Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer

Birth injuries resulting from the mistakes of doctors, hospitals, and nurses are devastating, changing the course of a family’s life without cause. For families, these are among the most challenging legal battles because the stakes are so high. These birth injury cases often require the expertise of a Chicago medical malpractice attorney to thoroughly investigate the negligence that led to the injury.

At Taxman, Pollock & Bekkerman, LLC, we fight for victims and their loved ones. When you choose our experienced birth injury lawyers in Chicago to represent you, you gain an advocate who fights for full and fair recovery of your losses. Contact our law firm today at (312) 586-1700 to schedule your free case consultation and learn how our birth injury attorneys can help your family pursue justice.

Why Choose Our Chicago Birth Injury Attorneys at Taxman, Pollock & Bekkerman?

Families facing the challenges of a birth injury and the complications that will follow for the rest of a child’s life deserve an advocate ready and capable of fighting for them. Our team of personal injury lawyers brings confidence to your fight. You can expect:

• Expert witnesses who clearly demonstrate fault
• A long track record of recovering damages for injury victims
• A strong reputation in the local courts and within the legal community

Victims facing serious injuries and losses deserve legal representation that is both compassionate and aggressive. Set up a free consultation with our birth injury lawyers in Chicago to learn how we can help you.

How to Know If Your Child Suffered a Birth Injury

Knowing when to take action can be complex. Many families have no idea that someone was negligent, and that negligence is what caused their injuries and losses. If you are not sure, set up a consultation. If any of the following occurred, we also recommend speaking to our birth injury attorneys in Chicago:

• Doctors cannot tell you what happened to cause your child to suffer
• There was no warning of risk to your child until after their birth
• You did not receive ongoing and supportive care
• There were delays due to short staffing
• Nurses and doctors will not speak to you

In these situations, our Chicago birth injury lawyers become your advocate. Set up a free consultation with us now to learn more. Even if you are not sure, let us be confident before you run out of time.

Types of Birth Injuries Our Chicago Attorneys Handle

Birth injuries, or birth trauma, are any physical damage caused to a child during the labor and delivery process or just after it. Some examples of birth injuries include:

• Brachial palsy: Damage to the nerves that supply feeling to the arms and hands, often resulting from the child’s shoulders becoming lodged
• Bruising and damage from forceps: Trauma to the soft tissues, sometimes with nerve damage, may occur as a result of improper or too much force used with forceps
• Fractures: Broken bones, often the clavicle, that occur during the birthing process
• Brain injuries: Traumatic brain injuries are often due to pressure, causing intracranial hemorrhaging
• Spinal cord injuries: Spinal cord injuries are often the result of the misuse of forceps or other tools
• Facial paralysis: Called Bell’s Palsy, this condition often is the result of vacuum extraction or forceps misuse

If you believe your child suffered a birth injury, our team of Chicago birth injury attorneys wants to help you determine the cause and who is at fault. Taking these actions can be critical to securing the monetary damages you need to meet your child’s needs.

The Value of Birth Injury Claims

Our birth injury lawyers will analyze every facet of the incident to determine what your birth injury claim may be worth. Victims can seek both economic and non-economic damages for the losses incurred due to the mistakes and reckless behavior of doctors, hospitals, or nurses during the birthing process.

Examples of damages that may be owed to you include:

• Medical costs for follow-up care, surgeries, and ongoing medical needs
• Rehabilitation costs associated with the injury
• In-home health care and support, including live-in support
• Childcare expenses
• Educational costs
• Long-term financial impact
• Pain and suffering

Building a birth injury claim takes careful understanding of your child’s current condition and future impact. Our Chicago birth injury attorneys will pursue full and fair compensation to the extent allowed by law.

The Statute of Limitations for Birth Injuries in Illinois

Learning that your child suffered a preventable birth injury is devastating for any parent. Yet, it becomes imperative that you, as a parent, take every step possible to protect them, including seeking legal action.

The Illinois statute of limitations for most medical malpractice matters is two years from the date of the incident. If you do not act within this timeframe, the court will not hear your birth injury case.

If you did not know about the child’s birth injury right away, you still have the right to pursue legal action against the at-fault party in some situations. A birth injury lawyer will review whether or not you could have known about the incident prior. Do not wait to seek legal action. Let’s get started today.

Who Is Liable for a Birth Injury in Chicago, IL?

In a Chicago birth injury case, liability can be based on a medical professional or facility violating a standard of care. Depending on the specifics of your birth injury case, liability could fall on one or more parties, such as:

• Doctor or obstetrician
• Nurse or midwife
• Hospital
• Anesthesiologist
• Pharmaceutical company or device manufacturer

To build your case, your Chicago birth injury attorney may look at whether a duty of care existed and, if so, how it may have been breached. They want to be able to show a judge or jury that a party’s violation of their duty of care may have contributed to or caused your child’s birth injury. On top of that, they want to illustrate that because of this party’s actions, you may be dealing with medical bills and other losses. 

What Is the Difference Between a Birth Injury and a Birth Defect?

A birth injury can occur due to physical trauma or labor. Birth injuries can be the result of negligent care during delivery. As such, they can sometimes be considered actionable malpractice.

Comparatively, a birth defect can develop during pregnancy, and it may be the result of environmental, genetic, or prenatal factors. Due to this, legal action in cases involving birth defects may be limited to a failure to diagnose or negligent prenatal care.  

Signs and Symptoms of Birth Injuries

Not all birth injuries are immediately obvious. Some signs and symptoms of birth injuries may appear days, weeks, or months after a child is born. They can vary in terms of severity and may be mistaken for normal newborn behavior.

Here are signs and symptoms of birth injuries to watch for:

• Unusual bruising or swelling
• Seizures
• Trouble breathing
• Difficulty feeding, such as problems sucking or swallowing
• Broken bones
• Delays in reaching age-appropriate milestones, like rolling over or sitting
• Vision or hearing issues

If you notice these or other signs or symptoms of a birth injury in your child, it may be a good idea to have your child evaluated by a pediatrician then reach out to a birth injury lawyer in Chicago. 

Long-Term Impact of Birth Injuries

Sadly, a birth injury can affect a child and their family for the rest of their lives. Below are some of the potential long-term effects of birth injuries on children and families:

• Cognitive and developmental issues: For a child, brain damage can lead to learning and intellectual disabilities. 
• Ongoing medical care: Hearing loss, vision loss, and other long-lasting health conditions can make it difficult for a child to live safely, comfortably, and independently. 
• Financial challenges: The costs of specialized therapies, medications, and medical equipment for a child can strain their family’s budget. 
• Emotional impact: The parents of a child with a birth injury may feel overwhelmed by the experience of having to continuously care for their child, making them increasingly prone to depression, anxiety, and feelings of guilt and resentment.  
• Caregiving demands: The need to care for a child into adulthood can disrupt a caregiver’s freedom to build a family life, pursue a career, and develop and grow personal relationships. 

Effective management of birth injuries is key, and it often involves a team of medical and support professionals who work together to support a child’s long-term needs.

How Our Birth Injury Attorneys Build Your Case

If you suspect that your child suffered as a result of the negligence of a nurse, doctor, hospital, or other provider, we encourage you to seek a consultation with us immediately. Our Chicago birth injury lawyers will go through the following medical malpractice lawsuit process to protect your rights: 

• Investigate what happened: We do not take a doctor’s word for what happened. Our birth injury lawyers will gather all data available to build a clear picture of who failed and what happened.
• Preserve evidence: By contacting us quickly, we can work to gather and preserve all evidence for your birth injury case. This can prove to be imperative in medical cases. Witnesses may no longer be available, or logs and medical records may go missing.
• Build a comprehensive claim: Our birth injury attorneys will look at all factors that impact your life and that of your child moving forward. This means really getting to know the extent of the injuries and the impact this incident will have on your child’s health, happiness, mental well-being, and overall quality of life.
• Negotiate a settlement: Nearly all of our birth injury cases settle out of court in favor of our clients. Our fierce negotiation strategies, coupled with our ability to build an evidence-based claim, allow us to be confident heading into your case.
• Fighting in a court of law: There are some situations where the insurance company is not fair. Expect our Chicago trial lawyers to go to work building a comprehensive birth injury case. We’ll represent you in court to get a resolution.

We treat every birth injury case with sharp focus and integrity. We know what is on the line, but we are not willing to settle too soon for too little. When you contact our Chicago birth injury attorney, you gain legal insight and support from the start and through your case.

Speak to a Birth Injury Lawyer in Chicago Today

Your future is different from what you expect. We want to fight for you and your loved ones to recover fair damages. Contact Taxman, Pollock & Bekkerman, and let our law firm’s Chicago birth injury attorneys become your advocates. We provide free case consultations and work on a contingency fee basis, so you never pay us upfront for any legal services.