Champaign Birth Injury Lawyers

Champaign Cerebral Palsy Attorneys

Babies are born every day, and their mothers expect them to be delivered safely. Sadly, this is not always the case.

Birth injuries can occur when doctors fail to follow procedures correctly or have adequate training to handle certain situations.

When a medical professional fails in his duty of care towards you and your baby, you need legal representation that will fight for your rights and ensure that the negligent party pays for their mistakes.

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our personal injury attorneys are leading advocates for those who must care for special needs children because of a preventable birth injury.

Contact a Champaign birth injury lawyer at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form for legal assistance and schedule a free consultation. All confidential or sensitive information you share about your birth injury matters remains private through an attorney-client relationship.

Not only does the cost of caring for a child with common birth defects place undue financial stress on your family, but the mental exhaustion and emotional angst felt by watching a loved one suffer throughout their development can be life-altering.

To help your child and your family, we seek the maximum compensation the law allows so that you do not need to fear for your child’s wellbeing after you cannot care for them yourself.

Why Birth Injury Claims are so Expensive

We seek fair compensation for every client that we represent, but the cost of caring for a child with cerebral palsy is constant and accumulative.

Regular doctor’s visits, special procedures, and physical therapy can cost the family millions of dollars over the child’s journey into adulthood.

An additional worry comes with not knowing how well the child will fare after the parents have passed away. For this reason, anyone caring for a child with this condition has access to support and resources to redistribute the burden.

Since many instances of cerebral palsy result from preventable birth injuries or the failure of medical professionals to properly respond to complications, your child’s condition may be due to some form of medical malpractice.

It is only fair that the hospital, health care provider, and other medical professionals responsible for your child’s injuries provide for the financial burden of their care. Your medical malpractice lawyers can handle the case while you focus on giving your child the love and attention they deserve.

Pregnancy and childbirth injuries caused by the carelessness of doctors, medical practitioners, hospitals, or pharmacists are the focus of pregnancy and childbirth injury attorneys.

In addition, your medical malpractice lawyer can work on your legal issue to ensure you get your medical bills paid.

Injuries Linked to Champaign Cerebral Palsy (CP) Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

While there are several causes for CP, oxygen deprivation and elevated bilirubin levels often contribute to the medical malpractice cases our birth injury attorneys see.

These complications can result from injuries sustained during birth or soon after.

These injuries include the following.

• Fetal distress during labor— it is the responsibility of the medical staff performing the delivery to monitor the child’s vital signs properly and take decisive action when it is clear the child is in distress. Injuries resulting from fetal distress often stem from the improper monitoring of the child or the delayed decision for an emergency C-section when the need was apparent for an extended period.
• Misinterpreted or inaccurate test results— if doctors fail to interpret the tests they order or the lab mishandles the test, the consequences can be dire, leading to a birth injury. Of course, many birth injuries can be prevented if the doctor is aware of conditions during pregnancy or shortly before birth. Still, failing to interpret necessary tests effectively can fail to diagnose these conditions or respond promptly.
• Jaundice due to birth injuries— common birth injuries can cause the body to release bilirubin, which an infant’s liver cannot process at such a young age. When left untreated, jaundice can cause brain damage, forever impacting the child’s life over something that would have otherwise been treated without incident.
• Infections— Infection can have tragic consequences during pregnancy or birth since infants have undeveloped immune systems. Nurses must pay attention to signs of infection so that it can be treated promptly and before the bacteria can invade vital organs such as the heart, lungs, or brain. Due to these complications and the spread of the infection to the brain, oxygen deprivation can cause permanent damage and other associated birth injuries.
• Wrongful death – when a child does not survive the injuries sustained during birth, this is considered a “wrongful death” in Illinois. Family members have legal recourse in these cases, often including compensation for funeral expenses and lost wages from work missed while grieving.

Injuries often occur from a medical error or a lack of medical care. Often, the medical error is caused by a failure to document doctor’s orders in the medical records, leading to birth trauma or other serious injuries.

If your child’s injuries were due to medical malpractice, you might be able to recover compensation for their ongoing care. However, it is unreasonable to expect the families of children injured at birth to carry this burden alone and recover the compensation; you are entitled to one way to ensure your child has everything they will need.

A personal injury law firm specializing in medical malpractice cases can ensure the family receives sufficient financial compensation from the doctor’s insurance company and other parties involved in the birth injury.

Illinois Birth Injury Cases

Numerous birth injuries result from the negligence or careless actions of healthcare providers. In recent years, our law firm has reviewed many medical malpractice birth injury cases to identify severe problems in the community.

Our medical malpractice law firm has recovered millions on behalf of our clients from insurance companies representing medical doctors and hospital staff whose negligence led to an injured child suffering permanent damage.

Some of the most devastating cases where the child suffers catastrophic injuries and chronic pain caused by medical negligence include:

• In early 2021, a child was born with birth injuries after the doctor used medical instruments to pull out the child by the head instead of using forceps. Using vaginal extraction without proper training is considered medical malpractice and results in severe injuries to the child, who may need lifelong care, leading to extensive medical bills.
• In 2018, parents were concerned about their son’s birth injury case. He was born with Erb’s palsy after the doctor failed to respond to fetal distress and used an inappropriate and dangerous delivery method. This birth injury is permanent and requires lifelong physical therapy for movement in the arm, permanently injured by medical negligence.
• In early 2016, a child suffered brain damage during labor due to medical malpractice. The mother was not monitored, resulting in the child suffering oxygen deprivation during delivery. When the baby was born, he suffered permanent brain damage due to the doctor’s medical negligence, who failed to identify potential danger signs before birth.
• In the summer of 2017, a child was born with a rare genetic disorder and had to undergo numerous surgeries and procedures during the first year of his life due to medical malpractice. After being treated by several high-risk specialists, it has been determined that he will have lifelong complications from his birth injuries which could have been prevented if the doctor who delivered him had adhered to the standard of care and used safe practices to manage difficult labor.
• In 2017, a child was born with severe brain injuries after the doctor used forceps to deliver the baby but failed to use the proper technique, causing permanent damage. This birth injury requires that she receive lifelong therapy and face challenges due to her doctor’s negligence. The child’s personal injury lawyer recovered millions to ensure sufficient funds for the medical mistake.
• In 2018, a child was born with permanent brain damage after the doctor used an inappropriate and dangerous delivery method due to failure to monitor the mother’s vital signs. After the baby was delivered, he suffered from oxygen deprivation and now requires around-the-clock care due to medical negligence during labor and delivery.
• In 2014, a child was born with permanent brain damage due to medical negligence during delivery at the hospital. The attending physician failed to monitor the baby’s heart rate properly, and when signs of fetal distress were present, he chose not to perform an emergency c-section. When the baby was delivered, he suffered oxygen deprivation resulting in severe injuries which would require lifelong care. The child’s injury led to a lifelong need for medical equipment and ongoing help from the new parents.

Finding the Resources You Require for Birth Injuries Support

In addition to recovering the compensation you need to care for your child’s needs, several resources are available through the United Cerebral Palsy Seguin of Greater Chicago.

From employment and life skills training to Community Integrated Living and accessibility services, this organization provides the support you need to help your child grow and transition into adulthood.

To learn more about this organization’s services, visit http://ucpseguin.org/ or call (708) 863-3803.

Holding a Doctor Accountable for Medical Malpractice

A medical malpractice lawyer working on behalf of the victim and surviving family member can seek financial compensation paid by the health care provider’s insurance company. Our Champaign IL, personal injury lawyers can ensure that your child’s medical costs are covered.

Our birth injury attorneys help families recover compensation for:

• Past, current, and future medical expenses
• Pain and suffering experienced by the patient
• Loss of enjoyment of life caused by physical limitations
• Possible lifetime care cost related to permanent brain damage from a C-section delivery

Recovery of damages is based on the specific details of the case. For instance, compensation for medical expenses will be included in your settlement amount if hospital negligence during labor or delivery leads to an injury requiring more care.

If you have taken on large debt because of loss of income while caring for a child with brain damage, lost wages may also be recovered. Furthermore, your birth injury lawyer can include the cost of any equipment needed for care as part of your financial settlement package.

Hospital Malpractice

In addition to holding the health care provider and their insurance company financially accountable, your birth injury lawyer might also file a civil lawsuit against the hospital, citing malpractice.

In legal terms, hospital malpractice occurs when the hospital does not meet the standard of care expected in a particular case. For instance, if your family is looking to file a lawsuit against a hospital for a birth injury, it could be because the medical team failed to notice or act on signs of fetal distress.

Signs of Fetal Distress

If you are looking to file a birth injury lawsuit against a hospital for your child’s medical injuries, the legal team will need to prove that there were signs of fetal distress.

Some indications of fetal distress include:

• Decreased movements
• Foul-smelling amniotic fluid
• A slow heart rate detected by Doppler
• A large amount of meconium during the pregnancy

While not every sign of fetal distress leads to a birth injury, medical professionals must act quickly and deliver the baby if any signs are present to prevent long-term damage.

Labor and Delivery Malpractice Lawyers

When filing a birth injury lawsuit against a hospital, labor, and delivery malpractice, lawyers must prove that the defendants failed to act following the standard of care.

Your family must show that the medical team should have detected fetal distress and delivered your child before it sustained injuries due to not being born.

Suppose the legal experts working on your case can demonstrate that a delay in care could have been avoided. In that case, there is a good chance the defendants will be liable for medical damages and expenses incurred due to their malpractice.

In some cases, negligent treatment may include failure to diagnose or identify an illness, injury, or medical condition. Your family must show that these mistakes led to further medical care and increased costs, including hospitalization and surgeries performed hours or days after the incident.

The Role of Social Security Disability Insurance in Raising a Child with Special Needs

There are restrictions on who can get social security disability benefits. Still, if your child has been diagnosed with a cognitive impairment requiring lifelong assistance from family members or paid caregivers, you might be eligible for SSD.

If your child is approved for benefits under the SSDI program, they can get monthly checks to help cover their day-to-day expenses while still a minor.

However, this money will not be accessible until your child reaches 18 years old. Depending on the severity of their condition, an adult with special needs may never be able to work and rely entirely on social security disability benefits for support.

In cases where a child cannot care for themselves without assistance from other people, there are two ways parents can handle long-term financial planning.

Appointing a Family Member or Professional to Handle a Special Needs Trust

The first option is to set up a special needs trust, which can be administered by the family or appointed professionals once your child reaches adulthood. This allows you to plan for your son or daughter’s care without blocking access to social security disability benefits.

Because this money would not go directly into your child’s account, they could still receive benefits even if their trust can cover the costs of housing, care, and other expenses.

Are you worried about losing your social security disability benefits if your child’s special needs trust does not have enough money to cover their expenses for an extended period? If so, you can choose a second option.

In some cases, parents may benefit from social security if their adult child will not cover necessities without assistance from the government.

This money is usually around $750 per month or less, so it can go a long way toward helping your adult son or daughter pay for their housing and medical costs.

While this money was not designed to replace social security disability benefits, it can provide a temporary financial safety net for parents who need time to find long-term solutions for covering the cost of their child’s care.

Types of Medical Negligence

In cases where negligence led to injury or death during childbirth, family members may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the medical team involved.

In some cases, a child’s parent or guardian may also file a personal injury claim for loss of companionship and financial support to prove that their relationship with the deceased was meaningful and had long-term economic benefits.

The most common form of medical malpractice is negligence when a doctor or other medical professionals fail to provide the standard of care that another similarly trained professional would have provided in their place.

Was your child’s medical team negligent in their treatment leading to further injury, ongoing pain, suffering, or death? If so, you and your family may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

In some cases, including cases where doctors failed to diagnose a birth defect, your child’s parent or guardian may also be entitled to file a personal injury claim for compensation.

A Significant Financial Strain

When negligence leads to injuries requiring ongoing care from an outside source, it can create a significant financial strain on families struggling to pay for the costs associated with their child’s condition.

These injuries can also prevent children from living independently once they become adults, leading to the need for long-term social security disability benefits or assistance from a special needs trust.

Are you considering filing a medical malpractice claim after your child’s birth injury? If so, seeking advice from an attorney with experience representing families in similar cases is essential.

The most experienced medical malpractice lawyers will be able to guide you on the next steps, including whether your child’s parent or guardian may also qualify for social security benefits based on the injuries that occurred during their birth.

Champaign Birth Injury Attorneys Handling Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, LLC, our Champaign, IL, personal injury attorneys have helped thousands of families pursue the compensation they were entitled to after learning their children were injured at birth due to medical negligence.

Your experienced birth injury lawyer will have access to medical experts, support resources, and economists to properly assess your needs and seek the fair compensation that you need. The funds you receive could ensure your child’s needs are met during childhood and adulthood.

Contact a birth injury attorney at (888) 424-5757 (toll-free phone number) or use the contact form today for legal advice and arrange a free case review with one of our award-winning Champaign birth injury lawyers.

Our personal injury law firm will begin our investigation into your medical malpractice claim and review your legal options and possible strategies together.

Our medical malpractice lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you will not pay any legal fees until your personal injury case or wrongful death lawsuit is resolved through a negotiated settlement or jury award.

Champaign Birth Injury Lawyers Resources:

• National Institute of Health – Birth Asphyxia
• NCBI – Birth Trauma