Rockford Birth Injury Lawyers
Our attorneys are experienced in birth defects, birth injuries, wrongful birth claims, and lawsuits.
Injuries at birth can be under personal injury, malpractice claim, and cross over into other areas of personal injury law.
If you’ve experienced complications at birth that you feel could have been prevented, please contact us.
Our lawyers serve Rockford, Illinois, and the surrounding areas.
Birth Injury Law
Most birth-related lawsuits or claims are a result of medical negligence from a medical provider. The negligence can happen at the hospital, by the doctor, or by the medical staff. Common claims we experience are:
- Birth Injury: Injuries to the mother or baby during delivery or pregnancy
- Wrongful Birth: Misdiagnosis of birth defects where the parent would have avoided or ended a pregnancy
- Birth Defect: Issues arising due to misdiagnosis or neglect from a third party (chemical exposure)
Each type of claim can have its own set of rules and regulations that need to be adhered to. It’s important that you bring in a birth injury lawyer who can guide you as soon as possible.
What is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury can happen to the mother and/or baby. This can also be referred to as birth trauma. Birth injuries can be natural or can be the cause of negligence by a medical provider.
When a birth injury is natural in nature there isn’t much a lawsuit or claim will do. However, it’s worth checking with a lawyer to make sure what you think might be natural isn’t an accident that could have been prevented. Attorneys with experience can ask the right questions to see if there is more investigation needed.
Read more about natural birth injuries here – Stanford Children’s Health, Birth Injuries
However, when a birth injury could have been prevented is when you’ll want to contact a birth injury attorney. Most birth injury claims that aren’t natural will fall under medical malpractice law. It has to be clear that negligence from a medical professional leads to birth injury. This happens when the medical care falls below what would be considered standard.
Read more about what’s considered medical malpractice and the 4 Ds of medical negligence.
What is Wrongful Birth?
Wrongful birth claims happen when parents discover birth defects and those birth defects should have been known during initial diagnosis. Wrongful birth claims are medical malpractice claims against health professionals for negligent diagnosis.
Providers have a duty to inform mothers of any potential risks they find. If the health care provider had done a better job diagnosing potential birth defects the parents would have more information to make a better decision. The parents could have chosen not to have children, or terminate the pregnancy to avoid any chances of birth defects.
Generally, the compensations for a wrongful birth are to offset the expenses involved when caring for a child and their birth defect. These expenses are not only limited to medical services but can apply to expenses with school or other daily life activities.
Wrongful Life
Wrongful life claims are similar to wrongful birth but are brought on by the child who suffers from a birth defect. It is a similar claim as there has to be an argument that the medical provider was negligent and with adequate information the parents would have made other choices.
What is a Birth Defect Claim and How is it Different From a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is a n injury to the mother or baby during pregnancy or delivery.
A birth defect claim is against a medical professional for misdiagnosing or missing important information or to a third party that may have exposed the mother and baby to chemicals.
Birth defect claims are similar in nature to wrongful births. There needs to be proof that any reasonable medical provider would have reported the information, but yours didn’t.
Statute of Limitations for Birth-Related Claims
Illinois sets a time limit of two years to file medical malpractice claims. However, the “discovery date” can be the start of the two-year time limit also. In most cases, this two-year time limit, known as a “statute of limitations,” begins to run on the date of the accident. However, a statute of limitations might start from the date that you discovered you were injured, rather than the date of the event that injured you. This later date is known as a “discovery date.”
Contact a Birth Injury Attorney for Help, Right Here in Rockford
Rockford Personal Injury Lawyers work with medical cases frequently. We have medical professionals we contact on a regular basis to help us determine the legality of your case. We’re familiar with medical claims and can help guide you on what you can do next.
We service Rockford and the surrounding areas. But if you’re not close we have legal contacts all over Illinois. For an in-depth, free, and thorough consultation, please call or text message us 24/7/365 at (815) 964-8303 or e-mail us at contact@rockfordpersonalinjuryattorney.com 24/7/365.