Chicago Brain Injury Lawyer Blog

Each Chicago brain injury lawyer at our firm knows that verdicts in these cases are sometimes significant. Depending on the scope of the harm, the effects on the individual’s life, and many outside variables, the final verdict is often staggering. The amount always seems particularly large when delivered at the end of a case because it seeks to account for the consequences of the harm over the course of a lifetime in a single amount. That means that younger victims sometimes lead to higher verdicts, because the actual consequences will last for decades.

That was likely the case in a new brain injury case involving a birth injury on a newborn. The trial in the case recently ended with the jury reaching a large verdict for the plaintiff.

The Pott’s Mercury recently summarized the situation. According to the story the mother of the child in the case went to the hospital a few weeks before her due date. Medical records indicate that she was showing signs of placental abruption. This occurs when the placenta—which provides nutrients to the child—leaves the uterine wall. Of course, a fetus in the womb must have those nutrients; when there is a problem with the placenta, the consequences for the child can be life-threatening. That necessitates quick action on the part of medical professionals when dealing with the matter.

In this case, before taking any steps, the woman’s doctor performed an ultrasound. However, when performing the ultrasound the doctor did not detect a fetal heartbeat. That led him to conclude that the child was not alive. He even told the mother that the child had died.

In reality that child was still alive, but the ultrasound machine itself or the administration of the test was faulty, leading to the mistaken reading. The consequences for the child were severe. It wasn’t until over eighty minutes later—after an ultrasound technician uncovered the error—that emergency steps were taken and the child was born. But the baby did not survive unscathed from that significant delay. He was born with severe spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy. He will require costly and significant care throughout his life.

In addition to the ultrasound equipment issues, part of the problem was hospital negligence. Attorneys during the case argued that it was unacceptable for the facility to not have an ultrasound technician in the hospital at the time needed. This added to the delay and contributed to the underlying harm the resulted.

The family contacted a medical malpractice lawyer and filed a brain injury lawsuit. The jury in the case was presented all of the evidence about the ultrasound equipment, the doctor’s conduct, and all possible defenses presented by the hospital and medical professional. After weighing all of that the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff. Specifically, the jury felt that the overall conduct and harm necessitated a verdict for $78.5 million dollars.

Of course, the size of this verdict will undoubtedly be taken out of context and used as a rallying cry by some to try to pass legislation that takes away the rights of all plaintiffs using the civil justice system. Hopefully that tendency can be avoided.

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Birth Accident Lawsuit Reveals Extreme Emotional Pain Associated with Loss

Birth Injury Lawsuit Filed After Child Born with Cerebral Palsy

The Republic reported this week on a settlement reached in a brain injury case, where a couple alleged the injury to their new child was caused by negligence on the part of their midwives. The family had hired the two women to lead the birth of their child, and they actually had the delivery outside of the hospital with the two midwives (a mother and daughter) in charge. Unfortunately, the couple did not receive the care to which they believe they were entitled.

The family explained that problems developed during the birth almost four years ago. The child was born without oxygen. This caused the child to suffer a serious brain injury. Unfortunately, the midwives did not act quickly in responding to the emergency situation. Apparently they delayed in allowing emergency responders access to the mother and child. As a result of these errors the new child suffered permanent brain damage and will likely be forced to live with the consequences of the injury for the rest of her life.

Like many families in similar situations, the couple shared their story with a brain injury lawyer. Eventually a negligence suit was filed seeking to hold the midwives accountable for the harm caused to the child. The case recently settled outside of court for $5 million. The midwives explained that they wanted to avoid the need to go through the costly, expensive jury trial process.

While this may seem like a good agreement for the involved family, each Illinois brain injury lawyer at our firm appreciates that the family us unlikely to receive the actual money awarded in the settlement. That is because the midwives did not carry malpractice insurance to protect their clients who are injured by preventable errors. Instead, the defendants in the case will likely be filing for bankruptcy. That means that the family may only receive a fraction of the award, and to even get that small amount they will likely have to fight through the time-consuming bankruptcy process. It involves trying to get even a share of the defendant’s assets while waiting in line with the defendant’s other creditors.

It seems that this particular mother-daughter midwife team had their share of troubles in the past. Last month they officially lost their license to practice midwifery. The license revocation was the result of a string of suspicious deaths of children during deliveries at the women’s clinic. In one case a student midwife mistakenly cut a child’s umbilical cord, leading to the death of the child. In another case, a child was born limp and with a severely low heart rate. Yet, instead of immediately calling emergency personnel, the midwife delayed. Even when emergency crews arrived the midwife was apparently uncooperative, which hampered the medical team’s ability to provide potentially life-saving care.

Unfortunately, there remain some individual midwives who do not engage in appropriate caregiving for families that rely on them. When this happens, preventable birth injuries often result of which brain injuries are a large part. Considering the seriousness of this possibility, it is important for local families to seek out midwives who have malpractice insurance to provide redress in cases where costly mistakes are made.

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Are More Women Turning to Midwives?

Editorial Makes Case for Hospital Births

Illinois brain injuries caused via developmental problems in the womb or via a birth injury often have lifelong consequences for the children involved. Cerebral palsy is perhaps the most well-known brain injury among infants with thousands of sufferers throughout our area. Our Illinois cerebral palsy lawyer knows it goes without saying that as many resources as possible should be targeted at ways to prevent these harms from ever occurring in the first place.

Fortunately, many leading medical minds are working on some of these problems. Every day they get a little closer to ways that can prevent these brain injuries in the unborn. For example, researchers in Australia have recently completed a new trial that may save the unborn from developing these brain injuries that caused cerebral palsy. As reported this week in the Canberra Times, experts at the Monash Medical Center are beginning the world’s first trial involving the use of antioxidants to treat pregnant woman whose children are not developing normally. Doctors suggest that the goal of the trial is to prevent the children from suffering brain damage while in the womb.

In particular, the trial targeted the roughly one in twenty women whose placentas are not providing sufficient oxygen and nutrients for the developing child. This problem leads to growth restrictions in the baby’s development. Experts explain that this is a common cause of brain injuries in development that cause cerebral palsy. Scientists have found that this problem is caused by oxidative stress which leads to the release of free radicals—excess chemicals that damage normal tissue.

To correct this problem, doctors want to try giving women antioxidant melatonin to correct the bodily stress. In trials on lamb fetuses, the antioxidant has been able to prevent the development of brain injuries. Now doctors are beginning trials to treat pregnant women with the hope that similar results will be seen. If those results are mirrored in humans, obstetrics experts explain that it will be a major breakthrough in protecting babies from brain injuries. Summarizing the breakthrough, one obstetrician explained that “Pregnancy is a black box—we are watching, but until now there has been nothing we can do to intervene.” This treatment option breaks through that black box and may allow prevention of these brain injuries which develop before birth while the child is in the womb.

While the human trial has not yet begun, one woman’s story is already making doctors think optimistically about the prospects. The woman had already had three miscarriages when she became pregnant again. As a result of the previous problems, doctors were monitoring her pregnancy closely. When she learned that antioxidants might help the baby, the woman found an over-the-counter antioxidant medication and began taking it. Amazingly, the child condition actually improved while in the womb after the pills were taken. The child was able to survive to the point of viability. He is now a five-month old with a only few minor health problems. The woman hopes that this new trial will confirm the beneficially role of antioxidants and allow more children to be born healthy that otherwise might be lost.

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Shrinking Brain Condition Baffles Scientists

Traumatic Brain Injury Stem Cell Trial to Begin

Nothing in the medical field remains as mysterious as the brain. It is only in the very recent past that medical researchers and scientists have begun to slowly figure out how some of the brain works. However, the brain injury attorneys at our firm appreciate that it would be a mistake to forget that there are still more unanswered questions than there are answered ones.

That point is exhibited clearly in the case of nine-year old Jason Egan. According to a story in the Huffington Post this week, medical experts and some of the world’s leading neurogeneticists still are not sure what brain injury or condition is affecting the young child. The boy seemed to have the brain injury at birth. At a young age he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after exhibiting symptoms similar to those faced by cerebral palsy sufferers.

Our Illinois cerebral palsy lawyers have often shared that cerebral palsy (CP) can be caused by oxygen deprivation at birth. When problems develop during childbirth that limit the oxygen to neurons in the brain, permanent injuries can develop which cause a range of physical problems for the child. CP is an umbrella term that refers to a wide range of movement disorders often caused by that brain damage. Sufferers usually fall upon a spectrum, with various difficulties hearing, seeing, standing, walking, speaking, and controlling limbs. Experts explain that the condition can manifest itself as early as three month old, when children struggle to crawl. Usually after a year or two it becomes even clearer if a child is suffering from the condition.

In this case, the boy was unable to walk, talk, or feed himself. As a result he was initially diagnosed as suffering from cerebral palsy. However, as he aged his conditions seemed to get worse. This was a red flag for his doctors, because cerebral palsy is not progressive. Symptoms are not supposed to get worse over time. To figure out what was going on, his doctors gave the boy another brain scan. Amazingly, they found that, when compared to a scan given to the boy a few years earlier, his brain had shrunk considerably. There was simply no explanation for why this might have occurred.

In an attempt to figure out what might be causing the problem, the boy’s brain doctors tried essentially every diagnostic test in the book to conclusive rule out each possible cause. He did not have neuroaxonal dystrophy, the white matter in his brain was fine, and every other possible brain disease was tested for but not found.

So what caused the shrinking brain?

Doctors still have no idea. The best guess right now is the child may have some unique gene mutation that is little understood. T hat is why neurogeneticists are analyzing his DNA to see if a novel mutation can be identified. If identified, experts working on whatever gene happens to be mutating will take a look and see if anything can be learned from the situation.

In the short term, the family received good news recently when the latest brain scan revealed that the boy’s brain size had remained constant over the last year. That suggests that the condition might be abating. However, considering the case is rife with unknowns it is impossible to make any definitive conclusions.

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Cerebral Palsy Primer: What It Is & When It Arises

Birth Injury Lawsuit Filed After Child Born with Cerebral Palsy

Many brain injuries develop just before or just after a child is born. These birth injuries are frequently preventable and often traced by to inadequate care being provided by medical teams. When they are rooted in mistakes made by doctors and nurses during delivery, then medical malpractice lawsuits are often appropriate to hold the negligent party accountable for their actions and to ensure the brain-injured child has access to resources to receive support for their injury throughout their lives.

Those exact circumstances and goals are at the heart of a new brain injury lawsuit filed by a couple alleging mistakes were made during the birth of their son which led to his brain injuries. According to a story about the case in the Morning Sun, the mother first went to the medical facility after having a relatively healthy, normal pregnancy. She visited her medical provider on several occasions and no problems were found. After 38 weeks of pregnancy the mother and doctor decided to have the labor induced—this was not an abnormal time for induction.

The mother was a bit nervous about the procedure from the outset. In particular she was worried about the inducement drugs like Misoprostol and Oxytocin. The doctor told her not to worry about the drugs, and that everything would be fine—a prediction that would turn out to be grievously wrong.

A fetal heart rate monitor was used during the birth, but according to the medical malpractice lawsuit that was filed, that monitor was not properly analyzed. Apparently, the child’s hear rate actually dropped to a dangerously low rate over 40 minutes before its actual birth—a condition known as bradycardia. Low heart rate is incredibly dangerous for a fetus, because it may indicate lack of blood and oxygen reaching the brain. In this case, when the low heart rate was actually discovered the doctor first tried to conduct a vacuum extraction of the child. That did not work, and so a Cesarean section was eventually performed.

By the time the child left the womb, it was too late to avoid injury. He was forced to spend almost a month at the hospital. A year after his birth he was diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy. Now two years old, it remains to be seen exactly what long-term consequences the child will face as a result of the birth injury. However, it is clear that damage is severe.

The Illinois brain injury lawyers at our firm have worked with many families who suffered harm in the same way as the couple in this case. When these sorts of injuries develop during the birthing process, in many cases it is the result of inadequate conduct on the part of those charged with medically steering the mother and child through the process. The costs of these injuries over the course of a lifetime are quite high. It is only appropriate for the institutions responsible for the injury in the first place to help handle some of those costs—that is one of the main outcomes of successful settlements or verdicts in these cases.

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Family of Injured Boy Seeks Approval of $30M Award in Birth Injury Lawsuit

New Test to Detect Heart Defect Birth Injuries

Each Chicago brain injury attorney at our firm has followed closely as research efforts into traumatic brain injuries have seen a new wave of life. This is likely due to a combination of factors. On one hand, medical professionals are slowly learning more and more about the actual long-term harm of certain injuries—like concussions—that were previously thought to be less severe. In addition, a large number of American service members are returning from fights in Iraq and Afghanistan with severe head and brain injuries. Many are rightly worried that these returning soldiers need to have access to viable treatment options that can help relieve some of the symptoms of their injuries.

Beyond treatment options for adults, an entirely different line of traumatic brain injury research is looking at helping the youngest victims—those who suffer head trauma in the first few months (or years) of life. For example, the San Bruno Patch reported this week on a new line of research being funded by the Federal Drug Administration’s stem cell research project. The effort involves partnerships between a private company that collects umbilical cord stem cells and university medical research bodies.

The company, Cord Blood Registry, has been collecting the umbilical cord blood from mothers of newborns for the past few years. The hope is that these stem cells can be used to help correct a wide range of problems that affect children at birth or shortly thereafter. Specifically, this latest project involves tackling three different problems—cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and traumatic brain injuries.

The traumatic brain injury part of the research effort will be spearheaded by medical professionals affiliated with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital. With help from the stem cells collected by the private company, the researchers will create treatments for a trial group of ten children being cared for by the children’s hospital. Each of those children suffered a severe brain injury within a year and a half of their birth. As part of the research effort, the children will be given the stem cell treatment—these are their own stem cells taken from their mother’s umbilical cord shortly after their birth. The participants will then be monitored closely along a range of factors throughout the testing process to gauge how the treatments affect the children—if at all.

The Illinois traumatic brain injury attorneys will be following this line of research closely to see if there are any positive develops. It would not be an understatement to say that these stem cell trials are some, if not the, most anticipated research efforts which may one day lead to complete cures for these ailments. As the head researcher of the private company involved in the effort explained, “the benefits of cord blood stem cells being very young, easy to obtain, unspecialized cells which have had limited exposure to environmental toxins or infectious disease and easy to store for the long terms without any loss of function, make them an attractive source for cellular therapy researchers today.”

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Birth Accident Lawsuit Reveals Extreme Emotional Pain Associated with Loss

Birth Injury Lawsuit Filed After Child Born with Cerebral Palsy

The Standard-Examiner shared a heartwarming story today that highlights both advances in brain injury treatment and the way that fast action by medical providers can save the lives of our most vulnerable patients. At the center of the story is a young family who just had their first child. The baby girl seemed to be fine immediately after the delivery. A mother, father, and grandparents were all gathered in the hospital room with the baby after her delivery, in good spirits as they passed the child around so everyone could get a chance to meet the new addition.

However, a few hours after the birth, as the mother was holding the child, something went wrong. As she placed the baby on her chest, the mother sensed that something was amiss. She pulled the baby away and noticed that she was completely limp and turning blue. It was clear that the child was not breathing. The woman’s father immediately ran out of the room and yelled for help. Two nurses rushed in and took the child down the hall. Once there, a team of medical experts went to work trying to resuscitate the baby. She was eventually hooked up to a ventilator.

One of the main concerns in these situations, when one is not breathing, is the potential effect of lack of oxygen to the brain. Many brain injuries—particularly those affecting young children—are caused when the brain does not receive oxygen for a prolonged length of time. Fortunately, the doctors at this hospital were trained in a new technique which seeks to prevent permanent brain damage as a result of oxygen deprivation. Shortly after the child was stabilized, she was placed in a device known as a “cooling cap.” The cap essentially works a controlled induction of hypothermia. The cap uses water enclosed in a tube system to circulate water around the head. Computers monitor the temperature to ensure it remains at desired levels. The treatment last for 72 hours.

Our Chicago brain injury lawyers have followed along in recent years as scientists have learned how cooling of the brain can slow the spread of damage, or in some cases, prevent brain damage altogether. A study published last year in the journal Neonatology found that the cooling can work to save lives in young babies. The lead author explained, “before neonatal cooling for birth asphyxia, death were more common and neurodevelopmental delay was obvious in over half of survivors.” Now, many of those babies are saved, and a much smaller fraction show any sign of brain injury or damage.

In this case, the cooling worked. The child seemed to recover just fine. Now, six months old the little girls seems to show no sign of disability. She has developed on schedule and is actually ahead of others infants in certain measures. She can be found laughing, giggling, sitting up on her own and crawling. Thanks to the quick efforts of well-trained medical personnel and the lifesaving new research, a potentially life-threatening injury was avoided.

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Scottish Doctors Develop Cooling Jacket to Help Prevent Brain Damage

The Brain Tsunami

Our Chicago brain injury lawyers know that one of the claims that those advocating “tort reform” make is that the legal system is too inefficient and costly to handle most claims. They suggest that these proposals are a more logical, stream-lined and fair ways to handle disputes. Of course, they are nothing of the sort. Instead, these laws do not make the legal system more streamlined—they simply throw up more roadblocks for recovery for those hurt by the misconduct of others, including Illinois brain injury victims.

However, because so much political debate these days occurs only in sound bites—and not reasoned consideration of actual policy issues—it is difficult for most members of the public to truly analyze how these bills will affect them. For most, the only time that they experience the effects of these damaging pieces of legislation is when they themselves are hurt or have a family member who seeks help from the legal system to hold those who harmed them accountable. It is then that the true effects are felt and the injustice of the rule changes are made apparent.

It is our hope that by continuing to share stories of those who are adversely effected by misguided tort reform laws that more people will begin to fight back against the political efforts of those seeking to alter the legal system in fundamental ways—and not for the better.

One common example involves plaintiffs who are forced to engage in lengthy, protracted battles to actually collect damage awards even after an impartial jury heard the evidence and reached a unanimous ruling in their favor. For example, the Miami Herald reported this week on a young child who suffered a debilitating brain injury at birth. The medical providers who delivered him acted in appropriately during his birth, leading to a range of lifelong challenges. As a result of the injury he has only partial use of his arms, legs, and mouth. That hasn’t slowed him down, however. His parents proudly explain that he is a straight-A student. However, the family struggles to provide what the child needs. If he had around-the-clock care, he would likely be able to flourish.

Five years ago, the family won a verdict in their favor following a brain injury lawsuit being filed. A jury awarded the family $30 million, but the child hasn’t seen a dime. That is because the law in the state requires that when a public body is involved, like in this case, actually dispensing funds requires a “claims bill” to pass through the state legislature. That means that even after winning the jury verdict the family is forced to wade through political muck in order to try to collect the damage award. This usually involves hiring lobbyists and making pleas to legislatures to approve something that a jury already ruled upon. In this case, even five years later, nothing has been done. It remains unclear if anything ever will be done. All impartial observers cannot argue that adding these extra hoops for victims to jump through does anything but slow down the judicial system and interfere with justice actually being done.

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Legal Experts Line Up Against H.R. 5

New Website to Voice Opinion on Proposed Federal Laws

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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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.