If your child endured a brachial plexus injury due to the medical negligence of a healthcare worker, you may be able to pursue a birthing injury claim and secure compensation for the harm and losses your child and family suffered.
Even better, you will not have to go after this financial recovery by yourself. Hire a skilled Chicago brachial plexus lawyer from Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for expert representation in your medical malpractice claim. They’ll secure you maximum compensation.
About Our Law Firm
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys prioritizes clients’ needs over profits, providing essential legal help during tough times to restore their pre-accident status.
More importantly, as a result of this fight, hard work, and dedication to our clients, we have not only helped countless individuals over the years get the results they need but also secured millions of dollars on their behalf through settlements and trial verdicts.
For these reasons, if you believe you have a valid birth injury legal claim and want to discuss your case with an experienced Chicago brachial plexus injury lawyer, reach out to our firm today for a free consultation. We can do this consultation online, over Zoom, or in a meeting with you at one of our conveniently located offices.
About Brachial Plexus Injuries
The brachial plexus is a nerve network consisting of five nerves that branch off the spinal cord at the neck and send movement and sensory signals from the spinal cord to the shoulders, arms, and hands. There is a brachial plexus on each side of the body.
When nerves stretch excessively, like during forceful arm movements, it can lead to severe injuries. These injuries often happen during childbirth, but accidents can also cause them.
For instance, when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone and requires the doctor to maneuver it through the birth canal, it can result in shoulder dystocia and contribute to brachial plexus injuries in newborns.
Common Causes of Brachial Plexus Injuries
Brachial plexus injuries happen for various reasons. Knowing the cause is crucial for assessing lawsuit viability.
In newborns, common causes of brachial plexus injuries by medical professionals include:
- Not recommending a C-section
- Performing a C-section incorrectly
- Misusing the forceps or the vacuum during the delivery of the baby
- Pulling excessively on the baby’s shoulders, head, or neck during labor and delivery
- Mismanaging shoulder dystocia
- Other types of medical malpractice
Fortunately, you will not have to figure out which of these causes contributed to your child’s injuries by yourself. When you hire an attorney from Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, they’ll investigate your child’s injury, find causes, and suggest legal actions.
Symptoms of a Brachial Plexus Injury
In general, symptoms of brachial plexus injuries depend on where the injury occurred and the severity of it. Injuries higher on the spinal cord impact shoulders. Lower ones often affect wrist, arm, and hand in brachial plexus nerve trauma.
Brachial plexus injuries can cause various symptoms. Common resulting ailments include:
- A limp hanging arm
- Loss of feeling or numbness to the hand or arm
- An inability to move or control the arm, wrist, hand, or shoulder
- Severe and sudden pain in the arm or shoulder
- Burning and stinging sensation in the arm or shoulder
- Impaired development of the circulatory, muscular, and nervous system
- A decreased grip strength in the affected hand or arm
- A partial or total paralysis of the arm
These injuries may cause mild to severe pain, becoming chronic, depending on the circumstances leading to the injury. This can also mean that the medical treatments resulting from this injury will be extensive, leading to substantial bills.
If a brachial plexus injury happens, contact a skilled medical malpractice lawyer quickly. They assess losses, plan to secure full compensation, covering current and future child’s medical costs.
Bringing a Birth Injury Legal Case in Chicago, Ilinois
A birth injury lawsuit is aimed to help families recover financially for preventable birth injuries, including cerebral palsy, brachial plexus, and other medical conditions. This means that proving a birth injury case in Chicago is similar to other types of medical malpractice claims, and the same elements will need to be met.
To prove medical professional responsibility for your child’s injuries, start with the care standard. A medical expert compares actions to this standard. The expert reviews the attending physician’s actions during labor and delivery, comparing them to a similarly skilled professional’s actions.
First, determine if the healthcare pro deviated from the care standard, causing the child’s brachial plexus injuries. Proving negligence alone may not suffice due to lawsuit costs. To succeed, demonstrate substantial financial damages from the injuries and losses.
When you work with our brachial plexus injury lawyers, you won’t face legal action alone. They’ll handle your case, build strong arguments, and pursue deserved compensation.
Local Issues That Can Affect Chicago, IL Brachial Plexus Cases
Discovering your child’s brachial plexus injury from medical malpractice is distressing. Such incidents can occur even at top medical centers like Loyola, Northwestern, and UChicago.
If your child suffered this injury due to medical negligence, consult a Chicago birth injury attorney for legal guidance.
The Statute of Limitations Following a Brachial Plexus Injury in Chicago, Illinois
When considering bringing a birth injury claim, one thing to keep in mind is that you only have a certain amount of time to bring this lawsuit. If you do not, you can be barred from obtaining the compensation you may deserve.
For instance, in Chicago, individuals will only have two years to bring an injury claim following a medical malpractice incident. These regulations have exceptions that can change the filing period, especially for medical malpractice. To protect your birth injury claim, consult a brachial plexus lawyer promptly.
At the Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, our attorneys are knowledgeable about brachial plexus injuries. They determine your injury claim timeline and ensure timely motion and file preparation and submission, addressing all concerns.
Financial Damages You Can Pursue After a Brachial Plexus Injury in in Chicago, Illinois
Getting fair compensation for a brachial plexus birth injury is tough. It’s hard due to the complex assessment of losses and costs.
That is why it is critical to have a thorough understanding of the losses that may have resulted, such as:
- Medical expenses related to hospitalization, surgeries, medications, doctor visits, emergency care, and other types of medical treatments
- Future, ongoing medical treatments such as rehabilitative therapy, pain management, or assistive medical devices
- Loss of a normal life
- Loss of future earnings
- Emotional distress
- Pain and suffering
- Increased risk of harm because of disabilities
To know your damages after a brachial plexus injury, consult our experienced attorneys at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys. We’ll help secure compensation for treatment and other costs.
The Insurance Companies Do Not Want to Help You
If your child suffered a birthing injury due to a healthcare provider’s wrongful actions, you likely will not be dealing with the at-fault party when it comes to obtaining compensation but rather their insurance company. However, this does not mean that this will make it easier for you to recover the money you need for the injuries your child suffered or the losses your family endured.
In fact, the insurance company will likely try to do everything possible to make obtaining this compensation as challenging as possible. Why? Because these insurance companies do not work for you or want to help you secure the maximum compensation you are entitled to.
Rather, like other for-profit companies, these insurers want to make money by minimizing costs and maximizing their revenue. This means that the less they pay you for your medical practice claim, the more money they make. That is why it is common for insurance companies to try to do everything they can to deny your claim or provide you with the least amount possible.
Consequently, before you speak with these insurance companies, it may be worth discussing your case with an experienced Chicago brachial plexus lawyer. These attorneys can handle all these communications and negotiations with the insurer on your behalf, ensuring you do not say or do something that can hurt your claim. Plus, if the insurance company denies your initial claim, these experienced brachial plexus injury lawyers can process your appeal and help you fight for the total compensation you deserve.
Actions to Consider Following a Brachial Plexus Birth Injury in in Chicago, IL
If your child suffered a brachial plexus injury, the last thing you want to worry about is whether you have a viable legal case or what steps you need to take next to file a claim. However, taking action early can not only help ensure your child gets the necessary medical attention, but these steps can also help protect their legal rights.
For these reasons, following this type of birthing injury:
Get an Appropriate Evaluation and Further Medical Treatments
You want to ensure your child gets the appropriate medical treatment as soon as possible. Depending on the circumstances of the brachial plexus injury, the trauma may require further medical care as well as an ongoing assessment to ensure your child gets the proper help.
In addition, getting this further treatment can also help your attorney understand the extent of your child’s injuries, the type of care they will need in the future, and the full extent of your child’s losses, which can help their legal claim.
Obtain Medical Records
Obtain your child’s medical records as soon as possible. This can help ensure that nobody tries to alter these documents and that they do not get misplaced or lost.
In addition, you will want to keep track of all the bills and expenses related to your child’s injury, as well as paperwork related to their diagnoses, medical treatments, test results, and other financial statements, and give them to your attorney for review.
Reach out to an Experienced Chicago Brachial Plexus Lawyer
Once you obtain the necessary care your child requires, reach out to an experienced Chicago brachial plexus attorney as soon as possible. Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys can evaluate your claim, determine if your child has a valid case, obtain medical records and bills for you, and figure out the next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions Following a Brachial Plexus Injury in in Chicago, Illinois
It is normal for parents and guardians to have numerous questions when their child suffers harm because of a medical professional’s wrongful or negligent actions.
That is why, in the following FAQs, we will go over some of these concerns and provide the answers you need to better understand your legal options and how an experienced brachial plexus lawyer can help your situation.
1. How Do You Know if You Have a Valid Brachial Plexus Injury Case in Chicago, IL?
Unfortunately, bringing a birth injury lawsuit takes more than just showing that your child was harmed during a procedure. As mentioned above, numerous elements must be established before you can proceed with further legal action.
Worse yet, it is likely that the health care professional and their team will make it as hard as possible for you to obtain the information you need to show what happened and who was at fault. As a result, following this incident, you should reach out to an experienced Chicago brachial plexus lawyer as soon as possible. At the Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, our attorneys can promptly review your child’s medical records, determine if their injuries resulted from a healthcare professional’s mistakes, and help you pursue legal action to recover the money your child deserves.
2. How Long Will Your Birthing Injury Case Take to Resolve in Chicago, Illinois?
When it comes to birthing injury claims, there is no timeline for how long these cases will take to resolve. In fact, it can take anywhere from months to years for these claims to conclude.
However, typically, the extent of this timeline will usually depend on the following factors:
- The severity of the brachial plexus injuries
- The jurisdiction where the lawsuit is filed
- The number of experts involved in the case
- The insurance company’s willingness to negotiate and cooperate
- Accessibility to medical records and witnesses
- The amount of time it takes to gather and review all the documents
- Whether the case goes to trial
If you want to better understand how long your legal claim may take, it may be best to discuss the case with a Chicago brachial plexus attorney. These legal professionals can review the facts of your case and determine what type of timeline you can be looking at.
3. How Much Is Your Brachial Plexus Case Worth in Chicago, IL?
Because each brachial plexus case is unique, there is no way for an attorney to tell you exactly how much compensation you may be looking at when it comes to these claims.
In truth, the value of your case will often depend on several factors, including:
- The severity of the brachial plexus injuries
- The type of medical treatments that will be needed now and in the future
- Whether the brachial plexus injury resulted in a disability
- The certainty of pain continuing into the future
- The effects this injury will have on the child’s life and their ability to take part in regular activities
- The defendant’s culpability
- The reliability of the evidence presented
- The expert’s testimony regarding these injuries
Fortunately, when you work with a skilled Chicago brachial plexus lawyer, like those from Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, you will not have to worry about figuring out which of these factors impact your case. Rather, these lawyers can review each of these elements, determine if they affect your legal claim, and prepare the most convincing arguments in response to fight for the monetary damages you need.
4. How Can the Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys Go After the Justice Your Child Deserves?
If your newborn suffered a devastating injury because of a doctor’s or other healthcare worker’s negligent actions, our lawyers can help you hold these professionals accountable for the harm and losses that resulted.
At the Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys, our legal team has the resources, skills, and experience to take on these complicated birth injury claims and fight for the outcome your family both wants and needs.
Once hired, our attorneys can:
- Figure out whether you have a viable legal claim and the legal options you can pursue.
- Analyze the details of your case and secure the evidence needed to show fault and damages.
- Hire the medical experts needed to substantiate your claim.
- Take on the settlement negotiations and go after an offer that is fair to your child and family.
- Head to trial if these negotiations are going south, and fight tirelessly to secure the damages and justice your family needs.
Contact a Chicago Birth Injury Law Firm for Legal Help Today
To determine what can be done about your child’s brachial plexus injury, contact the Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today for a free, no-risk consultation, or call us at (312) 726-1616 and find out how our lawyers can fight for your child’s rights.
