When medical negligence during labor or delivery harms a newborn, Evanston birth injury lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. analyze what went wrong, identify the responsible parties, and pursue compensation to cover your child's long-term care needs.
Not every birth injury is an unavoidable complication. In some cases, a birth injury happens because a medical provider failed to meet the standard of care.
Birth injury cases are among the most legally demanding claims in personal injury law. Illinois treats these cases as medical malpractice, which means strict procedural requirements, mandatory expert review, and complex causation analysis. At Abels & Annes, P.C., our birth injury attorneys handle that process from start to finish so your family may focus on your child.
Call our Evanston office at (224) 998-6007 for a free consultation available 24/7.
Table of contents
- How Our Evanston Birth Injury Lawyers Build Strong Medical Malpractice Claims
- When Is a Birth Injury a Medical Malpractice Case?
- Common Causes of Preventable Birth Injuries During Labor and Delivery
- Birth Injuries and Diagnoses Often Linked to Delivery Negligence
- What Compensation Can Families Recover in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
- Who Can Be Held Liable for a Birth Injury in Evanston?
- FAQs for Evanston Birth Injury Attorneys
- Your Child's Future Deserves Answers and a Plan
How Our Evanston Birth Injury Lawyers Build Strong Medical Malpractice Claims
Birth injury cases require a legal team that understands both the medical and legal complexity involved. Our attorneys have a track record of winning millions for our clients in personal injury cases throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, and we bring that same preparation to every case involving an injury at birth.
When you hire Abels & Annes, P.C., our team takes over immediately to:
- Analyze the medical timeline. We obtain and review the complete medical record, including prenatal charts, fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, labor logs, and delivery records, to identify where the standard of care was breached.
- Work with qualified medical professionals. Illinois law under 735 ILCS 5/2-622 requires an affidavit and written report from a qualified health professional supporting a reasonable and meritorious cause before the case proceeds. Our team coordinates this process and partners with medical professionals who review obstetric and neonatal cases.
- Identify each liable party. Responsibility may extend to the delivering physician, attending nurses, the hospital, an anesthesiologist, or other members of the care team. We review the chain of decisions that led to your child's injury.
- Calculate lifetime care costs. Birth injuries often create care needs that last a lifetime. We work with medical and financial professionals to project the cost of therapy, adaptive equipment, specialized education, and ongoing medical treatment your child may require.
- Handle the legal proceedings. From filing deadlines and discovery to depositions and trial preparation, a birth injury medical malpractice attorney in Evanston manages every step of the legal process while keeping your family informed throughout.
Abels & Annes, P.C. has earned recognition through the Top 100 Lawyer List published by Super Lawyers (Thomson Reuters), a 10.0 Superb rating on AVVO, and membership in both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, but these distinctions reflect the level of advocacy we bring to each case.
Consultations are free, available 24/7, and offered in English, Spanish, and Polish. There is no fee unless we win your case.
When Is a Birth Injury a Medical Malpractice Case?
Not every birth injury is the result of negligence. Childbirth carries inherent risks, and some complications occur despite proper medical care. A birth injury becomes a potential malpractice claim when a healthcare provider's actions, or failure to act, fell below the accepted standard of care and directly directly caused harm to the child, raising the question of whether a child’s birth injury was the result of medical malpractice.
In Illinois, birth injury lawsuits are typically filed as healing-art malpractice cases, which means strict procedural requirements, expert review, and detailed causation analysis. To pursue a claim, your personal injury attorney must demonstrate that:
- A provider-patient relationship existed between the mother or child and the healthcare professional
- The provider deviated from the standard of care that a reasonably competent provider in the same field would have followed under similar circumstances
- That deviation directly caused the child's injury
- The child suffered measurable harm as a result
The standard of care is not perfection. It is the level of skill, knowledge, and attention that a competent medical professional in the same specialty would exercise. When that standard is breached and a child is harmed, the responsible parties may be held accountable.
Common Causes of Preventable Birth Injuries During Labor and Delivery
A birth injury may result from one critical mistake or a chain of smaller failures that build over hours of labor. Understanding how these injuries happen helps families recognize when negligence, rather than an unavoidable complication, may have played a role.
Fetal Monitoring Failures
Electronic fetal monitoring is used during labor to identify signs that the baby may be in distress and needs faster intervention. When nurses or physicians fail to interpret monitoring data correctly, ignore warning signs, or delay intervention after abnormal readings appear, the baby may suffer oxygen deprivation that leads to permanent brain damage.
Delayed or Improper C-Section Decisions
When vaginal delivery becomes dangerous due to fetal distress, umbilical cord complications, or prolonged labor, a timely cesarean section may prevent serious harm. Delays in ordering or performing a C-section, whether caused by miscommunication, understaffing, or poor judgment, are among the most common sources of preventable birth injuries.
Excessive Force During Delivery
The improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, or the application of excessive traction during delivery, may cause nerve damage, skull fractures, or brain hemorrhages. Shoulder dystocia, where the baby's shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother's pelvic bone, requires specific maneuvers that must be performed correctly to avoid brachial plexus injuries.
Medication Errors
Administering the wrong medication, an incorrect dosage, or failing to account for drug interactions may harm both the mother and child. Pitocin, commonly used to induce or augment labor, may cause dangerously strong contractions that reduce oxygen flow to the baby if not monitored carefully.
Communication Breakdowns
Labor and delivery involve multiple providers working under time pressure. When critical information, such as lab results, fetal monitoring changes, or a patient's medical history, fails to reach the right person at the right time, preventable injuries may follow.
Birth Injuries and Diagnoses Often Linked to Delivery Negligence
Several diagnoses are frequently associated with medical negligence during labor and delivery. A diagnosis alone does not prove malpractice, but these conditions often warrant a thorough medical-legal review.
Conditions that may arise from a birth injury include:
- Cerebral palsy may result from oxygen deprivation during labor or delivery. When fetal distress signs are missed or intervention is delayed, the resulting brain damage may cause permanent motor and cognitive impairment.
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a form of brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow to the brain around the time of birth. HIE may lead to developmental delays, seizures, and lifelong disability.
- Erb's palsy and brachial plexus injuries involve damage to the nerves controlling the arm and hand, often caused by excessive force or improper technique during delivery when shoulder dystocia occurs.
- Intracranial hemorrhage involves bleeding within or around the brain, which may result from traumatic delivery, improper use of delivery instruments, or unmanaged complications.
- Fractures, including clavicle and skull fractures, may occur during difficult deliveries, particularly when excessive force is applied or when the delivery method chosen was inappropriate for the clinical situation.
Each of these conditions may require years or a lifetime of medical care, therapy, and adaptive support. An Evanston birth injury attorney at Abels & Annes, P.C. works with medical professionals to determine whether negligence caused the condition and to calculate the long-term cost of care.
What Compensation Can Families Recover in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Birth injury claims often involve some of the largest potential damages in personal injury law because the harm affects a child's entire life. Compensation is designed to address both the immediate and lifelong consequences of the injury.
Economic damages that may be available include:
- Past and future medical expenses for surgeries, hospitalizations, medications, specialist visits, and all care related to the birth injury
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and behavioral therapy, that may continue for years or indefinitely
- Adaptive equipment and home modifications such as wheelchairs, communication devices, accessible vehicles, and structural changes to the family home
- Specialized education costs when the injury affects the child's ability to learn in a traditional setting
- Lost earning capacity when the injury permanently limits the child's ability to work as an adult
Non-economic damages may also be available:
- Pain and suffering experienced by the child as a result of the injury and ongoing treatment
- Emotional distress suffered by the child and, in some circumstances, by the parents who witnessed or discovered the harm
- Loss of normal life when the injury prevents the child from participating in activities, relationships, and milestones that would otherwise define childhood and adulthood
When a birth injury proves fatal, Illinois' Wrongful Death Act allows the personal representative to pursue a wrongful death claim for surviving family members’ losses, such as loss of companionship and grief, sorrow, and mental suffering.
Additionally, mothers who suffered physical harm during the delivery may also have an independent claim for their own medical expenses, pain, and recovery, separate from the child's birth injury case.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Birth Injury in Evanston?
Birth injury claims may involve multiple defendants whose combined negligence contributed to the harm. Identifying each responsible party is critical to pursuing fair compensation.
Responsible parties could include:
- Obstetricians and delivering physicians who failed to monitor labor progression, misinterpreted fetal distress signs, or made errors in delivery technique
- Nurses and labor and delivery staff who failed to communicate critical changes in the mother's or baby's condition to the attending physician
- Anesthesiologists who administered epidurals or other anesthesia improperly, causing complications that affected the delivery
- Hospitals and medical facilities that may bear liability for understaffing, inadequate training, equipment failures, or systemic policies that contributed to the injury
- Consulting specialists, including neonatologists or perinatologists, whose delayed response or misdiagnosis worsened the outcome
Our birth injury case attorneys review the decision-making chain to determine who deviated from the standard of care and how those failures caused your child's injury.
FAQs for Evanston Birth Injury Attorneys
Is a birth injury the same as a birth defect?
A birth injury is harm that occurs during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate postnatal care, often as a result of medical negligence. A birth defect is a structural or functional condition that develops during fetal growth and is typically genetic or environmental in origin. A birth defect is generally not actionable unless a provider failed to diagnose or manage the condition properly.
Do Illinois birth injury cases require a medical professional's review?
Yes. Under malpractice law, Illinois requires that a qualified health professional review the case and provide a written report confirming that reasonable and meritorious cause exists before a medical malpractice lawsuit may be filed. Our attorneys coordinate this process as part of building your claim, including identifying the signs of medical malpractice.
How do I know whether my child's birth injury was preventable?
Preventable birth injuries often involve missed signs of fetal distress, delayed C-section decisions, medication errors, or communication breakdowns among the delivery team. Determining whether negligence played a role requires a detailed review of the medical record by qualified professionals. A birth injury malpractice lawyer in Evanston coordinates that review as part of every consultation.
What medical records are most important in a birth injury case?
Fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, labor and delivery logs, medication administration records, C-section timing documentation, neonatal unit records, and early imaging studies often play a central role in establishing what happened and when. Our Evanston labor and delivery negligence lawyer moves quickly to obtain and preserve these records before they are altered or become harder to access.
What if my child's condition was not diagnosed until months or years later?
Some birth injuries, particularly those involving brain damage, may not become apparent until the child misses developmental milestones. Illinois gives minors additional time in malpractice cases, but the deadline is not open-ended. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212, actions on behalf of minors must generally be filed within eight years of the act or omission, but not after the minor's 22nd birthday. Contact our team to discuss the specific timeline for your family's situation.
How much does it cost to hire an Evanston birth injury lawyer?
We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis. There is no fee unless we win, and consultations are free and available 24/7.
Your Child's Future Deserves Answers and a Plan
A birth injury diagnosis changes everything for a family. The medical questions, the financial uncertainty, and the weight of not knowing what happened in that delivery room may feel paralyzing. You do not have to carry that alone.
Abels & Annes, P.C. offers free consultations 24/7 at (224) 998-6007. We meet with families by phone, video, or in person, and we travel to clients who are unable to come to us. Legal services are available in English, Spanish, and Polish.
There is no fee unless we win your case. Let us fight for you.