Chicago Brain Injury Lawyer Blog

The Yale Daily News published an article this week that caught the eye of our Chicago brain injury lawyers about new information regarding brain development. As blog readers know, this is an exciting time for all those working in fields related to brain injuries, because new information about the workings of the brain are just now slowly being unraveled. For the longest time, there was essentially little to no information available about the most complex issues of brain functioning and development. That is changing.

Yale researchers recently released information on a new study which discovered information about how the nervous system linking the eyes and brain develop in new babies. The research, published last month in the journal Nature Neuroscience, found that brain development is actually affected even while the child is in the womb from immature neural circuits. This affects how the child builds connection between the eyes and brain. This means that even when the eyes of the unborn baby are closed, they still produce messages which are sent to the brain helping to ensure that the wiring system of the child develops correctly. This discovery was reached, as is often the case in brain research, through use of newborn mice.

The lead researchers summarized by explaining that, “There was speculation based on theories about how activity might shape brain development, but nobody has previously manipulated the temporal pattern of activity in the two eyes in vivo, and examined the consequence on brain wiring.”

Involved researchers explained that the development of neural circuits between the eyes and brain is similar to that of other systems including the spinal cord and other parts of the brain. This means that similar in vitro activities may play a role in overall development.

All of these developments may impact brain injury lawsuits. Here’s how…

For one thing, when one suffers an injury that affects their brain, a lawsuit is only implicated when another party acted negligently which contributed to that brain injury. Negligence is based on a reasonableness standard which takes into account the information that was (or should have been known) to the individual involved. The more that medical professionals learn about these brain issues (and the more that the information becomes common knowledge among professionals), the standard of reasonableness is influenced. Doctors will be required to take this information into account and may be held responsible for failing to prevent preventable injuries if they do not take the information into account.

In addition, these advances will—hopefully—lead to improvements in treatment options for brain injury victims. When a brain injury lawsuit is filed and won, the damage portion of the case includes evaluation of a wide range of issues, including the help that the victim will need in the future, the cost of that aid, and the long-term consequences. Increased knowledge about brain injury recovery will therefore factor into damage assessments in brain injury cases. A brain injury lawyer could see how advances could both lower awards or increase them. If certain harm can be reversed, the awards for long-term harm might be lessened. Conversely, families will more readily ask for increased awards to ensure that they actually have the funds they need to access these new treatment options.

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Simple Heart Defect Screenings May Save Infant Lives

New Research Gives Hope to Those Seeking Cerebral Palsy Prevention

When an Illinois brain injury at birth occurs and results in a brain accident lawsuit, in many more cases than not the problem is rooted in misconduct that occurs in a few crucial moments before the new addition is officially born. These cases always seem painfully tragic, because they represent cases where a child developed normally for nine months only to have a lifetime problem develop just before entering the world. Families dealing with these situations often rightfully feel heartbroken that their loved one will be forced to deal with a wide range of problems.

Fortunately, more and more information is being learned each and every day by medical researchers which shed light on the specific actions that do and do not cause these injuries to develop. For example, Reuters discussed this week new evidence that suggest forceps use may be crucial in helping keep babies safe. When a mother is undergoing a difficult childbirth, the doctor often has a few options on the table when deciding how to handle the problem. One of those choices is between use of old-fashioned forceps to help in extraction versus vacuum deliveries. In addition, C-sections are also an option when significant emergencies arise that require the baby be extracted immediately.

Over the past few years forceps use has fallen out of favor, and vacuum and C-section deliveries have increased. These trends may be misguided, ultimately leading to more newborn seizures and brain injuries than necessary. A researcher at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine explained that the increased use of vacuum deliveries and C-sections is surprising, considering that there is little to no evidence that these methods of birth are safer in most circumstances. In fact, for some births, the opposite might be true. The researcher and his team studied more than 400,000 births and found that those with deliveries using forceps were forty five percent less likely to have an infant brain injury result when compared with vacuum pump and C-section births. These injuries are often caused by seizures. However, there was one caveat: C-sections seemed to minimize the risk of certain bleeding around the brain—known as subdural hemorrhages.

The doctor explained that birth seizures are usually caused by oxygen deprivation. In many situations, the child can be born quicker using forceps that with a vacuum pump or via C-section. The quicker that the child is born, the sooner that medical professionals can take emergency action to restore proper oxygen flow to the young brain. In this way, the injuries may more often be prevented. At the end of the day, the doctors involved believe that patients should discuss all options with their doctor and that a plan be in place ahead of time. That way, if an emergency situation arises, there will be less confusion on the steps that need to be taken. Unfortunately, the situations that result in significant (and preventable) harm to children are those where no plan was in place ahead of time. Many doctors then fail to act properly (or quickly) leading to brain damage and lifetime harm to the child.

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Hypothermia Treatment for Lack of Oxygen Birth Injuries

Illinois Birth Injury Lawsuit Settles for Over $15 Million

Premature births have long presented medical professionals with problems. Over the years experts have made tremendous advances in care such that children born earlier and earlier (and smaller and smaller) are kept alive. However, they have had less success ensuring that those children do not develop birth injuries following their early delivery. In many cases, damage is done to the children that can’t be prevented or repaired. In most cases those premature birth injuries involve damage to the young child’s brain. Medical professionals have long been behooved by brain development both for children in utero and in the early stages of their lives. Fortunately, encouraging medical advances continue to be made that may ultimately prove to have tremendously positive benefits for prematurely born infants and their families.

According to experts, this new knowledge will hopefully prevent premature infant injuries like cerebral palsy, epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a multitude of similar conditions. Every year more than sixty thousand extremely premature infants are born weighing less than 3.3 pounds. Thanks to medical advances, the vast majority of those infants will survive, but many of them will experiencebrain injuries that will affect the rest of their lives. Hopefully that will soon change.
National Public Radio News published an article this week, for example, discussing the ways that scientists are better understanding how these brain injuries develop. According to the article the latest information was explained by the involved researchers in a Washington D.C. meeting this week for the Society for Neuroscience. It has long been known that oxygen deprivation in the first hours and days after birth is the single biggest cause of premature infant brain injuries. Brain white matter—specifically myelin—is damaged without sufficient levels of oxygen. White matter is often referred to as the “communication highway” of the brain, as it is critical in messages being sent from the brain to other parts of the body. When a child is premature, their lungs are insufficiently developed, making it difficult for the tiny lungs to deliver as much oxygen as needed to the brain. This deficiency is not solved even when mechanical breathing devices are used to get more oxygen to the brain.

Part of the problem at finding a fix was that scientists were not exactly clear how the myelin damaged developed. Yet, that has changed as a new MRI scanner incubator system has been developed which allows doctors to understand the white matter injury in more detail. Many researchers now believe that these new developments will ultimately make it possible for researchers to figure out ways to prevent the damage. There are already a few options on the table which may prove promising. Each prevention measure revolves around quick action immediately upon the birth of the premature baby. One researcher noted, “There is a critical developmental time window right after birth. If development is disturbed during this critical time window then the brain doesn’t catch up.” If doctors intervene at that point, then the damage never occur. The intervention can take many forms, from drugs, to magnetic stimulation in certain areas of the brain, to lowering the infant’s body temperature. More research is needed to provide more specific information about the efficacy of any of these methods.

Our Chicago brain injury lawyers will be closely following these brain research developments. No personal injuries are as devastating as those involving young children, because they are often affected throughout their entire lives. All advances that will spare these victims should be pursued diligently and as timely as possible.

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Birth Injury Lawsuit Against Midwife Settles for $730,000

Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Filed After Pregnancy Complications Leads to Deadly Blood Infection

Our Chicago brain injury attorneys have often shared information about many serious brain issues that can affect newborns, such as cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is not a specific condition, but it is instead a catch-all term used to describe a variety of problems caused by brain problems—virtually all areas of functioning is affected by the problem. When an infant suffers this brain damage, their life is unquestionably altered forever. The seriousness of the problem makes it obvious that everything possible should be done to prevent these injury from arising. Failure on the part of medical professionals to prevent a brain injury from developing at birth is generally grounds for a lawsuit. The civil justice provides an avenue by which the victims and their families can have accountability.

Through the years our attorneys have helped many families file Illinois medical malpractice lawsuits after their young children have developed a preventable brain injury because inadequate care was providing by their medical professionals. Demanding accountability has helped these families ensure that their children have the resources they need to get by each day. Yet, all families, if given the choice would certainly have preferred for their young child to never have developed the brain condition in the first place.

Prevention is always preferable. That is why medical researchers are working to develop new ways to protect children from the often degenerative effects of brain injuries. In fact, just today a new story was shared that information development in efforts to help victims of childbirth brain injuries (like cerebral palsy) as well a variety of other brain issues. Medical Express published the story today, explaining how scientists have recently been halted the development of cerebral palsy-like brain damage in a group of test mice. Washington University School of Medicine researchers conducted the study, using a protein to stop the spread of brain deterioration in the test animals with head injuries.

Specifically, the professionals used a protein known as Nmnat1 to protect brains in mice in a test designed to mimic brain development in newborns. The protein was tested by genetically engineering certain mice to produce an abnormal amount of it. Then, the scientist waited and compared the level of brain deterioration between control mice and those in larger quantities of Nmat1. The beneficial results were seen right away. After only six hours, those mice with enhanced protein levels had noticeably less brain damage when compared to those with normal levels of the protein. The long-term benefits were similarly strong. After a week, the engineered mice experienced less damage to brain areas which usually lead to cerebral palsy problems. The benefits of Nmat1 may certainly help prevent cerebral palsy. But that is just the beginning. The research may ultimately help medical professionals prevent deterioration in a wide range of brain degeneration situations—such as those following strokes and in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s patients.

Of course, the medical research represents just the beginning of understanding the protein’s role in preventing brain damage. Those involved with the study are not yet sure why the protein works. More research will be needed to pin down an answer to that question. Currently, they are speculating that it work by inhibiting a powerful neurotransmitter known as glutamate. When a brain cell is damaged it produced glutamate. That production often over stimulates nearby brain cells, ultimately killing them. In this way, brain damage often gets worse. However, if the protein is capable of inhibiting glutamate, then the degeneration may be halted. This may have profound implications for all those who suffer from brain damage. Our Illinois injury attorneys know that even though there remain work to be done on these issues, this latest research is a very positive development which may ultimately prevent harm and improve lives of area residents.

In Other News: Two of our companion blogs--The Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog and Illinois Injury Lawyer Blog--were nominated for inclusion as one of the Top 25 Tort Blogs of 2011. The award is part of the LexisNexis project which seeks to feature blogs that set the standard in certain practice areas and industries. The voting to narrow down the field is currently underway, and we would love to have your vote. All you have to do is add a comment at the end of the post about the Top 25 bogs.

Please Follow This Link To Vote: Vote for Our Blog. Thanks for your support!

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Understanding Cerebral Palsy

Birth Injuries Often Have Lifelong Consequences

Our Chicago brain injury lawyers are very familiar with the well-known developmental brain disorder known as autism. Over the past several decades awareness about the many variations of this condition has increased steadily. More and more families continue to be affected by the brain condition, leading many researchers scrambling to better understand what causes it and how it can be prevented. According to PubMed Health, autism affects the development of the brain areas that control social and communication skills. As a result, symptoms are usually not seen until social and communication skills are first noticed, when children are one and a half to three years old. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that autism is more commonly found in males than females, with upwards of four times as many boys suffering than girls.

Medical researchers are actively working to nail down the causes but as of yet nothing conclusive has been proven. It is known, however, that abnormal brain biology and brain chemistry functions are involved. Most suspect that a range of other factors combine to create the disorder. For one thing, genetics seem to play some role. Studies examining twins have found that identical twins are far more likely than fraternal twins or siblings to experience autism. Researchers have a variety of studies underway aimed at better understanding the various other causes of autism.

For example, this week the Health Jockey discussed a new study on the topics which was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research involved the effect of anti-depressants given during brain developmental stages on the resulting offspring. Down the road the results may lead to changes in the medications taken by expecting mothers or mothers trying to have a baby. The research was a joint effort between researchers at the University of Mississippi Centre and University of California. What they found was that rats which were given certain anti-depressants during particular phases of brain development eventually displayed problems like those faced by those suffering from autism. The drugs in question are known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). One of the researchers involved in this latest effort believes that taking these during conception may increase risk of autism development. However, it is too early to yet make any concrete determinations.

To arrive at these results, the study used nearly 200 rats, exposing them to SSRIs during certain periods of brain development which would be similar to the first trimester and infancy of a human. The drug treatments lasted for two weeks, beginning eight days after their birth. The rats were then monitored and compared with a control group to determine the consequences of the drug use. That observation revealed that those rats given the SSRIs were less social and less playful than the control group counterparts. Also, this effect was more commonly seen in male rats—suggestive of the same characteristics of autism in humans. While encouraging, this research is just the tip of the iceberg. Those involved explained that “this study is a starting point and a lot more research needs to be done.” The next step, say the researchers, is examining human SSRI use. In particular, researchers plan on analyzing possible consequences of these drug uses in certain doses and at certain times to determine if any connection to brain problems, such as autism, can be seen.

Our Chicago personal injury attorneys our proud to help individuals and families who have suffered harm in a variety of ways, from car accidents and medical malpractice to birth injuries and preventable brain accidents. Obviously not all injuries are the result of the preventable negligence of others. Yet, sadly in many more cases than most realize, if others had acted carefully on the road, in the hospital room, or elsewhere, a particularly serious injury may have been avoided. Also, as medical knowledge grows and more information is discovered related to the causes of certain problems, including developmental brain injuries like autism, then it will become necessary for those in a position to prevent the resultant harm take steps which may help lower the risk of the problem occurring.

If at any time you or a loved one suspects that they have not received the care to which you were entitled which may have prevents injury to you or a new child, please get in touch with our office to learn how we can help.

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The Connection Between Birth Defects and Antidepressants

Birth Injuries – Could There Be a Link to Autism?

Obviously when a local child suffers an Illinois brain injury there will be consequences. The brain is the most complex organ in the body, and it plays a role in so many different, basic human functions. Therefore, when a brain injury occurs the child will likely have certain problems with mobility, sight, hearing, thinking, communicating, and other issues. These lifelong problems will also often come with the need for close and costly medical care. The losses suffered by these victims and the cost of those losses are why brain injury lawsuits can result in significant verdicts for the families involved.

New research has recently been published which adds a new perspective to discussions about the losses suffered by brain injury victims. While perhaps only reflecting what was assumed by most anyway, a new study published yesterday in Pediatrics magazine reported that children who suffered moderate to severe traumatic brain injuries have a considerable reduction in their quality of life. The “quality of life” measurement was quantified based on the functioning level of the child victims. The research was conducted by medical professionals from the University of Washington. Those involved measured the progress of nearly 730 children who had suffered from a traumatic brain injury and nearly 200 children who had suffered an arm injury. They then measured the adaptive skills, participation in social and community activities, and similar measurements along with the actual function progress.

Overall the researchers found that those children who had suffered a brain injury had significantly lower scores on all quality of life measurements when compared with baseline numbers. Some improvement occurred during the first two or three years after they suffered injury, but that improvement leveled off and their quality of life remained lower than that of their counterparts. Doctors involved explained that the communication and self-care challenges were particularly harmful for victims, with many of these issues never being resolved, even years after the injury. The study’s authors wrote that “further efforts to understand the reasons for persistent symptoms and to develop effective treatments might be needed.”

Overall, this study arrived upon findings that our Illinois traumatic brain injury attorneys would have assumed already based on our decades working for families whose children suffered preventable brain injuries. While functioning problems and quality of life are not synonymous, there are obviously very strong connections. For one thing, the social ramifications of brain injuries are significant. Every interaction with other human beings requires a complex range of abilities, from being able to actually speak and understand the words being spoken to recognizing facial expressions and understanding abstract ideas being shared. All of those processes can be, and often are, impaired by a brain injury. Therefore, these victims often lose the ability to connect with their loved ones in the same way they would have without the injury. Relationships lie at the heart of quality of life data, and so injuries that affect human relationships (such as those impacting the brain) clearly lead to a decreased quality of life.

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Lawsuit Filed After Inmate Suffers Brain Injury

New Technology Aims to Help Victims of Traumatic Brain Injuries

Illinois brain injuries can be caused because by a variety of situations, often from a car accident or a slip and fall. At other times, the brain trouble could arise as a result of a birth injury. One of the more well-known brain injuries that can be developed because of mistakes made at birth is cerebral palsy. Our Chicago brain injury lawyers continue to help many families whose children have developed cerebral palsy because preventable mistakes were made by healthcare workers. Many misconceptions remain about cerebral palsy, and many community members are not sure what the condition actually consists of. Contrary to popular perception, cerebral palsy is not a single problem, but it is a group of disorders affecting the brain and nervous system. Suffers often have sensory problems which affect their ability to hear, see, move, learn, and think. The National Center for Biotechnology explains that victims are most commonly identified by their muscular problems, spanning the spectrum from trouble with fine motor skills to an inability to walk.

While cerebral palsy often develops at birth, it can actually arise while the child is still in the womb or after they are already born. Brain infections, bleeding on the brain, severe head trauma, severe jaundice and other problems can lead to cerebral palsy in the early stages of infancy. The birth injury cause of the condition often arises when a baby is born in the breech position. In this situation, the child may experiences umbilical cord prolapse—a compression of the umbilical cord that cuts off blood flow and oxygen to the brain.

Professionals in the area often explain that there are three main types of cerebral palsy. First, ataxis cerebral palsy is a version that causes the afflicted to have muscle tone problems; this results is unstable or shaky movements. The choreoathetoid version of the condition is characterized by spontaneous movements of the trunk, limb, and face muscles. The third type is known as spastic cerebral palsy. It is by far the most common form, constituting over 70% of cerebral palsy sufferers. Spastic cerebral palsy victims have severe mobility problems caused by stiffness in the muscles. These three versions of the condition are often used for ease of understanding but other, rare versions also exist.

Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for cerebral palsy. Recently, however, there have been a few medical advances that offer encouraging hope to those wishing for a fix. In one high-profile case, a four year old girl suffering from cerebral palsy saw vast improvement after she received an injection of her own stem cells which were taken from her umbilical cord shortly after her own birth. Her family explains that she was able to walk, talk, and interact significantly better following the injection.

Through the years as our Illinois cerebral palsy lawyers have worked with families facing this condition, we have come to appreciate the immense costs faced by victims. Most sufferers require around the clock specialize care to ensure that they receive the aid they need. Because the condition arises at birth or in infancy, those costs must be borne over a lifetime. Obviously, it is only a very rare family that has the personal resources to pay for those staggering medical costs. Most are instead require to use public programs for assistance. In other cases, when the brain injury was caused by a mistake by medical professionals that should have been prevented, families are capable of receiving assistance from the wrongdoer for the costs of the care.

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Hypothermia Treatment for Lack of Oxygen Birth Injuries

Illinois Birth Injury Lawsuit Settles for Over $15 Million

Many families have had their lives turned upside down when their young children suffer a childbirth brain injury. Those in our area have not been spared, as our Illinois brain injury attorneys have met many families over the years working through the complications caused by these problems. Understandably many families are lest devastated in the aftermath of these accidents, particularly when they results the death of a loved one. Fortunately, some families are able to work through these tragedies and try to create something positive out of the situation.

An article last month in the Lower Hudson News shared the story of a set of parents that did just that after they lost their young son to a brain injury. This particular family found their lives turned upside down eleven years ago when their son was born with severe brain damage. The child’s mothers explained that the injury was caused by problems during the birth of the child. The infant had oxygen deprived form his brain because of the birth problems, and that deprivation led to the brain damage. This is one of the most common ways that children are afflicted with brain injuries. The damage to this child was of such a severity that his life was in jeopardy essentially from the moment he was born. Unfortunately, the boy was ultimately not able to survive the brain damage; he died eight months after his birth. The family was understandably devastated by the loss.

The boy’s parents decided not to let the loss of their son become dominated by sadness. Instead, they created a foundation to help others in their son’s name. Since its creation the foundation has attracted a variety of supporters who have donated time and money to the cause. As a result, they have been able to provide more than $500,000 to local charities that help young children. Many families whose young children suffer brain injuries are faced with tremendous medical and caregiving costs. When close care must be provided through the life of one of these victims it is not uncommon for the costs to actually reach into the millions. To help ease the burden for some, the foundation has provided assistance such as buying a therapeutic gym for infants with brain damage and providing special equipment for those who have trouble communicating and with mobility issues. In addition, the foundation has an educational component that seeks to spread information about the causes of some brain injuries, particularly those that arise because of complications during childbirth.

Continue reading "Family Donates Funds to Help Victims After Infant Suffers Brain Injury" »

Illinois brain injuries can affect individuals of all ages. However, permanent brain trauma disproportionately affects newborn babies, often caused by problems during the birth of the infant. Chicago newborn brain injuries are particularly harmful, because they often result in problems for the children that are permanent. When a young child suffers brain trauma their lives are often affected forever, requiring additional medical and physical assistance indefinitely. It remains vital for every step possible to be undertaken to limit and prevent these accidents affecting our youngest. Part of that task includes learning as much as possible about these accidents so that they can be expected, prevented, and treated properly if necessary.

A new story from the Digital Journal highlighted the efforts of medical researchers to examine the causes and best prevention methods for newborn brain injuries. The new data led by a doctor out of Denver is being touted as the first of its kind to focus specifically on these forms of head injury. The research is long overdue, considering that the trauma connected to childbirth significantly increases the risk of these children suffering a brain injury which might affect their long-term physical and mental development. As it now stands, roughly six in a thousand infants are affected by a brain injury. The new research was targeted at lowering that number by examining information about changes in the mother’s blood before and after birth.

The researcher believes that potential causes of these injuries are blood abnormalities or inflammation. To target this possibility, the doctors involved are taking their blood samples and looking at blood cord and placenta data. Depending on what is ultimately uncovered, the research may have expansive long-term consequences. For example, if the data shows that some delivery methods or birthing procedures influence these blood abnormalities and ultimately the risk presented to the new children, then it may be necessary for those long-standing practices to change. There is no reason why popular notions about the delivery process are guaranteed to be the best to ensure the health and well-being of the children and the mother.

Part of the obligation of medical professionals is keeping abreast of new information and developments in the field about the best way to do their job. Of course it remains inadequate for doctors to stop learning following medical school—patients deserve to receive care up to the current standards and understandings. Therefore, it remains important for all those who help in the delivery process to be aware of this and all information that might prevent young children from developing brain injuries. Unfortunately, some medical professionals make mistakes that have permanent impacts on the young children that they delivery.

Continue reading "New Study Seeks to Analyze Newborn Brain Injuries" »

Our Chicago brain injury attorneys recently learned of a lawsuit that was filed against a company that makes a certain type of alcohol prep pads that were used on a baby that likely left the baby with severe brain damage. According to About Lawsuits, the brain injury lawsuit alleges that one of the family’s twin boys developed cerebral palsy as a result of bacteria that was on the alcohol prep pads that were used when the baby was born and placed in the neonatal unit after birth. The baby developed a severe brain injury and he is not able to eat, walk or talk. The family was not originally aware of what had caused the brain injury that led to cerebral palsy, and because of this they filed the lawsuit against the hospital for malpractice leading to the baby developing cerebral palsy and the lawsuit did not originally name the company that produced the prep pads as a defendant.

While it was clear that the baby developed cerebral palsy from some sort of infection, the family, the hospital, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention could not figure out where the newborn was exposed to the bacteria. It was not until the prep pad company recalled the pads very recently that everyone involved realized that it was likely that is where the baby developed the infection. While there is no direct evidence that the contaminated pads were used on the baby, the hospital was using the same pads that were recently recalled by the company at the time the baby developed the infection. However, while both babies were in the neonatal unit at the same time, only one of the twins developed the brain infection while in the hospital. It is unknown if the same pads were used on both of the newborns.

The bacteria caused the portions of the newborn baby’s brain to be seriously damaged, which led him to develop cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a broad term that encompasses many types of brain injuries to the motor control centers of the brain, which can lead to very severe and permanent developmental disabilities. While cerebral palsy brain injuries can occur without negligence on the part of anyone, it is also terrible when it develops as a result of someone’s or of a company’s negligence. In this case, the company seems to have acted negligently in some part of the manufacturing process, as a large number of their alcohol prep pads were contaminated with this dangerous bacteria. While all companies need to be cautious and thorough in their testing, it is especially important that companies producing medical supplies make sure that they use extreme caution when they test their products so they do not end up exposing the people using their products to further injury.

If you or a loved one was injured as a result of the negligence on the part of a company whose product you used, or believe that the product may have led to your injury please call our Illinois personal injury law firm to discuss your case and what options may be available.

As we have often discussed on this blog, each day children are born with the often debilitating muscle disorder known as cerebral palsy. Sadly, many of those infants could have avoided acquiring the birth injury if only the medical professionals involved in their delivery would have acted consistent with recognized medical standards.

Cerebral palsy is a muscle disorder—affecting muscle tone, posture, and movement. Signs of the problem appear very early on in an infant’s life. There remain varieties of possible causes, but several of those causes original during childbirth itself. Far too often medical practitioners use inadequate procedures, causing a child to develop cerebral palsy.

That appears to be the case in a new brain injury lawsuit that was recently reported on in the St. Petersburg Times. A family is suing the Bayfront Medical Center after their infant was born blind and with cerebral palsy. According to the suit, the doctors used a device known as a vacuum extractor to essentially pull the young child out of the mother’s womb. The use of the device caused the young boy hemorrhage—leading to the brain injury and resulting medical disabilities. The family is claiming that the child should have instead been born through a Cesarean section, which would have prevented the injury.

The vacuum extractor is a device first used in the 1950s. Its use has decreased over the years, as many feel it presents unnecessary risk of complications. Its use is particularly dangerous to use the device on pre-term infants (as was the case in this suit). The nurses at the hospital were aware of this extra risk, but they failed to do anything to stop the vacuum being used.

Continue reading "Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Filed After Child Born with Cerebral Palsy" »

The Illinois parents of a minor with cerebral palsy recently filed a lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Protestant Memorial Medical Center in Belleville, Illinois and the doctor who delivered the newborn. The parents allege that their newborn suffered a hypoxic brain injury during delivery which caused their daughter’s cerebral palsy.

In a hypoxic brain injury the brain does not receive enough oxygen. When this occurs during the birthing process, a newborn is at high risk for developing cerebral palsy. There are several different types of cerebral palsy. The most common type of cerebral palsy, spastic cerebral palsy, has a variety of symptoms. Individuals with spastic cerebral palsy typically have very tight muscles that do not stretch and even tighten up over time. This leads to muscle weakness and even loss of movement or paralysis.

According to this brain injury lawsuit the defendant doctor and hospital negligently ruptured membranes before her birth, failed to utilize inutero resuscitation maneuvers, and failed to prepare for an immediate C-section in a scenario of prolonged deceleration.

Continue reading "Illinois newborn who sustained brain injury at birth suffers from cerebral palsy" »

Levin and Perconti recently announced in a press release on November 24, 2010 that its Chicago brain attorneys reached a $6.5 million settlement for a young girl who suffers from cerebral palsy following a brain injury sustained during birth.

The settlement was with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, IL and a physician who failed to timely perform a Cesarean section. Chicago attorneys John J. Perconti and Patricia L. Gifford of Levin & Perconti represented the injured child and her family.

During the mother’s pregnancy, doctors failed to diagnose cephalopelvic disproportion. Cephalopelvic disproportion occurs when a baby’s head or body is too large to fit through the mother’s pelvis. Abnormal fetal positions often cause cephalopelivic disproportion, which is what occurred in this case. According to the American College of Nurse Midwives, cephalopelvic disproportion occurs in 1 out of 250 pregnancies.

Physicians further failed to order an emergency Cesarean section after noticing erratic decelerations on the fetal monitoring strips. These decelerations are typically a warning sign for fetal hypoxia. Hypoxia occurs when the fetus is deprived of adequate oxygen.

During the emergency Cesarean section, the mother was not properly anesthetized and the staff had to hold the mother down during the procedure.

Although the newborn and mother survived the complicated birth, the newborn suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which means that inadequate oxygen caused damage to cells in the central nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord. This damage can cause cerebral palsy.

The injured child is now 10 years old but has cerebral palsy and mental retardation from the complications of her birth. She suffers from motor delays and moderate cognitive deficiencies and will need to use a wheeled assistive device as she gets older. She will also need constant assistance with dressing, bathing, and using the bathroom. The settlement will allow the child’s family to provide her with the ongoing care and medical treatment throughout her lifetime.

Continue reading "Levin & Perconti Reach $6.5 Million Settlement with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital" »

A record $13.9 million verdict was recently reached following a costly brain injury suffered by a young child at birth. Vindy.com News reported on the award, which will be used to provide medical care for the child who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the preventable medical mistakes during her birth.

At trial the medical expert made clear that the obstetrician who delivered the child failed to take notice of clear signs during the birth that infant was experiences distress in the womb. The signs of problems were obvious at least seven hours before her birth. Print-outs showed that the child needed to be delivered by cesarean section to avoid possible harm during normal childbirth.

However, the doctor failed to take notice of those signs, allowing a vaginal birth to proceed.

As a result, the child received too little oxygen during birth, leading to permanent brain injuries. She now suffers from cerebral palsy. She has many physical ailments, and is unable talk, roll over, or eat normal food. Her mental abilities are also impaired, but the child is able to count to 50 and knows the alphabet.

The parents of the victim currently provide 24-hour a day care, and the jury award will now ensure that the child will receive quality care throughout her life—even when her parents are no longer around.

Continue reading "$13.9 Million Verdict Following Birthing Error That Causes Brain Injury" »

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh has introduced a new cooling jacket used to lower the temperature of newborns suffering from a lack of oxygen. By cooling the overall temperature of the baby, chemical chain reactions which can cause severe brain damage in babies are inhibited. Aside from preventing brain damage, this new technology also works to reduce manpower, thus freeing up manpower. To read more about this developing technology, please click here.