Learning that your child suffered a birth injury can be overwhelming, especially when the effects may involve long-term medical care, therapy, developmental challenges, or changes to your child’s independence and quality of life. Birth injuries can occur during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth, and while some are temporary, others can cause permanent brain, nerve, or physical damage.
Not every birth injury is caused by medical negligence. But when a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other provider misses warning signs, delays necessary treatment, or mishandles a complication and that failure causes harm, the family may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
Power Rogers, LLP represents families in Aurora and throughout Illinois in birth injury and medical malpractice cases. Our attorneys have substantial experience handling claims involving negligent prenatal, delivery, and neonatal care, and our firm has recovered more than $6 billion for clients across our practice. We offer free consultations and handle birth injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Click here to schedule a confidential consultation or call our office at (312) 236-9381.
Key Takeaways
- Families in Aurora may have grounds for a birth injury medical malpractice claim when a healthcare provider’s negligence causes or contributes to injuries such as cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), Erb’s palsy, nerve damage, or other birth-related complications.
- Doctors, nurses, midwives, hospitals, and other healthcare providers may be held liable for preventable birth injuries, with compensation potentially covering lifelong medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, in-home care, educational support, and pain and suffering.
- Illinois generally allows up to eight years from the medical error to file a birth injury malpractice lawsuit involving a minor, typically no later than the child’s 22nd birthday, although specific deadlines may vary depending on the circumstances.
What Are the Most Common Examples of Birth Injuries?
A birth injury is physical harm a baby suffers during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth. It is different from a birth defect, which typically develops because of genetic, developmental, or environmental factors.
Birth injuries can vary widely in severity. Common examples include:
- Cerebral palsy and other brain injuries, including injuries associated with a lack of oxygen during labor or delivery
- Brachial plexus injuries, including Erb’s palsy, which can occur during difficult deliveries involving shoulder dystocia
- Nerve damage or paralysis affecting a newborn’s arms, face, or other areas
- Fractures, including collarbone or skull fractures associated with difficult deliveries or improper use of delivery instruments
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and other injuries caused when the baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow
- Injuries associated with delayed delivery or C-section, particularly when signs of fetal distress are not addressed promptly
The presence of a birth injury does not by itself mean medical malpractice occurred. The legal question is whether a healthcare provider failed to provide appropriate care and whether that failure caused or contributed to the injury.
When Can a Birth Injury Be Medical Malpractice?
Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are held to an accepted standard of care, meaning the level of skill and judgment a reasonably competent provider would use in the same situation. A birth injury may amount to medical malpractice when a provider’s care falls below that standard, and the failure causes preventable harm to the mother or baby.
In labor and delivery cases, this often involves specific breakdowns in how a provider responded to warning signs, including:
- Failure to recognize signs of fetal distress on a monitor or during examination
- Delaying a C-section or other necessary intervention when the baby is in danger
- Responding improperly to complications such as umbilical cord issues, placental abruption, or shoulder dystocia
- Medication errors, including improper use or dosing of labor-inducing drugs
- Failing to properly monitor the mother or baby throughout labor
Depending on what went wrong, liability may fall on one or more parties, including OB-GYNs and other treating physicians, labor and delivery nurses, midwives, hospitals or healthcare systems, and other providers involved in prenatal, delivery, or neonatal care.
How Do You Prove Medical Negligence in a Birth Injury Case?
Proving medical negligence in a birth injury case requires establishing what the medical team should have done under the circumstances, how the care provided fell short, and whether that failure caused or contributed to the child’s injury.
That analysis often depends on a detailed review of the medical record. Prenatal records, fetal heart monitoring strips, delivery notes, medication records, nursing documentation, imaging, and other test results can help show what was happening at different points in the pregnancy, labor, or delivery and how providers responded.
Because those records can be highly technical, medical experts typically play an important role in these cases. They can evaluate whether the care met accepted medical standards and whether a different response could have prevented or reduced the harm. Once causation is established, the case must also document the extent of the child’s injuries and the medical care, support, and other losses the child may face over time.
What Compensation May Be Available for a Birth Injury?
Birth injury cases often involve substantial damages because the effects of a serious injury can follow a child for the rest of their life. Compensation can address both the costs already incurred and the ones still ahead, and may include:
- Past and future medical treatment, including surgeries and hospitalizations
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy and rehabilitation
- Assistive equipment such as wheelchairs, braces, or communication devices
- In-home or attendant care for children who need ongoing assistance
- Future educational or support needs where the injury affects learning or development
- Disability and loss of normal life
- Pain and suffering experienced by the child and, in some cases, the parents
- Other long-term financial consequences tied to the injury
Because a birth injury can affect a child from infancy through adulthood, valuing a claim requires looking well beyond the medical bills already on file. A fair settlement or verdict needs to account for the cost of care over an entire lifetime, including expenses that may not become clear until years after the injury occurred.
Click here to schedule a confidential consultation or call our office at (312) 236-9381.
How Power Rogers, LLP Can Help Families in Aurora
Power Rogers, LLP has extensive experience representing families in serious birth injury and medical malpractice cases. Since 1993, our personal injury trial law firm has recovered billions of dollars for clients across Illinois, with significant birth injury results that include:
- A $35 million settlement for a child who suffered brain damage resulting in spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, and seizures after providers delayed delivery despite warning signs that the baby was in distress.
- A $30 million verdict for a child who suffered severe oxygen deprivation and permanent neurological injuries after providers failed to respond appropriately to warning signs during labor.
When our Aurora birth injury attorneys represent a family, our work may include:
- Obtaining and reviewing medical records surrounding the pregnancy, delivery, and child’s care
- Working with qualified medical experts to determine whether providers met accepted standards of care
- Identifying the doctors, nurses, hospitals, or other providers who may be responsible
- Documenting the child’s injuries and the medical care, therapy, assistance, and other support they may need in the future
- Pursuing a fair settlement and preparing to take the case to trial when necessary
For families in Aurora, our role is not simply to prove that a medical error occurred. Our team works to understand how the injury has affected your child and your family, build a claim that accounts for both current and future needs, and guide you through the legal process while you focus on caring for your child.
FAQs About Birth Injury Claims in Aurora
Illinois gives minors more time to bring a medical malpractice claim than adults. In many birth injury cases, a lawsuit can be filed within eight years of the medical error, but generally no later than the child’s 22nd birthday. The exact deadline can vary based on the circumstances, so it is important to have the case reviewed as early as possible. Waiting can also make it harder to obtain records, locate witnesses, and preserve other evidence needed to determine what happened.
Many families in this situation simply don’t have enough information to know one way or the other, and that’s normal. A difficult outcome during delivery doesn’t tell you, on its own, whether a provider made an error. An attorney can request the full medical file and have qualified medical professionals evaluate the care your child received to determine whether negligence played a role.
We offer a free consultation to discuss what happened during your child’s birth and whether you may have a claim. If we take your case, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means there’s no attorney fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
Speak With an Aurora Birth Injury Lawyer Today
A serious birth injury can shape a child’s life and a family’s finances for years to come, and it’s natural to have questions about whether what happened could have been prevented. Our firm can investigate whether preventable medical negligence contributed to your child’s injury and pursue compensation where the facts support a claim.
We represent families in Aurora and throughout Illinois in birth injury and medical malpractice matters, and we bring the resources and courtroom experience these cases often require. Contact our Aurora birth injury attorney team today for a free consultation. You pay nothing unless we win your case.
