Cerebral Palsy Result of Delay In Treating Chicago Boy’s Severe Dehydration

A recent Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit involving a Chicago boy’s brain injury demonstrates the importance of timely medical care and treatment in order to avoid disastrous outcomes. In this case several treaters and physicians failed to recognize the baby boy’s signs and symptoms of severe dehydration, which caused the boy to develop cerebral palsy.

Ten days after the Chicago boy’s delivery his parents brought him to his pediatrician for a follow-up exam. The pediatrician was practicing at the Chicago Family Health Center, a federally funded community health clinic. At the time of the baby’s visit his body weight was noted to have dropped by 23% from his birth weight.

At that visit the pediatrician also detected a heart murmur on exam, so referred the baby to a pediatric cardiologist. This appointment was made for a month later and the boy and his parents were sent home.

The baby boy’s parents became increasingly concerned regarding his continued weight loss and feeding problems, so returned to their pediatrician in just over a week following their first visit. The child was weighed again and found to have not improved. The clinic pediatrician wrote the parents a note directing them to a Chicago area hospital.

At the Chicago hospital doctors were able to determine that the baby boy had been suffering from severe dehydration, which led to the Chicago boy’s hypoxic brain injury. A hypoxic brain injury results from a severe lack of oxygen to the brain and can result in brain damage or injury. In this baby boy’s case, the hypoxia resulted in cerebral palsy. He now requires permanent ventilator support, feeding tube nutrition, and 24-hour home nursing care as a result of the delay in treatment.

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Illinois brain injury cases for over 30 years, serving those areas in and around Cook County, including Mt. Prospect, Downers Grove, Palos Heights, and Northbrook.