Fractures

Birth Injury Lawyers Assisting Chicago Families

Medical staff or doctors sometimes cause physical injuries to an infant who is being delivered in a traumatic or difficult birth. Although the incidence of these injuries is reduced by an increasing use of C-sections, rather than vacuum extraction or use of forceps, they still happen. Traumatic deliveries resulting in fractures are more likely when a mother has a small pelvis, an infant is large for his or her gestational age, or there is an abnormal presentation of the fetus. Some fractures heal quickly, but others can have life-changing effects. At Moll Law Group, our experienced Chicago birth injury attorneys are available to represent you in a claim or lawsuit for compensation if your baby sustains fractures while being born.

Liability for Fractures during the Childbirth Process

Midclavicular fractures are the most common types of fractures associated with labor. They can be the result of shoulder dystocia or a normal delivery. Sometimes these fractures heal quickly and without further incident. The infant's arm will need to be immobilized for 14 days using his or her shirtsleeve. However, there are fractures that can be more difficult to treat, and in some cases a misdiagnosed clavicle fracture can lead to nerve damage, sensitivity, pain, limited mobility in an arm, and long-term numbness. Complications may necessitate surgeries to repair the damage. Also commonly fractured in difficult deliveries are the humerus and the femur.

In order to recover compensation in a birth injury case, you will have the burden of proving the applicable standard of care and a breach of the standard of care by the doctor or other health care professional. You would need to show that the breach caused the fracture and that but for the doctor's failure to abide by the standard of care, the baby would not have been injured. Birth injury cases can be complex, and it is important to retain an attorney who works with credible experts who can testify about the standard of care and causation.

Physicians may defend these cases on a number of grounds, including on the grounds that there was no doctor-patient relationship due to an emergency situation, there was no deviation from the applicable standard of care, or the doctor's negligence did not cause the fracture. In some cases, there is more than one accepted standard of care, and the choice of approach is left up to a doctor's judgment. If a doctor chooses an approach that was reasonable given the circumstances, but a fracture results, the approach may not be considered a negligent error.

Families who successfully establish a birth injury case may be entitled to compensation for economic and noneconomic harms. A baby as well as his or her parents may be able to recover compensation for pain and suffering, physical disability, lost future wages, and emotional distress.

Consult a Chicago Attorney for Your Birth Injury Case

If your doctor's negligence during labor results in your baby sustaining fractures or complications arising out of misdiagnosed fractures, you may be facing some significant expenses. The Chicago lawyers at Moll Law Group are available to help you pursue compensation. We represent families in Schaumburg, Naperville, Wheaton, and communities throughout Cook County. Billions of dollars have been recovered in cases in which our firm has been involved. Contact us online or call us at 312-462-1700 to schedule a free consultation with a medical malpractice attorney.