This page will review Illinois medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries. We will explain some relevant Illinois laws, review how birth injury lawsuits work in Illinois, and discuss the expected settlement amounts in Illinois birth injury lawsuits.
How to Project Illinois Birth Injury Settlement Amounts
One of the hardest things a birth injury lawyer must do is project settlement amounts for a family’s lawsuit. But you need to know what a settlement amount should be to advise the client on their settlement options. Determining the settlement amount in a birth injury lawsuit can be a challenging task for attorneys, as many factors can affect the final settlement amount. Birth injury cases can be particularly complex, and the amount of damages awarded can vary widely depending on the specific circumstances of the case.
The biggest challenge is usually figuring out what the child’s future will look like. In a serious cerebral palsy or HIE case, the future cost of medical care, therapy, equipment, home modifications, attendant care, education, and lost earning capacity can run into many millions of dollars. You need to get those numbers right.
Several factors may be considered when determining the settlement amount in an Illinois birth injury lawsuit. Some of the key factors include:
- The severity of the injury: The extent and severity of the injury suffered by the child will be a major factor in determining the settlement amount. In general, more severe injuries that require ongoing medical care and treatment are likely to result in higher settlements.
- The long-term prognosis: The child’s long-term prognosis will also be considered. If the child is likely to require ongoing medical care and treatment for years to come, the settlement amount may be higher. This is the main challenge in projecting settlement amounts in birth injury cases: the long-term nature of the injuries suffered by the child. In many cases, the child may require ongoing medical care and treatment for years to come, and the full extent of the financial and emotional impact of the injury may not be known for some time. This can make it difficult to accurately estimate the compensation needed to meet the child’s long-term needs, which is why you need to carefully drill down with the economic cost experts to get the number right. You need to figure out what to ask a jury for… and what a jury is most likely to ultimately find.
- The defendant’s liability: You need liability to get any payout at trial. But if liability is established, the defendant’s degree of both culpability and “dislikeability” before the jury can impact jury payouts, which inform expected settlement compensation.
- Economic damages: Economic damages such as medical expenses, lost future earnings, and the cost of ongoing medical care and treatment will also be considered in determining the settlement amount.
- Non-economic damages: Non-economic damages such as the child’s pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability, disfigurement, and loss of a normal life will also be considered in determining the settlement amount.
One category does not belong on this list in Illinois: punitive damages. Illinois law does not allow punitive, exemplary, vindictive, or aggravated damages in medical, hospital, or other healing art malpractice cases.
Illinois Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements and Verdicts
Parents understandably want to know what Illinois birth injury settlements look like. The truth is that birth injury lawsuit settlements vary widely based on the severity of the injury, the projected cost of lifelong care, and how strong the liability proof is.
Below are summaries of jury verdicts and publicly reported settlements in Illinois birth injury malpractice cases. These cases are useful because they show what juries and defendants have paid in actual cases. But do not assume that a $20 million settlement in one cerebral palsy case means another cerebral palsy case is worth $20 million. The facts that drive these cases are often buried well beneath the headline settlement number.
- $17,100,000 Verdict (2025): An Illinois jury awarded this amount to the parents of an infant who died at nine months old from brain injuries sustained during delivery. The mother, diagnosed with gestational hypertension and later preeclampsia, went into induced labor in May 2018. Despite clear signs of fetal distress during labor, the obstetrician failed to intervene or expedite delivery. The baby was born in critical condition after a prolonged vaginal delivery, requiring 15 minutes of resuscitation, and was later diagnosed with a severe brain injury. Over the following months, he endured seizures, feeding difficulties, and respiratory issues before passing away. The jury awarded $7.1 million for the child’s pain, suffering, and medical expenses, and $10 million for the parents’ grief. The verdict reflects the jury’s finding that timely delivery could have prevented the infant’s suffering and death.
- $18,000,000 Settlement (2025): Electronic fetal monitoring strips began to show recurrent late decelerations and decreased variability, the classic signs of fetal hypoxia. But the clinical team chose to continue with labor rather than transition to surgical delivery. As labor progressed, the baby’s heart rate patterns deteriorated further, eventually resulting in an emergency C-section. At delivery, the child was born in critical condition and required immediate resuscitation. Subsequent imaging confirmed the diagnosis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The child was later diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy, global developmental delays, and seizure disorder. The lawsuit claimed that had the medical team intervened even an hour earlier, the birth injury likely could have been prevented. The $18 million settlement covered projected lifelong medical care, home modifications, mobility equipment, therapies, and both past and future non-economic damages for pain, suffering, and loss of a normal life. The case went to trial but settled before closing arguments.
- $75,859,000 Verdict (2024): A Cook County jury awarded $75.859 million to a young girl who suffered permanent brain damage, serious brachial plexus injuries, fractures, and other physical injuries during the delivery of twins at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Her twin brother was delivered without complication. The plaintiffs alleged that instead of allowing the second twin to be delivered head first, doctors attempted to turn her for a breech extraction. The family contended the maneuver was unnecessary and was performed improperly, causing severe trauma and oxygen deprivation. The defense disputed both how the injuries occurred and whether the brain injury resulted from the delivery. The jury sided with the family. The award included compensation for past and future medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of a normal life, emotional distress, disfigurement, and lost future earnings.
- $40,000,000 Verdict (2023): This is a delayed C-section case. The mother experienced a placental abruption, but the necessary medical intervention was significantly delayed. As a consequence, the child suffers from a seizure disorder, mild cerebral palsy, and speech and developmental delays. The family filed a birth injury lawsuit and received a $3 million settlement offer. They chose trial instead. A Coles County jury came back with a $40 million award.
- $11,000,000 Settlement (2023): The fetal monitor tracings allegedly showed adverse changes, but the defendant obstetrician opted not to perform a Cesarean delivery but waited for the mother to deliver vaginally, causing a 30-minute delay and ongoing hypoxic-ischemic insults to the plaintiff. The plaintiff suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, leaving him with permanent disabilities and mental deficiencies.
- $35,000,000 Settlement (2023): Premature twins were born at Evanston Hospital. The doctor was accused of leaving the hospital during his shift, being late for surgery, using a transverse incision instead of a vertical incision, and taking a stunning 14 minutes to deliver the second twin, who later had severe disabilities and cerebral palsy. The case went to trial but ended in a deadlocked jury. In an unrelated case, the defendant pleaded guilty to sexual abuse, prompting the hospital to reach a $35 million settlement with the family to end the lawsuit.
- $14,000,000 Settlement (2019): The plaintiff, a newborn female, allegedly suffered hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, mental and motor deficits, including cerebral palsy, and emotional and psychological trauma after a vaginal delivery performed by the staff at the defendant Cook County Health and Hospital System. The lawsuit alleged that the defendant was negligent in failing to recognize and respond to signs of fetal distress and intervene with a C-section to avoid harm to the baby.
- $48,195,000 Settlement (2019): A pregnant woman went to the hospital at 37 weeks with symptoms of preeclampsia, but was sent home. She came back 3 days later with even more concerning signs of problems, including fetal heart tracings showing signs of stress, and was sent home again. She came back the next day and had an emergency C-section, but the baby had already suffered significant oxygen deprivation and was born with very serious and permanent brain injuries. The case initially went to trial in Chicago, and a jury awarded over $100 million, but the parties subsequently agreed to settle for $48.1 million to avoid a prolonged appeal.
- $16,000,000 Settlement (2018): Baby suffered a subdural hemorrhage (brain bleed) during delivery at Swedish Covenant Hospital. The baby was eventually diagnosed with cerebral palsy and seizures as a result of the brain bleed. The lawsuit claimed that the brain bleed was caused by the doctor’s negligent attempt to use a vacuum pump extractor to facilitate vaginal delivery.
- $12,000,000 Verdict (2016): A lawsuit alleged that the defendants were negligent in failing to recognize the fetus was in distress during labor; failing to take appropriate steps to deliver the child once the fetus showed signs of fetal distress; negligently ordering or giving Pitocin in light of fetal distress and non-reassuring FHT patterns; and failing to timely perform a C-section. The baby suffered serious brain damage as a result of oxygen deprivation. A jury in Cook County awarded $12 million, split between the hospital and the OB/GYN defendants.
- $7,500,000 Settlement (2011): The plaintiffs alleged that the doctors negligently administered Pitocin to try to rush a vaginal delivery even though the fetal monitoring strips were showing warning signs from the very start of labor. The baby subsequently suffered oxygen loss and permanent brain damage during delivery. The defendants, a hospital and OB/GYN practice, agreed to settle the case for $7.5 million.
Birth Injury Statute of Limitations in Illinois for Minor Plaintiffs
Under Illinois law, a birth injury lawsuit on behalf of a child generally must be filed within 8 years of the act or omission that caused the injury. So when the malpractice occurs at birth, the ordinary deadline will usually arrive around the child’s 8th birthday.
There is also an outside age limit. Illinois law provides that the child’s medical malpractice claim may in no event be brought after the child’s 22nd birthday.
Section 735 ILCS § 5/13-212(b) controls this rule. The age 22 language is a cap. It is not an automatic extension to age 22 for every birth injury case.
There is a separate rule for a person who is under a legal disability other than simply being a minor. Section 13-212(c) can toll the medical negligence limitations period until the legal disability is removed. That issue can become very important when a child has profound cognitive or neurological disabilities, but it should be evaluated based on the particular facts instead of assuming every seriously injured child automatically gets until age 22.
Illinois Statute of Limitations for Malpractice Lawsuits Involving Parent Claims
The claims of parents in Illinois medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries are generally subject to a 2-year statute of limitations. This means that birth injury claims belonging to the parents must ordinarily be filed within 2 years of the date that the claim accrues, or they will be legally barred. 735 ILCS § 5/13-212(a).
So when does the “claim accrue” in Illinois? Illinois follows the discovery rule, which means that the 2-year statute of limitations period begins to run when the plaintiff knew or reasonably should have known of the injury and that it may have been wrongfully caused.
In many birth injury cases, the injury is obvious shortly after birth. But that does not mean the discovery date is automatically the date of diagnosis. The legal question is when the claimant had enough information to know, or reasonably should have known, both of the injury and that the injury might have been wrongfully caused.
Illinois 4-Year Statute of Repose
Section 13-212(a) of the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure is divided into two parts, containing both a statute of limitations and a statute of repose for Illinois medical negligence lawsuits.
The medical negligence statute of limitations is interpreted within the context of the discovery rule, which means the two-year limitations period starts when the party knows or should know about their injury and that it was wrongfully caused. The purpose of a statute of repose in Illinois is to limit the extended liability that may result from the discovery rule. So the statute of repose sets a cap on the applicability of the discovery rule.
For the ordinary adult malpractice claim, that outside deadline is generally 4 years after the act or omission that caused the injury, even if the injury or its negligent cause was discovered later. The minor plaintiff rule discussed above is different.
| Claim Type | Time Limit | Trigger Event | Important Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent’s Claim | Generally 2 years | Discovery of injury and possible wrongful cause | Generally subject to the 4-year statute of repose |
| Child’s Claim | 8 years after malpractice | Date of act or omission | In no event after the child’s 22nd birthday; separate legal disability rules may apply |
| Legal Disability Other Than Minority | Special tolling rule | Limitations period generally does not run while qualifying disability remains | Must actually qualify as a legal disability under Illinois law |
| Ordinary Medical Malpractice Repose | 4 years | Date of negligent act or omission | Different rules apply to minors and qualifying legal disabilities |
Proof Required in an Illinois Birth Injury Case
The plaintiff in an Illinois birth injury malpractice case will need to prove 3 basic elements to establish a successful claim:
- The plaintiff will need to show what the applicable standard of medical care was under the circumstances, meaning what the doctor or other healthcare provider should have done.
- The plaintiff must show that the defendant’s actions did not meet the applicable standard of care, meaning that the defendant provided negligent medical care.
- The plaintiff must show that the negligent medical care provided by the defendant was a cause of the birth injury.
Establishing these elements in Illinois usually requires expert testimony from a qualified expert.
Illinois appellate courts have also reaffirmed that even when a baby is born with complex health conditions, juries are still permitted to weigh competing theories of causation when determining whether negligent care played a role in the outcome. This means plaintiffs do not necessarily have to prove that no other medical condition contributed to the injury. They need credible expert testimony that connects the negligent care to the harm under Illinois causation law.
Common Types of Medical Negligence in Birth Injury Cases
The majority of birth injury lawsuits allege negligent medical care during the labor and delivery process. The most common types of medical negligence alleged in birth injury cases in Illinois are described below.
Failure to Perform a C-Section
When things start to go wrong during labor and delivery, performing a C-section instead of a vaginal delivery is often the most effective tool that doctors have to avoid harm to the baby and prevent birth injuries. For this reason, one of the most common types of medical negligence alleged in birth injury cases is that the doctor negligently failed to perform a C-section delivery, either a scheduled C-section or an emergency C-section.
Fetal monitoring devices allow the delivery team to track the baby’s heart rhythm throughout the labor and delivery process. The whole point of these monitoring systems is to alert doctors when the baby is under threat. The device can alert the delivery team when the baby’s heart rate becomes abnormal so that the doctor can decide whether intervention, including an emergency C-section, is necessary to avoid injury. For these devices to work, however, the delivery team must carefully monitor them, and the doctor must properly interpret warning signs. Many birth injury cases involve allegations that the delivery team failed to monitor the fetal heart rate or ignored warning indicators.
Obstetrical forceps and vacuum extractors are instruments that doctors will sometimes use to help maneuver a baby through the birth canal. These tools are used in certain difficult vaginal deliveries when assistance is medically appropriate. These instruments require a high degree of technical skill and technique. If the doctor does not use them carefully and correctly, these tools can cause serious injuries to the baby.
Failure to Diagnose and Manage Complications
When doctors fail to diagnose obstetric complications or mishandle them, it can result in birth injuries. Complications that can result in birth injuries if not properly diagnosed and managed include prolapsed umbilical cord, fetal macrosomia, shoulder dystocia, and preeclampsia.
Other cases involve excessive Pitocin, uterine tachysystole, delayed response to signs of oxygen deprivation, failure to call an obstetrician in time, or communication failures between nurses and doctors. The particular mistake changes from case to case. The recurring question is whether reasonable medical care would have changed the outcome.
Common Birth Injuries in Illinois
- Erb’s Palsy: Paralysis or weakness of the arm resulting from injury to the brachial plexus nerves, which allow the brain and spinal cord to control movement and sensation in the shoulder, arm, and hand.
- Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent disorders involving movement and posture caused by abnormal development of or injury to the developing brain. There are many causes of cerebral palsy. In some birth injury malpractice cases, the allegation is that hypoxic-ischemic injury from oxygen deprivation during labor or delivery caused or contributed to the child’s cerebral palsy.
- Brain Injuries: A prolonged or severe interruption in the baby’s oxygen or blood supply can damage brain cells and cause permanent neurological injury. Birth injury lawsuits involving HIE often focus on whether fetal monitoring showed warning signs early enough for the delivery team to intervene.
- Caput Succedaneum: Swelling of the soft tissue of the baby’s scalp caused by pressure on the head as it passes through the birth canal. Caput can occur during normal delivery, although delivery circumstances and the use of vacuum extraction may become relevant in an individual malpractice case.
- Cephalohematoma: Bleeding between the baby’s skull and the tissue covering the skull, which often appears as a raised area after birth. It can occur without malpractice, but instrument-assisted delivery and excessive trauma can become issues in a birth injury lawsuit.
Steps to Filing a Birth Injury Case in Illinois
The process of filing a birth injury claim in Illinois involves several steps:
- Medical review and Section 2-622 affidavit: Illinois has a special filing requirement for medical malpractice cases. The plaintiff’s attorney, or the plaintiff if proceeding without a lawyer, generally files an affidavit stating that the case has been reviewed with a qualified healthcare professional who believes there is a reasonable and meritorious basis for filing the lawsuit. The reviewing professional provides a written report supporting that conclusion.
- Filing the Complaint: The plaintiff or their attorney will file a formal birth injury legal complaint with the appropriate court, outlining the allegations of negligence, the injuries sustained, and the damages sought.
- Discovery: During the discovery phase, both parties gather and exchange information and evidence relevant to the case. This may include witness depositions, expert testimony, fetal monitoring strips, medical records, hospital policies, and electronic records.
- Pretrial Motions: Both parties may file pretrial motions, asking the court to make decisions on specific issues before the trial begins. These motions can include requests to dismiss the case, exclude evidence, or compel the other party to produce additional information. Often in Illinois birth injury lawsuits, the key to the case is what evidence gets admitted and what evidence gets excluded.
- Mediation or Settlement Negotiations: Many medical malpractice cases in Illinois are resolved through mediation or settlement negotiations before reaching trial. During this process, both parties attempt to reach an agreement on the damages and other terms to resolve the case without a trial. This is an off-ramp that parties often take to reach a settlement before a trial.
- Trial: If the case proceeds to trial, both parties will present their arguments, evidence, and witness testimony before a judge or jury. The judge or jury will then determine whether the healthcare provider is liable for the plaintiff’s injuries and, if so, the amount of damages to be awarded.
- Appeal: If either party is dissatisfied with the outcome of the trial, they may appeal the decision to a higher court. The appellate court will review the case for legal errors and may uphold, reverse, or modify the trial court’s decision.
One important correction to the prior version of this page: Illinois does not impose a general requirement that a medical malpractice plaintiff send the healthcare provider a 60-day notice of intent before filing suit. The Section 2-622 affidavit and report requirement is the important Illinois prefiling issue.
Comparative Negligence in Illinois Birth Injury Cases
Illinois follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means that a plaintiff’s recovery may be reduced if that plaintiff is found partially at fault. A plaintiff whose contributory fault is more than 50 percent of the proximate cause of the injury is barred from recovery.
But there is an important distinction in a birth injury case. Obviously, the baby is blameless. The negligence of the mother or father is not simply imputed to the child and does not reduce the amount the child can recover on the child’s own claim.
A parent’s own negligence can affect the parent’s separate claim for damages when the facts and law support a comparative fault defense. That is very different from reducing the injured child’s recovery because of something a parent allegedly did.
This distinction matters because defense lawyers sometimes want to talk about missed prenatal appointments, maternal conduct, or failure to follow medical advice. Whether those facts are even legally or medically relevant depends on what claim is being asserted and whether there is competent proof that the conduct actually contributed to the damages.
Experts in Illinois Birth Injury Claims
Expert witnesses play a critical role in birth injury lawsuits in Illinois, providing invaluable insights and testimony to establish liability and prove the elements of a medical malpractice claim.
Proving liability in a birth injury case requires demonstrating that the medical professional breached the standard of care and that this breach caused the injury. Expert witnesses play a critical role in establishing liability, as they can testify to the accepted standard of care and how the medical professional deviated from it.
Our law firm has spent years developing expert witnesses with the background and credibility to earn the trust of hospitals and insurance companies for settlement purposes, and of juries if the case goes all the way to a verdict.
This is what our experts do:
- Establishing the standard of care: Expert witnesses, usually medical professionals with experience in the same field as the defendant, can provide testimony on what a good doctor should do to avoid injury during labor and delivery in that circumstance.
- Identifying the breach of duty: After establishing the standard of care, expert witnesses can provide their opinion on how the defendant deviated from that standard. You need an expert who can explain in human terms why the doctor or nurse made a mistake and why a good doctor should not make that mistake.
- Demonstrating causation: Proving the doctor made a mistake is not enough. You have to prove that the mistake caused the birth injury. Expert witnesses can connect the defendant’s actions or inactions to the injury, explaining how their deviation from what a good doctor would do resulted in the harm suffered by the child.
- Quantifying damages: Experts can also provide valuable input on the extent of the child’s injuries, the expected prognosis, and the child’s future needs. They can assess the costs of medical treatment, rehabilitation, and ongoing care, helping to establish the amount of economic damages being sought in the lawsuit.
Besides the medical doctors, these experts often include:
- Life care planners: Professionals who specialize in evaluating the long-term needs of individuals with disabilities. They can develop a comprehensive life care plan, detailing the future medical treatments, therapies, and support services required by the child. This plan serves as a basis for calculating the economic damages associated with ongoing care.
- Rehabilitation specialists: Rehabilitation specialists, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech therapists, can provide assessments of the child’s current and future therapy needs. They outline the frequency and duration of therapy sessions, as well as the costs associated with these services.
- Special education consultants: Children with birth injuries may require specialized educational support and accommodations. Special education consultants can evaluate the child’s educational needs, recommend appropriate support services, and estimate the costs of providing these services throughout the child’s educational journey.
- Vocational experts: In cases where the birth injury will affect the child’s ability to work in the future, vocational experts can evaluate the child’s projected employability and earning capacity. They provide testimony on the impact of the injury on the child’s ability to perform various types of work and estimate the potential loss of future wages.
- Economists: Economists can help quantify the economic damages in a birth injury case by analyzing the costs associated with medical treatments, therapies, educational support, and lost future earnings. They also calculate the present value of these future costs, taking into account factors such as inflation, interest rates, and life expectancy.
Damages for Birth Injuries in Illinois
Illinois law does not have a maximum cap on compensatory damages that can be recovered in a birth injury medical malpractice case.
The categories of damages can include:
- Past and Future Medical Expenses: Serious birth injuries can require a lifetime of medical treatment, therapy, equipment, medications, attendant care, and other services. This can be a huge category of damages in birth injury cases involving serious, lifelong injuries like cerebral palsy.
- Lost Future Earnings and Earning Capacity: If the injury leaves the child unable to work or limits the child’s future employment, the child can seek compensation for that lost earning capacity.
- Pain and Suffering: The injured child can recover damages for conscious physical pain and suffering caused by the injury.
- Loss of a Normal Life: Illinois recognizes damages for the child’s loss of the ability to enjoy the normal activities and experiences of life.
- Disfigurement and Disability: Serious birth injuries may result in permanent physical impairment or disfigurement that can be separately considered in evaluating damages.
Parents can also have separate economic claims, including medical expenses for which they are legally responsible, although those claims can sometimes be assigned or incorporated into the child’s case. But Illinois does not generally give parents a separate pain and suffering or loss of society award simply because their child suffered a nonfatal injury.
No Punitive Damages in Illinois Medical Malpractice Cases
Our earlier version of this page suggested punitive damages could increase the value of an Illinois birth injury malpractice case. That was wrong.
Illinois law expressly provides that punitive, exemplary, vindictive, or aggravated damages are not recoverable in cases seeking damages for medical, hospital, or other healing art malpractice.
This does not mean outrageous conduct is irrelevant. Jurors are human. The way a defendant acted can influence how jurors view credibility, liability, and the compensatory damages that are actually available. But punitive damages themselves are not part of an Illinois medical malpractice verdict.
Suing a Midwife in Illinois
Illinois enacted significant changes affecting certified nurse-midwives that took effect in 2026.
One of the most relevant developments is the passage of House Bill 2688, which amended the Illinois Nurse Practice Act and expanded the circumstances in which certified nurse-midwives can provide home birth services.
The law also addresses the liability of collaborating physicians. A physician is not liable for a nurse-midwife’s acts or omissions solely because the physician entered into a collaborative agreement. A physician providing care remains responsible for the physician’s own acts and omissions.
This matters in a birth injury lawsuit because the collaborative agreement by itself does not create an automatic path to liability against the physician. Plaintiffs still have to identify negligent conduct by the physician or another valid legal basis for holding that defendant responsible.
This is important for another practical reason. Midwives may not have the same liability insurance limits or financial resources as hospitals and physician practices. So identifying every defendant who actually bears legal responsibility can matter a great deal to the family’s ability to collect a settlement or verdict. But the new law does not mean physicians are immune from liability for their own negligent care.
Attorney Fees in Illinois Birth Injury Malpractice Cases
Illinois has a specific statute limiting contingency fees in medical malpractice cases. The total contingent fee for the plaintiff’s attorney or attorneys generally cannot exceed 33 1/3 percent of the recovery.
This is worth mentioning because families naturally want to know what happens to a settlement after a case resolves. Birth injury cases are extraordinarily expensive to litigate. They can require multiple medical experts, life care planning, economists, depositions, exhibits, and years of litigation. The attorney fee is separate from litigation expenses, so families should understand both when evaluating a settlement.
What to Do If You Suspect a Birth Injury Case
If you think medical negligence may have played a role in your child’s injury, you do not need to solve the case yourself. But there are a few things that can help preserve the story of what happened.
- Keep a timeline: Write down every major event, diagnosis, doctor conversation, and hospital interaction in chronological order.
- Request the full records: Ask for labor and delivery records, fetal monitoring strips, NICU records, radiology, and nurses’ notes. Nurses’ notes are often more revealing than physician summaries. You can also wait for your lawyers to do it for you.
- Preserve photos and videos: Keep any photos or videos from the NICU, delivery room, or early weeks after birth. They can help experts understand what your child looked like and how the condition presented.
- Do not rely on memory alone: Save emails, discharge paperwork, appointment summaries, bills, and insurance explanations of benefits.
Do not worry if you do not have all of this. Families dealing with a seriously injured newborn are focused on the child, not building a lawsuit file. Birth injury lawyers can obtain the medical records and other evidence needed to investigate what happened.
Contact Miller & Zois About Illinois Birth Injury Cases
Contact Miller & Zois today for a free consultation about potential birth injury malpractice cases in Illinois. Call us at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.
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