In a medical malpractice case filed on December 6, 2013 in the Circuit Court of Cook County (Illinois), the parents of a newborn allege that their baby suffered severe hypoxic ischemia due to lack of oxygen, hemorrhaging, and hydrocephalus, and has cerebral palsy, allegedly as a result of the medical malpractice defendants’ negligent failure to recognize the signs of fetal distress during delivery and their failure to take appropriate and timely actions in response to the fetal distress.
The cerebral palsy birth injury medical malpractice case was filed against the University of Illinois Medical Center, which is part of the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System, as well as the physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who took part in the baby’s delivery. The malpractice case alleges that the defendants failed to properly assess and manage the mother’s high risk pregnancy, including their failure to timely perform a Cesarean section delivery that the plaintiffs allege would have prevented their baby from being catastrophically injured.
The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit alleges three causes of action: negligence-medical malpractice, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and a claim under the Family Expense Act (the Rights of Married Persons Act, 750 ILCS 65/), for the child’s future medical expenses.
The specific medical malpractice allegations against the defendants include their failure to warn the mother of the risks of prolonged labor, fetal distress, and oxygen deprivation; their failure to perform a timely Cesarean section delivery to avoid the baby’s injuries; their failure to recognize and take the appropriate action to manage a non-reassuring fetal heart rate observed during labor; their failure to advise the mother about the increased risk of hypoxia and brain damage to the baby and by not allowing the mother to choose to have a Cesarean section delivery; and, by the defendants allowing inexperienced health care professionals to assist in the delivery of the baby.
The plaintiffs’ medical malpractice lawsuit seeks compensatory damages in excess of $50,000, for the pain, suffering, and disability of the child; the child’s permanent neurological impairment and emotional trauma; the child’s lifetime loss of earnings and earning capacity; and, the continuing and future medical, rehabilitative, and other pecuniary expenses.
About 70% of brain damage that causes cerebral palsy occurs prior to birth, most often in the second and third trimesters. About 20% occurs during the birthing process. Cerebral palsy is not a hereditary condition but hereditary factors can predispose someone to cerebral palsy. Congenital cerebral palsy represent 70% of all cerebral palsy (congenital cerebral palsy means that the child was born with the condition even though it may not be detected for months or years).
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, negligent medical care may have caused or contributed to the condition. You should promptly seek the legal advice of a medical malpractice attorney in your state who may investigate whether medical malpractice caused cerebral palsy in your child and who may represent you in a cerebral palsy medical malpractice claim, if appropriate.
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