Delivery room mistakes are among the leading causes of preventable birth injuries in the United States. When doctors and nurses make mistakes in the delivery room that lead to birth injuries, seeking just compensation can be critical for managing the long-term financial and non-financial consequences for newborns and their parents.
At Coplan + Crane, our Chicago birth injury lawyers can identify all of the parties responsible for harming your baby. We also collect strong evidence to show that the error rises to the level of medical negligence, which is critical for securing fair compensation.
Explore your legal rights and options by calling 312-982-0588 today for a FREE case evaluation. Coplan + Crane serves the victims of delivery room mistakes throughout Chicago, nearby communities like Oak Park, and all of Illinois.
Assigning legal responsibility for an error during labor and delivery starts with determining who is to blame. Did the delivering physician (i.e., the mother’s obstetrician or OB-GYN) make a mistake? Or was the mistake made by a nurse, an anesthesiologist, or another medical professional involved in the delivery?
Once you know who is to blame, determining legal responsibility will typically involve identifying the at-fault medical professional’s employer. As a general rule, employers in Illinois can be held liable for their employees’ negligence within the scope of their employment. This is known as vicarious liability.
So, if a healthcare professional makes a mistake in the delivery room, the healthcare professional’s employer will be legally responsible in most cases where the provider (a) is an employee of the hospital or (b) appears to be acting on behalf of the employer. While individual circumstances vary, liability may rest with the following parties for birth injury negligence:
Doctors and other providers may also contract with the hospital, rather than enter into an employment relationship. If this is the case, the doctor may be held personally responsible for a mistake that results in a birth injury. Compensation would be payable through the doctor’s malpractice insurance.
Regardless of who (or what entity) is legally responsible for a preventable birth injury, seeking just compensation typically involves filing an insurance claim. These days, nearly all healthcare providers have medical malpractice insurance that covers this scenario.
There are specific requirements for filing medical malpractice claims in Illinois. These include both substantive requirements and procedural requirements, and establishing your family’s right to just compensation presents a variety of challenges.
While parents are not legally required to hire an attorney to represent them, seeking experienced legal representation is strongly recommended. When you hire an experienced birth injury attorney, your attorney will take steps such as:
One of the first steps in the process is proving that your newborn’s birth injury is the result of an error during delivery. Along with reviewing the relevant medical records, this involves engaging independent medical experts who can determine what went wrong and why.
After determining what went wrong and why, your attorney will be able to identify the defendant(s) responsible for the delivery room mistakes. This, in turn, will allow your attorney to determine the insurance companies involved.
Another critical step in the process is determining how much compensation you and your family deserve. Here, your attorney may work with medical experts and a variety of other professionals to assess the lifetime economic and non-economic costs of your newborn’s injury.
If you have a viable medical malpractice claim based on delivery room mistakes, your attorney can file a lawsuit on your behalf. Complaints involving medical malpractice must include one or more affidavits from experts stating that the plaintiff has a “reasonable and meritorious” case (see the Illinois Compiled Statutes, 735 ILCS 5/2-622). A knowledgeable attorney can consult the appropriate experts, prepare all necessary components of the complaint, and initiate legal proceedings with the appropriate court.
Finally, if the responsible party’s insurance company makes a settlement offer, your attorney can help you make an informed decision about whether to accept. If accepting a settlement is not in your family’s best interests, your attorney will continue fighting for just compensation. This may involve taking your case to trial.
Not all delivery room mistakes amount to medical negligence. The skilled lawyers at Coplan + Crane have the knowledge and experience to identify malpractice and take action on your family’s behalf. Our goal is to obtain the compensation you need to overcome the challenges you and your family have to face following a birth injury.
If you need to know more about filing a claim for a delivery room mistake in Illinois, we invite you to schedule a FREE, no-obligation consultation at Coplan + Crane. Contact us online to start building your case.
