Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer
Injuries suffered at birth can be life-altering for both child and mother, leaving families facing tough questions and mounting medical bills. The Chicago birth injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti are here to guide you, fighting to resolve your current medical bills while planning for your child’s future care. Our experienced attorneys will discuss your situation, explain your legal options, and work diligently to meet your family’s needs as quickly as possible.
Quick Facts About Levin & Perconti
- The birth injury attorneys at Levin & Perconti consistently earn top industry awards and peer-reviewed honors for delivering exceptional results in birth injury cases
- Levin & Perconti frequently attracts local and national media coverage for high-stakes birth injury litigation, including landmark cases involving hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and birth trauma negligence
- Levin & Perconti regularly publishes birth injury educational resources and legal insights, continually striving to improve the litigation process and advance standards for all parties involved
Why Choose the Chicago Birth Injury Lawyers at Levin & Perconti?
With more than four decades of practice, Levin & Perconti has held healthcare providers responsible for negligence that caused harm to infants and families. With securing over $2 billion in total compensation for our clients, we ensure that the families that we represent get the justice that they deserve.
Some of our notable Chicago birth injury case results include:
| Recovery Amount | Case Context |
|---|---|
| $40 Million Verdict | For birth injuries sustained due to a delayed C-section delivery at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, Illinois. |
| $29 Million Settlement | For a child who suffered brain damage and other injuries after a delayed cesarean section at the University of Illinois Chicago Medical Center. |
| $27 Million Recovery | For a child who suffered preventable hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and asphyxia injuries at Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, resulting in permanent cognitive and developmental impairments. |
| $18 Million Settlement | For a first-time mother whose baby suffered from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to a Chicago hospital's failure to timely perform a c-section. |
| $9 Million Settlement | To the family of a baby who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of a doctor’s failure to test the mother for Group B Strep Meningitis during prenatal care. |
Additional Birth Injury Case Results
| Recovery Amount | Case Context |
|---|---|
| $6.71 Million Verdict | against an Oak Lawn hospital because an inexperienced resident performed a vaginal delivery of a breech presentation (bottom first), resulting in shoulder dystocia and permanent arm paralysis. |
| $6.5 Million Settlement | for a young girl who suffered a brain injury during birth, resulting in cerebral palsy, after physicians failed to timely perform a c-section. |
| $4.5 Million Settlement | for a child who suffered brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy after a family medicine physician failed to perform a timely C-section in the presence of fetal distress. |
| $3.5 FTCA Settlement | to the family of a baby who suffered a hypoxic ischemic brain injury resulting in multiple medical complications, all of which contributed to his death. |
| $3 Million Settlement | obtained on behalf of two infants who died as a result of negligent postnatal treatment of an infection. |
| $2.9 Million Settlement | for a child who suffered mild brachial plexus injuries that resulted from a doctor’s failure to use proper disimpaction techniques to address a shoulder dystocia, which caused excessive force to be placed upon the infant’s head and nerve injury. |
| $2.5 Million Settlement | for a child who died as a result of a doctor’s failure to diagnose the mother with an immune disorder while pregnant, which led to an extreme premature delivery at 25 weeks gestation, causing the baby to have respiratory and heart failure which eventually resulted in death at just 2 years old. |
| $2.5 Million Settlement | for the family of a newborn baby who died as a result of doctor’s failure to perform a timely Caesarean section as well as failing to recognize, report, and respond to non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracings, non-reactive stress tests, and non-reassuring biophysical profiles. |
| $2.35 Million Settlement | for a child who suffered severe brain injury and cerebral palsy as the result of a uterine rupture in a vaginal birth after Caesarean (VBAC) delivery that could have been avoided had the doctor and hospital performed a timely Caesarean delivery after the mother complained of a ripping and tearing sensation in her uterus. |
| $1.05 Million Verdict | against a doctor for improperly performing the McRoberts maneuver in the delivery of a baby who developed shoulder dystocia during birth, resulting in a crippling brachial plexus arm injury. |
| Read more about our medical malpractice results here |
What Steps Should Parents Take if They Suspect Medical Negligence Led to Their Child’s Birth Injury?
If you suspect that medical negligence led to your child’s birth injury, it’s important to have a birth injury lawyer by your side right away to help you navigate your available legal options. When you contact the birth injury lawyers at Levin & Perconti, we work quickly to preserve evidence so we have what we need to support your claim, prepare the required paperwork to initiate a lawsuit, and file your case appropriately and timely.
Navigating Chicago & Cook County Birth Injury Laws
Filing a birth injury lawsuit in Chicago requires a deep understanding of Illinois medical malpractice statutes, Cook County court rules, and relevant judicial precedents. Birth injury cases differ significantly from other claims, and navigating the legal landscape in Cook County involves unique statutory protections and evidentiary requirements.
Extended Statutes of Limitations for Minors
While standard Illinois lawsuits must generally be filed within two years of the injury, cases involving birth injuries to children follow specific statutory extensions under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(b):
The 8-Year Rule: Parents may file a claim on behalf of their child up to 8 years after the date of the birth injury.
Tolling to Age 22: If a lawsuit was not initiated during early childhood, the injured individual retains the right to file independently upon turning 18, with a deadline extending to their 22nd birthday.
Indefinite Extensions for Severe Disabilities: If a child suffers a severe, permanent mental or physical disability resulting from the injury, the legal timeline may be extended indefinitely until the disability is removed.
Holding Chicago Hospitals Accountable (Gilbert Doctrine)
In many Chicago delivery rooms, attending physicians and obstetricians operate as independent contractors rather than direct hospital employees. Under the Illinois Supreme Court ruling in Gilbert v. Sycamore Municipal Hospital, hospitals can still be held liable under the Apparent Agency Doctrine if:
The hospital held itself out as a full-service provider of emergency or labor care.
The patient looked to the institution itself, rather than an individual physician, for care.
The hospital failed to provide clear, conspicuous notice that the treating physician was an independent contractor.
No Damage Caps in Illinois
Unlike some states that impose statutory limits on recovery, Illinois has no caps on financial compensation in birth injury cases. The Illinois Supreme Court struck down damage caps as unconstitutional (Lebron v. Gottlieb Memorial Hospital).
Families are entitled to seek full, uncapped compensation for both economic and non-economic harm, including:
Lifetime medical expenses, 24-hour nursing care, and physical therapy.
Specialized medical equipment, home modifications, and assistive technology.
Loss of future earning capacity.
Pain, suffering, disability, and diminished quality of life.
Local Court Practice & Preservation of Records
Litigating birth injury claims in Cook County requires strict compliance with local discovery rules. Electronic Fetal Monitoring (EFM) strips, hospital telemetry logs, and delivery room audit trails must be preserved immediately. Cook County judges strictly enforce rules regarding expert disclosures and lifetime Life Care Plans, requiring comprehensive, itemized financial projections to cover the child’s long-term medical needs.
How a Birth Injury Lawyer Proves Negligence
When working with a birth injury attorney, your lawyer will investigate and gather all available evidence to build a case establishing that someone’s negligence caused harm to your child.
To prove medical negligence in a birth injury lawsuit in Illinois, you must establish a provider-patient relationship between the mother and the health care provider, giving rise to a duty of care. Then, you must show that the provider deviated from the accepted standard of care required from a reasonable provider under similar circumstances. Finally, you must establish that the negligent party’s deviation from their standard of care caused your child’s injury and resulting damages.
Common Birth Injuries Handled by Chicago Birth Injury Lawyers
When medical professionals fail to meet the standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, the consequences can be devastating for a newborn and their family. Some of the most common birth injury cases that we handle are:
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders affecting movement, muscle tone, and motor skills. While CP can stem from various factors, it is frequently caused by preventable brain damage during childbirth, such as untreated fetal distress, oxygen deprivation, or delayed emergency C-sections.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy occurs when a baby’s brain suffers a severe lack of oxygen (hypoxia) and restricted blood flow (ischemia) around the time of birth. HIE can lead to permanent brain injury, developmental delays, and organ failure. Immediate medical intervention, such as therapeutic hypothermia (brain cooling), is crucial to mitigate long-term damage.
Brachial Plexus Injuries & Erb’s Palsy
The brachial plexus is a network of nerves in the neck and shoulder that controls movement in the arm and hand. When an infant’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone (shoulder dystocia), excessive traction or pulling by the medical team can stretch or tear these nerves, leading to permanent nerve damage or arm paralysis known as Erb’s Palsy.
Brain Damage from Untreated Neonatal Jaundice (Kernicterus)
Infant jaundice is a common condition caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood. If medical staff fail to properly monitor and treat severe jaundice with phototherapy or exchange transfusions, bilirubin can cross into the brain, causing a rare but preventable form of permanent brain damage known as Kernicterus.
Physical Trauma & Extra-cranial Bleeding
Improper or overly aggressive use of delivery instruments, such as forceps or vacuum extractors can result in severe physical injury to the infant, including:
Subgaleal Hemorrhage: A dangerous buildup of blood between the scalp and skull.
Cephalohematoma: A pooling of blood under the cranial periosteum.
Skull Fractures & Intracranial Hemorrhages: Bleeding within the skull that creates fatal or damaging pressure on the brain tissue.
The Types of Compensation You Can Recover When Working With a Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer
In a birth injury case, you may be able to recover economic and non-economic damages, depending on the circumstances of your child’s birth injury. A Chicago birth injury lawyer will be able to determine what types of compensation could be available to you based on the details of your case. Economic damages include actual monetary or easily calculable losses, such as the following:
- Medical costs stemming from the injury
- Future medical and rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages for missed work to care for your infant
- Caretaking expenses if you have to hire a professional caregiver
- Special education costs
- Special care equipment
- The child’s lost earning capacity
Contrarily, non-economic damages intent to compensate victims for non-monetary losses or harm, such as:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Mental frustration
- Physical deformity
- Increased risk of future harm
- Shortened life expectancy
Long-term care and financial planning for birth injuries
It’s not uncommon for a successful birth injury lawsuit to cover the cost of care for the injured child for the rest of their life. However, if the compensation you recover does not cover all expenses associated with the care of your child, Illinois and the United States have several resources available for families struggling with finances due to birth injuries that your birth injury lawyer can help you navigate.
Available resources include the following:
- Division of Specialized Care for Children: The Division of Specialized Care for Children helps Illinois families with children who have special health care needs access services and resources.
- Government Programs for Children With Special Needs | SSA: The Social Security Administration provides many assistance programs for children with special needs and their families.
- Apply for a Grant | UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation: UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides medical grants to help children access health-related services not fully covered by their family’s insurance.
- Understanding a Special Needs Trust and Its Benefits: A special needs trust is a legal arrangement creating a fiduciary relationship that allows disabled or chronically ill people to receive income without reducing their eligibility for public assistance programs like Medicaid.
Free Birth Injury Case Evaluation
You can schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our birth injury attorneys. The highly confidential consultation lets us gather all the details about your child’s birth injury to build a robust case against the negligent hospital, birthing facility, or health care provider. We’ll also help you understand your legal rights and decide the best course of action for you and your family.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Birth Injuries in Chicago
As an expectant or new parent, you likely have many questions and concerns about birth injuries, including what they are, how to avoid them, and what to do if your child suffers from one. Our birth injury lawyers are here to provide you with much-needed answers and guide you in supporting and protecting your family through this difficult time. Here are some common questions we receive:
Can I Sue for a Birth Injury?
Birth injury litigation stems from an injury to a baby during pregnancy, labor, or delivery or shortly after birth due to careless, negligent, or intentional acts by a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other medical professional or facility. If your baby has suffered a birth injury due to a health care provider’s actions or omissions, you might have grounds for filing a lawsuit.
What are the signs and symptoms of a birth injury?
If your newborn exhibits the following signs and symptoms, they’ve most likely sustained a birth injury:
- Swelling, bruising, or abrasions
- Seizures within 48 hours of birth
- Loose or limp arms
- Failure to begin breathing immediately after delivery
- The infant’s need for a breathing tube or resuscitation after delivery
If you see any behaviors or symptoms in your infant that seem abnormal or “off,” including difficulty eating, swallowing, or breathing, it’s a good idea to have them evaluated by a pediatrician or other medical professional.
Who Can File a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
In Chicago, parents can file a birth injury lawsuit if their child’s health condition was caused by a medical professional’s negligence before, during, or shortly after the child’s birth. These lawsuits can be filed against doctors, nurses, labor and delivery staff, midwives, hospitals, and other parties, depending on the circumstances of the injury.
What is the difference between birth injuries and birth defects?
A birth defect or congenital disability is a health condition or abnormality that forms while the infant is still in the womb. Doctors must report these conditions to the expectant parents before delivery. Although birth defects can be unavoidable, your health care provider should take appropriate actions or provide necessary medical care to mitigate the effects or harm caused by a birth defect when possible. Contrarily, a birth injury usually occurs just before or during labor or at or around the time of delivery and is often preventable and caused by a physician’s or medical staff’s negligence.
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Since 1979, Dov Apfel has been passionate about advocating for birth injury and medical malpractice victims. Mr. Apfel’s career-long record of achievements in birth injury litigation, education, and advocacy has been recognized by the Executive Board of the Birth Trauma Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice. His expertise is demonstrated by his numerous awards, presentations on birth injury topics at legal conferences for organizations like the AAJ and ATLA, and articles published by Trial Magazine and many others.
Levin & Perconti Can Help After Your Child’s Birth Injury in Chicago or Nearby Areas
At Levin & Perconti, we’re a team of highly skilled and committed birth injury lawyers in Chicago who fight to ensure you receive maximum civil justice for your child’s and your family’s injuries.
We don’t hesitate to hold negligent people accountable, and we settle for nothing less than fair compensation for your emotional and financial suffering.
Complete our contact form today, and one of our attorneys will call you promptly to discuss your case and determine your legal options.
