CHICAGO BIRTH INJURY LAWYER
PRACTICE AREAS
Fighting For Chicago Birth Injury Victims And Their Families
Experienced Chicago Birth Injury Attorneys
Birth injuries are complex and difficult to prove. Illinois law will not hold medical providers liable, unless they deviated from the standard of care of the local medical community, regardless of what serious injuries were sustained during the delivery process. Health care providers, hospitals and their insurance carriers often claim that birth-related injuries result from known complications related to the birthing process or were simply unavoidable, and therefore, they cannot be held liable.
Our firm works closely with families, birth injury specialists, life care planners and other medical professionals to determine the cause of birth injuries, as well as the lasting effects those injuries will have on the injured child and the family.
If your child has been diagnosed with a condition caused by a birth trauma, you should take steps to determine whether or not medical malpractice could be the cause. You may very well have a medical malpractice claim.
Unfortunately doctors, midwives, and nurses sometimes make preventable mistakes before, during, or even after a child’s delivery. These mistakes can cause devastating birth injuries. These medical errors can cause a lifetime of ongoing medical treatment.
What are Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries occurs whenever an infant or the mother is injured, unnecessarily. This can be through misdiagnosis, mistreatment, labor complications, delivery complications, negligent prenatal care, or a lack of proper medical care, in general. Although some birth injuries are unavoidable, other birth injuries occur as a direct result of a medical professional’s error.
When negligence contributes to a child’s birth injury, the parents can pursue damages through a medical malpractice case.
How Common are Birth Injuries?
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, around 160,000 preventable injuries occur yearly, to both mother and baby.
What are Common Birth Injuries?
Child’s Birth Injuries
Some of the most common birth injuries and birth defects involve:
- Erb’s palsy
- Klumpke’s palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Shoulder dystocia or collar bone fractures
- Umbilical cord prolapse
- Cerebral palsy
- Preterm labor injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial nerve palsy
- Fetal brain injuries or brain trauma
- Perinatal asphyxia
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Extracranial injuries
- Misdiagnosed or un-diagnosed preeclampsia
- Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Mother’s Birth Injuries
Birth injuries aren’t restricted to the infant. In the event that a doctor acts negligently during the labor and delivery process, both the child and the mother are at risk for serious injuries.
Possible physical and emotional damage for the mother can include:
- Ruptured uterus
- Post-partum hemorrhaging
- Vaginal/anal tears
- Post natal depression
- Prolapsed uterus
- Post traumatic stress disorder
When a mother gives birth, she puts her body through extreme trauma, but as we all know, mothers are superheroes!
So, serious injuries don’t occur often. But, when birth injuries happen, we’re here to help suffering parents understand the cause, if medical malpractice was at play, and get them the compensation they deserve in order to make their child’s life just a little bit easier.
Medical Negligence That Can Cause Birth Injuries or a Birth Defect
About 3% of births involve any type of serious birth injury claims. For some, natural circumstances can cause oxygen deprivation during the labor and delivery process. For example, the baby may be to large to pass through the birth canal safely or the umbilical cord may become compressed.
However, many birth injury cases, especially birth injury claims in which child suffered a brain injury, are a result of medical malpractice. While most medical malpractice claims target the leading physician, in some cases, parents may be able to sue the hospital for malpractice.
Medical Mistakes that Lead to Birth Injuries
Mistakes made by medical professionals that can cause birth injuries include but aren’t limited to:
- Complications surrounding genetic testing
- Miscommunication between physicians and other medical professionals
- Failing to identify and address risk factors during pregnancy
- Prescribing a dangerous drug to the mother
- Misusing a vacuum extractor or forceps
- Failing to promptly respond to bleeding or signs of fetal distress
- Delaying a Cesarean section when there is trouble getting the baby through the birth canal
- Failing to properly monitor the mother’s and baby’s condition after labor and deliver
- Premature delivery complications.
If any of these events took place before, during, or after your labor or child’s birth, medical malpractice may be to claim for your child’s birth injury.
Regardless of the type of injury, our Chicago birth injury lawyers have the experience to successfully pursue your case and ensure families can provide the best possible treatment for their child. Our law firm focuses on helping birth injury victims and their families in Chicago and surrounding cities.
We have the experience and knowledge to effectively investigate claims for birth injury litigation. Moreover, we’re passionate about pursuing justice for families whos child suffered birth injuries, unnecessarily in the Chicago area.
Chicago Birth Injury Lawsuits
What Can You Recover in a Chicago Birth Injury Lawsuit?
In a birth injury lawsuit, a claim can be brought on behalf of the newborn baby, child or parents.
Economic damages for a birth injury include:
- Medical bills and future medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Caretaking expenses
Non-economic damages for birth injury include:
- Shortened life expectancy due to the child’s injury
- Disability
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of normal life that the parents and child suffers from
- Increased risk of future harm or wrongful death
- Physical and emotional distress
An experienced Chicago birth injury attorney at Curcio Law offices can calculate how much the medical malpractice demand should be. We base our determination on medical records and life-care planning experts.
In some cases, we may seek punitive damages in your birth injury claim, if the evidence indicates to us that your child’s injury or birth defects were a direct resulted from willful or wanton conduct by the medical professional.
And, if your child died as a result of a birth injury, we would file a separate set of damages in a wrongful death claim.
Chicago Birth Injury Verdicts and Settlements
The Curcio Law Offices have an extensive background handling birth trauma lawsuits. We’ve secured several settlements and favorable verdicts on behalf of children and their families in the Chicago area.
- $5,000,000 Settlement for a family who’s treating physicians failed to properly diagnose and treat the mother, causing the child to be born with significant birth defects.
- $3,500,000 Settlement or a family who’s attending physicians failed to diagnose and treat signs of fetal distress that caused the child to have a permanent brain injury that decreased life expectancy.
- $4,500,000 Settlement for a family who’s attending physician failed to diagnosis and treat fetal distress, that led to a severe learning disability stemming from a birth defect.
- $5,000,000 Settlement for a family who’s midwife failed to order a non-stress test and doctors failed to respond in a timely manner. The night before the trial, Joseph R. Curcio negotiated the settlement.
We understand the factual issues involved with birth injury lawsuits. Our experiences gives us the insight into how common birth injuries affect children in the present and will continue to affect them in the future.
Furthermore, our Chicago birth injury lawyers understand the physical, emotional and financial draining a birth injury places on the family. A child’s birth should be a time of joy, and when medical professionals strip that away, that is an experience that a family can never get back.
Trust that we consider this, on top of all the economic and non-economic damages with we hold medical professionals responsible for medical negligence.
What is the Statute of Limitations After a Birth Injury Occurs in Illinois?
A birth injury lawsuit falls under the medical malpractice claim umbrella. In Illinois, medical malpractice suits must be filed within 2 years after the date of the injury or 2 years from the date that the birth injury should have been reasonably discovered. But, after 4 years, you cannot bring a claim, regardless if your child sustained a serious injury or not.
However, for birth injury cases, if the birth injury occurred when the victim was under 18 (and it obviously did) then, the claim would need to be filed within 8 years from the date of the birth injury or before the victim turns 22.
Also, in Illinois, the statute of limitations may be tolled when the child will suffer from a permanent injury or disability. The statute of limitations will not begin until the disability is removed. So, if your child is suffering from a permanent disability, it’s completely possible that time for your child’s birth injuries claim may never be barred.
Our birth injury attorneys will be able to help you determine if you have time to file a claim for birth injuries.
How a Chicago Birth Trauma Attorney Can Help
At Curcio Law Offices, we provide free, no obligation consultations. You’ll meet with an experienced birth injury attorney, either in our office, or wherever is most comfortable for you. Our consultations are confidential.
If we believe that you have a birth injury claim, our Chicago birth injury attorneys will get started, right away.
Our personal injury lawyers take steps to:
- Investigate your birth injury claim
- Review your birth injury case with independent medical experts who can help determine whether a medical professional failed to meet the recognized standards of care-whether or not medical malpractice occurred
- Make a demand for a birth injury settlement
- File a birth trauma or medical malpractice lawsuit, if the pre-litigation settlement can’t be reached
- Take your Illinois birth injury lawsuit to trial
Experienced Chicago Birth Injury Lawyers
If you or your child has suffered an injury during the birthing process, please contact a Chicago birth injury attorney at Curcio Law Offices in downtown Chicago or call 312-321-1111 and schedule a free consultation today.
