Is My Baby’s Disability Due to a Birth Injury?

Of every 1,000 births in the United States, 6-8 newborn babies are born with a birth injury. This is a substantial number of injuries — many of which could have been prevented. If your baby is displaying signs of a disability, you may be wondering if it is the result of a birth injury. Our birth injury lawyers can talk with you about your concerns and help you determine if you have a medical malpractice case.

What Is a Birth Injury?

It is important to first understand the term ‘birth injury.’ This term refers to any injury a child sustains prior to or during the labor and delivery process, or immediately after birth. Birth injuries should not be confused with birth defects. Birth defects develop during pregnancy, often due to a genetic condition or natural causes. Birth injuries, on the other hand, develop as a result of many instances including a failure of the healthcare team to properly recognize that a baby is in distress.

Doctors and medical staff are responsible for ensuring a safe delivery process. However, medical negligence may lead to a birth injury. Negligence may include communication failures among medical personnel, incorrect diagnoses or treatment of the mother’s and/or child’s conditions during the labor and delivery process and a failure to deliver the baby by c-section at the appropriate time.

Common types of birth injuries include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Brain damage
• Cerebral Palsy
• Erb’s Palsy
• Kernicterus
• Infant Hematoma

Unfortunately, these conditions may leave a child mentally or physically disabled either temporarily, or for the rest of his or her life. If one of these conditions arises as the result of negligence, the medical professionals involved in the delivery process may be liable. However, holding medical staff liable for your child’s birth injury will require proving that your baby’s disability is the result of a birth injury (and not a birth defect).

Linking Birth Injuries to Disability

Our Chicago birth injury lawyers are experienced in reviewing your child’s medical records and other evidence for indications of a traumatic labor and delivery.

A baby displaying physical impairments such as blindness, muscle problems, or seizures, among others, may have experienced a traumatic delivery. Infants admitted to the NICU after birth or who display atypical behaviors upon birth, such as failure to cry or inability to breathe independently, may also have sustained a birth injury.

Birth injuries may also directly contribute to a mental impairment, which may last a lifetime. Young children who have difficulty learning, communicating, or staying focused may have sustained a birth injury.

Does Your Baby Display Signs of a Birth Injury?

Contact Our Birth Injury Attorneys in Chicago to Discuss Your Options

Birth injury lawsuits provide an avenue for parents to secure compensation for medical negligence. However, securing compensation requires proving four major elements:

• First, proving that the medical professionals had a duty to the patient;
• Second, proving that the medical professionals breached that duty to the patient by failing to meet the standard of care;
• Third, that failure directly caused or contributed to your baby’s disability; and
• Fourth, your child sustained an injury as a result.

Additionally, depending on the laws of your state, various types of claims may be filed as a result of the medical professionals negligence. Some claims will relate to damages to the parents, while others will pertain to the baby. Knowing which type of claim to file, and the respective timeframe for each, may help you secure compensation.

Our Chicago birth injury lawyers have an extensive history of proving each of these elements. We have secured the short-term and long-term compensation needed to care for children with disabilities. We encourage you to contact us today to discuss your case and your options. It doesn’t cost you anything to speak with one of our attorneys. You can reach us at (877) 262-9767 or online here.

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