Skull fractures during birth are more common than many people realize. While many skull fractures sustained at birth are minor and will heal on their own without any long-term effects, some can be much more serious. In some cases, a baby can sustain a skull fracture that leads to serious health complications, including brain damage. If your baby sustained a skull fracture during birth and suffered health complications as a result, you may be wondering if you can sue the doctor for medical malpractice.
When Is an Infant Skull Fracture Considered Medical Malpractice?
As with any potential medical malpractice…
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If you are the parent of a child with cerebral palsy, you have probably spent many hours reading books, browsing the internet, and talking to your child’s doctors about cerebral palsy treatment options. Cerebral palsy can cause a wide range of symptoms, from spastic movements and muscle rigidity to intellectual disability. According to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation, about a quarter of children with CP also suffer from behavioral and emotional problems such as anxiety and difficulty relating to their peers. 
Traditional CP treatments include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, medications, orthodontic devices, and surgery. While these…
Continue Reading 4 Complementary Therapy Options for Children with Cerebral Palsy

When a baby is born, the timing is crucial. Infants must transition from receiving oxygen and nutrients through the umbilical cord to breathing on their own and receiving oxygen through their lungs. If this transition is not smooth, it can result in a lack of oxygen to the brain, which is called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE. When HIE occurs, it can cause serious injury to the brain. In some cases, HIE can result in a lifelong condition called cerebral palsy.
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy after suffering from HIE at birth, you may be…
Continue Reading Birth Injury Claims for Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Resulting in Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy affects an individual’s ability to control his or her muscles, but the condition varies significantly with regard to severity. Some children with cerebral palsy are only mildly affected by the condition. They can play, walk, or even participate in sports. Others are nearly immobilized by the condition.
Fortunately, innovations in science, medicine, and engineering offer hope to cerebral palsy sufferers and their parents. Just recently, UC Riverside engineers received a $1.5 million grant to develop clothing that will increase mobility for children with cerebral palsy. The so-called “robot clothing” will, ideally, enable children with cerebral palsy to better…
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When a woman dies during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the 42 days following childbirth or the end of a pregnancy, it is considered a maternal mortality. Despite having access to some of the best healthcare in the world, American women suffer from maternal mortality at an alarmingly high rate compared to women in other wealthy, developed nations. Black American women are at a particularly high risk of falling victim to maternal mortality. Tragically, studies suggest that most of these deaths are due to preventable causes and pregnancy complications. 
When a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, her family is…
Continue Reading Why Do Women Die During and After Childbirth?

One of the most common symptoms of cerebral palsy is difficulty controlling muscles throughout the body. This can result in muscle spasticity, difficulty with mobility, and challenges with speaking, eating, and facial expressions. Many different professionals help children with cerebral palsy overcome their physical challenges and one of the most helpful of these professionals can be a speech therapist. 
How Does Cerebral Palsy Impact Speech and Facial Movement? 
Verbal communication delays are common in children with cerebral palsy – up to 75 percent, by some estimates. Limited control over face, tongue, and neck muscles can make it difficult for children…
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All healthy humans have an important fluid called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain and spinal cords, protecting the crucial central nervous system. CSF helps prevent injury to these fragile parts of our body, cushioning them when they are injured by falls or impact injuries. CSF also plays an important role in transporting nutrients to the brain and taking away waste products. 
Certain kinds of brain damage can cause pseudocysts, or fluid-filled sacs, to present in the brain’s white matter and neocortex after serious brain injuries that cause softening or loss of brain tissue. This condition is known as…
Continue Reading Multicystic Encephalomalacia and Cerebral Palsy in Infants

Before modern medicine, roughly a third of women died during pregnancy or childbirth. Current medical standards of care make this a number almost impossible to fathom; the vast majority of present-day childbirths go well, even when the mother and infant are facing serious complications. But when doctors, nurses, midwives, or hospitals are ill-prepared to respond to complex situations, mothers can still suffer serious injuries during and after childbirth. 
One of the most common causes of postpartum injuries still associated with childbirth and its aftermath are maternal infections; while these are not always avoidable, they are often a consequence of…
Continue Reading What Are Common Causes of Postpartum Maternal Infection?

The unfortunate reality for many mothers giving birth vaginally is that tearing injuries can easily occur. The skin of the vagina is biologically prepared to thin and stretch during delivery, but certain situations can make perineal tearing unavoidable. And while perineal tears are usually fairly easy to repair, poor medical treatment can make a mother’s recovery excruciatingly painful, sometimes requiring expensive further treatment and causing irreparable harm. 
If your doctor committed a mistake that cause unnecessary perineal tearing, or if they improperly tried to repair perineal tearing, you may be able to take action. 
What Kind of Mistakes Cause Unnecessary…
Continue Reading My Doctor Did a Terrible Job Stitching My Perineal Tearing. Can I Sue?

Abortion has always had a painful stigma for the women who seek it, even when their own lives are at risk. Due to recent political events, this threat may have increased, making it hard for women to talk about having an abortion and to seek the help and emotional support they need. When an abortion goes wrong and a woman is injured, this lack of support can leave a woman feeling like she has nowhere to turn for help. 
Tragically, this lead leads to a lack of resources about what a woman can do after a injury resulting from…
Continue Reading Can I Sue an Illinois Doctor for a Botched Abortion?

Illinois parents-to-be must navigate a large amount of complex information as they prepare to welcome their child into the world. When tragedy strikes and pregnancy ends in miscarriage, parents often feel a challenging combination of grief, confusion, and anger. There may be many questions – Why did this happen? Is anyone responsible? Sadly, parents who try to preempt unhealthy pregnancies by testing for genetic anomalies may risk inadvertently ending the pregnancy when the test itself causes a miscarriage. 
New Research from Yale Medicine tries to help grieving parents by looking for answers to difficult questions about miscarriages. If you…
Continue Reading New Research May Help Grieving Parents Determine Cause of Multiple Miscarriages

Doctors, nurses, midwives, and other childbirth medical specialists have an array of tools at their disposal to aid in ensuring babies are born safely. While the vast majority of deliveries do go smoothly, sometimes urgent intervention is needed. Delivering mothers have no choice but to put their faith in their attending doctor’s skill and knowledge. 
Tragically, not all doctors are as educated or dedicated to their patients’ well-being as they should be. And even when a mistake is just that – an accident – the results can be devastating. One kind of tool that has the potential to cause great…
Continue Reading Can Forceps Injure a Mother During Childbirth?