury can result in full or partial paralysis of one or both arms and can be permanent if the nerves do not completely heal. In less severe instances, the nerve damage may cause weakness or a loss of muscle control in the arm, hand, or wrist, resulting in the impaired ability to grasp, extend, or reach, or a lack of feeling or sensation in the arm or hand. Physical appearance can also be affected.

Most brachial plexus injuries occur during an emergency birth condition called shoulder dystocia in which the baby’s shoulder becomes wedged behind the mother’s pubic bone while in delivery. There are several techniques or maneuvers to free the baby’s shoulder and complete the delivery safely but if the person performing the delivery is careless or applies excessive force to the baby’s head or neck, the brachial nerves can become stretched or torn.