Childbirth is an exciting event anticipated by hundreds of expectant parents in Illinois and elsewhere every day. However, the joy of a birth can quickly turn to fear and sadness when complications arise in the delivery process. A couple in another state experienced a devastating outcome when their doctor left the delivery room for an extended period of time, resulting in severe birth injuries to their newborn son.
Multi-million dollar settlement for infant's birth injuries
Parents of son with cerebral palsy awarded $14.5 million
Many mothers-to-be receive the drug Pitocin to induce labor in the late stages of their pregnancies. When labor doesn't begin naturally, physicians often choose this drug to move labor along. While the drug is often used successfully in Illinois and around the country, complications can arise. A situation in another state involving Pitocin led to a boy being born with cerebral palsy.
Delivery mistakes may warrant legal action in Illinois
Many Illinois parents-to-be anticipate the arrivals of their little ones with great excitement. Though some apprehension is normal, most deliveries go smoothly for many parents. However, there is a chance that delivery mistakes could be made, and parents could find themselves facing uncertainty as their infants suffer serious or even fatal injuries as a result.
Illinois parents may worry about birth injuries
Having a baby is often a joyous occasion for a family. However, that occasion could take a devastating turn if the child suffers birth injuries. If the parents of the child believe that negligence on the part of the doctor or other hospital staff led to these injuries, they may wish to consider filing a legal claim.
Army hospital to pay $9M for birth injuries suffered by child
When an Illinois woman goes into labor, she is trusting that the doctors attending to her know what they are doing and can handle any eventuality that might occur. If something happens that a doctor might not be able to handle alone, the family expects the doctor to bring in another physician in order to ensure that the mother and child are not harmed. If a doctor waits too long to ask for help, or fails to ask for help at all, birth injuries can occur to the mother and/or child.
Court allowed case of birth injuries to fetus to go forward
The issue of whether a fetus is a legal person if it is not able to live outside the womb is one that has been debated for a long time. This question most often surrounds the issue of abortion when it comes up in courts here in Illinois and around the country. However, that was not the case in a wrongful death claim filed by a couple whose fetus died from premature birth injuries.
Mother says child's birth injuries were caused by inattention
Fetal asphyxia is a condition in which a fetus has decreased oxygen levels (hypoxemia) and increased levels of carbon dioxide (hypercapnia). This can cause any number of serious birth injuries or even death. In Illinois and elsewhere, a failure to properly monitor a fetus in utero during the birth process can lead to this condition.
Hospital negligence can lead to dangerous medication errors
Many Illinois residents rely on medications to keep them healthy. The right dosage and/or medication is paramount in ensuring that patients receive the maximum benefit from a medication without suffering any adverse side effects. Medication errors caused by hospital negligence could literally put a patient's life in jeopardy.
Delivery mistakes can determine the course of a child's life
A great deal of debate exists between the concepts of nature vs. nurture when it comes to the kind of adult a child will become. One event that can forever shape the adult a child will become is the birthing process. If the medical staff attending to the mother and newborn makes delivery mistakes, the course of that child's life is altered from its first moments.
Illinois looks at delivery mistakes in another state
Expecting mothers in Illinois may want to pay attention to a case that has made headlines in another state. A state senator is being sued due to an alleged medical malpractice case in July 2013. According to court documents, this doctor was in charge when a woman's labor was induced. Delivery mistakes were made that caused the woman to develop a MRSA infection. She was treated for the infection and sent home under the care of a separate home health care facility.
