Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
Birth Injuries in Illinois
Findgreatlawyers.com is a free service to help people find a lawyer or receive legal guidance in Illinois for any legal matter including birth injuries that arise from medical malpractice. If you would like our help please complete our contact us form or call us at (312) 346-5320.
Birth injuries result from a complication in the process of delivery or labor. While often unavoidable, birth injuries can also be caused by negligence. A doctor's negligence can result from the use of an improper medical technique or through improper use of a medical device, among other things. In Illinois, when it is proven that your baby's birth injury was caused by the negligence of your doctor, you may have the right to recover damages.
Some common examples of birth injuries include cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy (shoulder injury, usually from failure to do a c-section) and other brain injuries that are usually associated with either a "rough delivery" or a failure to deliver a baby on time resulting in loss of oxygen to the baby's brain.
In general, negligence is proven by establishing that the doctor's conduct fell below the generally accepted standard of care. To establish the standard that should be applied to your case, your attorney will present testimony of a medical expert. In order for you to recover, this expert will have to not only testify that the standard of care is applicable to your case, but also that your doctor fell below that standard and that this failure was the cause of the birth injury. For more information about expert testimony, click here. Medical malpractice cases are challenging, and expert testimony plays a crucial role in your right to recovery.
If you are a parent who believes your child's birth injury was caused by her doctor's negligence, it is important that you have an attorney to present your case. It is even more important that you have an attorney with a track record of success in birth injury cases. An Attorney who:
- Knows who the best expert witnesses are
- Knows which expert witness should present testimony in your case
- Has a track record of success
- Can predict the likely outcome of success
- Has handled scores of these types of cases
In most cases, a birth injury lawsuit in Illinois has to be filed within eight years from the date of the delivery. There are some possible exceptions to this that could make the time limits longer or shorter, but in general if you think a birth injury was caused by negligence on part of a doctor, nurse or hospital you should seek a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. If you wait too long it could bar your right to ever pursue a case.