Neonatal and Postal Natal Infection Lawyers For Birth Injury Cases: Chicago, Illinois

The period immediately following birth is a dangerous one and there are many things that can go wrong and cause injury to a newborn, especially if the hospital staff fails to monitor the child properly. Bacterial infections are common in infants due to their weak immune systems and special consideration must be taken to ensure that the delivery and post-delivery environments are kept clean and free of contaminates that can cause an infection.

In some cases, these infections are avoidable and may be result of medical malpractice of the health care provider. When that is the case, you may file a malpractice claim for the medical negligence.

Neonatal Infection Medical Malpractice Attorney Helping Your Family

Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC represents clients who have been victims of medical malpractice that has resulted in undue harm to children during or after birth and our personal injury lawyers are available to fight on your behalf to recover the compensation that you are entitled to. We will obtain the necessary medical records and work with medical experts to help you file your case.

If your newborn has contracted a bacterial infection, give us a phone call or fill out a contact form for your free consultation. We can help you hold medical professionals accountable for their negligence.

Causes of Neonatal and Post-Natal Infections

A newborn baby is born with a weakened immune system— which makes it instrumental to take every measure possible to prevent and detect an infection early on before it becomes the cause of severe complications. Common causes of infection in infants include the following.

• An unclean delivery environment for a pregnant woman.
• Contaminated equipment used during or after delivery.
• Inadequate or infrequent measures taken to keep the newborn clean.
• Lack of proper testing and evaluation for infection or accompanying symptoms.

When not properly treated, infections can cause serious long term harm and affect the development of the child. The infant may end up in the neonatal intensive care unit with neonatal sepsis. In a worst-case scenario, this can develop into septic shock.

If an infection results in a condition that permanently changes the child's quality of life, the family deserves to be compensated for the cost of caring for the child's special needs over his or her lifetime.

Types of Infections

While measures are constantly being taken to make hospital environments sanitary, it is an unfortunate reality that hospitals are known to be home to some of the strains of bacteria and fungus due to their development of a resistance to antibiotics and other pharmaceuticals. Common neonatal infections found in newborns include the following.

• Streptococcus, otherwise known as Group B Strep (blood tests can often detect group b).
• Coli
• Neonatal Meningitis (meningitis can be diagnosed through a spinal tap or lumbar puncture)
• A fungal infection known as Candidiasis
• Conjunctivitis— otherwise known as pink eye
• Sepsis— an infection of the blood
• Herpes simplex virus

Newborn infections can cause brain damage, developmental problems, cerebral palsy or death and it is important that infants are closely monitored for signs of an infection. Early treatment is usually able to prevent severe complications that arise from these serious infections and it is the lack of proper monitoring, diagnostic tests or a quick response that can make a difference for the worse. 

If not treated early, the child will likely need to spend time in the intensive care unit. When a newborn spends time in the pediatrics NICU, it can have long-term health effects.

Failure to detect or treat an infection a newborn or in utero by the medical staff may be considered an act of negligence or medical malpractice if it is determined that the hospital staff did not take proper measures to prevent or treat the condition in spite of the risk factors. Certain pregnant women are more likely to deliver a child who is a risk of an infection. In addition, premature babies are also a higher risk of neonatal infections.

File a Medical Malpractice Claim on Behalf of Your Child With a Neonatal Infection

If your child suffers from a condition that was brought about by an untreated infection, you or a family member may be entitled to compensation to cover his or her medical care and pain and suffering. Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC specialize in birth injury malpractice cases and have successfully represented clients just like you in claims against healthcare providers. Contact us today for a free consultation and legal advice so that we can evaluate your case and let you know more about your legal rights.