Research published by the National Library of Medicine defines birth injuries to include physical or psychological injury to the mother or baby during labor and delivery.
Out of every 1,000 babies born, around six to eight of those infants experience some type of birth injury. Mothers can also be hurt, and maternal mortality has actually been on the rise, with over 30 deaths per 100,000 births in recent years.
If you or your loved one is hurt or killed during the labor and delivery process, you have rights under Illinois law. Depending on the specifics of how the birth injury occurred, you may be able to obtain compensation from the medical care providers who were responsible for the harm.
Gill Ports Hoste LLC can help. Our compassionate and experienced Evanston birth injury attorneys have worked for decades to hold healthcare workers and companies liable for losses.
We want your family to have the money you need to move forward from a tragedy, and we won’t stop fighting until we do everything possible to help you get the compensation you deserve. To find out more about the legal advocacy we can offer, give us a call today to schedule a free consultation.
How do birth injuries happen?
Many injuries suffered by mothers and babies occur because of medical negligence. A doctor is considered to be negligent if no reasonably competent physician with the same training would have made the mistakes the doctor made. Both acts and omissions can give rise to a malpractice claim.
Some of the most common reasons birth injuries occur include:
- Failure to properly monitor the condition of the mother and baby. This includes monitoring the baby’s heart rate and the contraction strength.
- Allowing labor to continue for too long. Prolonged labor, especially with stalled progress, can harm both the mother and child.
- Prenatal care failures. Examples might include failure to diagnose preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, intrauterine growth restriction, Strep B, or other maternal infections. Delay in responding to problems during pregnancy could result in serious complications.
- Delay in ordering an emergency C-section. If the baby or mother is showing signs of distress, an emergency C-section could be life-saving.
- Not recognizing or properly responding to unusual fetal positioning. For example, if the baby is breech, this will require a different delivery process.
- Misusing instruments. Vacuums and forceps can sometimes help extract an infant, but they should be used only in case of medical necessity, and they must be used properly to reduce the risk of complications like brain bleeding.
- Medication mistakes. If a doctor or other care provider gives incorrect medication advice during pregnancy or makes an error when administering medications, this can lead to serious harm. An incorrect administration of Pitocin is a clear example of a potentially harmful medical mistake.
When these or other mistakes are made, you need to get the right malpractice lawyer on your side to fight for you.
Do you need a birth injury lawyer?
When a child is injured or killed during labor, this can create a need for lifetime care for the baby. When a mother is hurt or killed, this can leave a family without a caregiver. These are devastating losses.
If you want to maximize the chances of recovering full and fair compensation so you can rebuild, you should have a birth injury lawyer. Our firm can:
- Gather evidence
- Identify defendants, including hospitals or clinics, as well as providers
- Find experts to prove how your doctor fell short
- Help you maximize the chances of recovering compensation through a settlement or court proceedings.
These are just some of the many ways Gill Ports Hoste LLC is here to help.
Contact an Evanston birth injury attorney today
An Evanston birth injury attorney at Gill Ports Hoste LLC is here and ready to fight for you. Give us a call or contact us online today to learn more about the compassionate and knowledgeable legal representation we can offer.