Doctors will often tell parents that their child’s cerebral palsy was caused by unavoidable factors such as genetic abnormalities, defects in brain development or an infection in the amniotic sac. In many cases this is true. However, sometimes the doctor’s own negligent actions were the true cause.
At Cirignani Heller & Harman, LLP, we know too much about medicine and the law to let doctors get away with this misrepresentation. At our Chicago, Illinois, law firm, our physician-lawyers are well versed in all the causes of cerebral palsy, and we can ferret out what actually happened.
Our knowledge and extensive experience in cerebral palsy cases allow us to demonstrate to juries how doctors’ negligence contributed to a child’s CP. We drive home the message that medical providers must be held accountable for causing disabling brain injuries.
There are many ways that doctors’ medical malpractice can cause cerebral palsy:
- Failure to have necessary personnel immediately available in high-risk situations. These would include neonatologists and anesthesiologists. A hospital without such personnel or one without a neo-natal intensive care may be an inappropriate place for some deliveries.
- Failure to perform a C-section when one is needed
- Allowing labor to continue too long without intervention
- Failure to diagnose and treat brain infections
- Negligent vacuum extraction
- Negligent use of forceps
- Failure to monitor for oxygen deprivation and fetal distress
These errors can occur at almost any time during the pregnancy, labor or delivery. The newborn can also be injured by a doctor’s actions directly after the birth. In many cases, we hold the doctors accountable. But we also examine liability on the part of other health care providers: nurses, midwives, physician’s assistants and the hospitals that employ them.
We compare these providers’ actions against the standard of care, reviewing how their actions differed from other providers’ actions in similar situations. For a free case review by an attorney who is also a medical doctor, contact us at (312) 346-8700. You may also contact us online.
