Pursuing Lawsuit for Birth Trauma

The loving parents of a baby injured needlessly and by the negligence of medical providers at birth are in an unexpected place where decisions must be made. The child that they love and nurture for life has been brain damaged or has physical and mental deficits that were only caused because of the negligence of the obstetricians, nurses, midwives, hospital staff or other medical providers at the time of delivery or in prenatal care. What do the parents do? They are consumed daily with the care and attention needed for their child, yet the expenses associated with this special care are enormous and growing.

Most parents are just too busy to think about options. Do they meet with or even to consult a lawyer about legal choices to be made? What might the legal expenses cost the parents? There is no way that the limited resources the family has can be spared for paying a lawyer to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. The family does not have the time or money to investigate the cause of their child’s devastating injuries on their own.

At Kreisman Law Offices answering these difficult questions is what we do and do very well and at no expense to the family. The question many of our potential clients ask is, “How can we pay for your services?” The answer is very short. You don’t pay at all. No attorney fees or costs advanced are paid to Kreisman Law Offices unless there were to be a recovery whether by a jury’s verdict and judgment or by a settlement. In either case, no money is paid to the law firm unless first approved by a judge or judges.

In a birth trauma or birth injury case Illinois law lays out very clearly how these cases are handled. Attorney fees are regulated by the Medical Malpractice Statute; 735 ILCS 5/2-622 which is known as the “healing art malpractice” law. The law limits attorney fees capped at one-third of any recovery. Importantly for the protection of the parents and lawyers, the law requires that any distribution from a settlement or judgment in favor of a child injured by medical negligence be approved not just by the trial judge or presiding judge but also by a probate judge where the proceeds would be administered for the benefit of the minor. The parents would in most cases be guardians of the estate of the minor so that the money could be diligently and wisely invested and available for the long-term care of the minor child.

The parents of a birth injured child must also know that cases of birth injury or birth trauma that Kreisman Law Offices handles are done on a contingency basis only. That means that the family would not be responsible for the payment of any costs or attorney fees should the case fail for any reason. We take all of the financial risk of the birth injury lawsuit. We only ask our clients to take care of their child, their family and themselves while we investigate each case with the utmost of diligence, thoroughness and confidentiality. We will ask you to help us to uncover the wrong acts or omissions of the doctors, nurses and others who may have been a cause of your child’s birth injuries.

How long will this take to resolution? As soon as Kreisman Law Offices is retained by signing the attorney-client contract which is taken directly from the Medical Malpractice Statute, we retrieve all of the medical and hospital records related to the birth. That will include all of the mother’s prenatal and delivery records as well as the baby’s hospital records and all records that follow for his or her care and treatment. Whether the injury is one that leaves the child brain-damaged, with cerebral palsy or with physical injuries or mental deficiencies we will utilize the most skilled, experienced and knowledgeable medical experts in the field to learn and know the truth about how this preventable, predictable and observable malpractice occurred. Those who are identified as having deviated from the standard or care that caused the injury to your child will be named in the lawsuit and will be held accountable.

Illinois law requires that a physician in the same or similar field of medical practice review all of the pertinent hospital and medical records of the mother and child. Then after having thoroughly reviewing these records give a written “certificate of merit” opining that those responsible for the birth injury, birth trauma or death of the child acted in such a way that was a deviation from the standard of care and that those acts or omissions were a caused of the child’s injuries or death. When we have that written certificate of merit, then the lawsuit may be filed and the case prosecuted through the end.

Why file a lawsuit against the doctors, nurses and hospital that were responsible for the injury to our child? The costs for maintaining the well-being of a brain injured child or a child who has suffered physical injury such as Erb’s palsy, or has cerebral palsy because of oxygen deprivation during the birthing stage when the fetal heart monitor screamed out the baby was in distress is enormous. Maybe the child requires 24 hour care, requires a breathing device, a feeding tube, wheelchair and other mechanical devices for home. Maybe a nurse or aid must come to your home each day for 12-18 hours per day. All of these costs are daunting and without financial assistance unavailable. The lawsuit is a means of covering the costs of survival for your child needlessly and permanently damaged. Those responsible must pay for that harm and must pay for the needed accessories. Those costs are assessed by experts in life care planning and by economists. It is essential that the cost of maintaining your child’s good health and comfort is determined. Those costs are just a part of the damages suffered by the child as a result of the medical malpractice. All of the damages associated with negligence would be proved by the lawyers at Kreisman Law Offices.

Whether you, the parents of a child harmed by the negligence of the medical providers during or before the delivery are motivated to seek legal advice, you know that you have many options. The best way to know whether a lawsuit should be filed is ask attorney Robert Kreisman to consult with you. He will investigate the case and advise you without charge of any kind.

If you or someone you know or love has been damaged or harmed in a birth injury in Illinois, please call us for an immediate free consultation. Robert Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Chicago and Illinois birth injury cases for more than 40 years.

With our years of experience in trying and settling birth injury and birth trauma cases, Kreisman Law Offices provides the best possible services to our clients and have achieved unsurpassed results. Our service is unmatched. Please call us 24 hours a day at 312.346.0045 or toll free 800.583.8002 for a free and immediate consultation, or complete a contact form online. There is no charge for a consultation that will include an evaluation of your case.