Childbirth is supposed to be one of the most exciting experiences for a family to go through. Unfortunately, parents’ worst nightmares far too often come true when they give birth to a child who has passed away.
Sometimes, these complications are unavoidable and no one’s fault—they just happen. Other times, the negligence of a medical professional has caused the unborn baby’s death.
In cases involving negligence, parents have the opportunity to pursue a medical malpractice claim against the people responsible for the stillbirth. Continue reading to learn more about when you can bring a claim for compensation for a stillbirth.
What Is Medical Negligence?
To pursue a medical malpractice claim for a stillbirth, we must first establish that the medical professional providing your prenatal care or care during labor and childbirth was negligent in some way.
Negligence in medicine is a mistake that another medical professional of similar training, resources, and education would not have made. The obstetrician, midwife, or nurse must have made an error or not exercised an appropriate level of care.
Because stillbirth can sometimes happen without apparent cause, establishing this liability and negligence can be a challenge. Some of the types of negligent errors that might have caused your child’s death in the womb include the following:
- Failure to treat or diagnose an infection in the mother
- Inadequate prenatal care, including sonograms and other antenatal monitoring
- Failure to provide treatment for high-risk conditions like gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, or obesity
- Failure to adequately interpret anatomy and growth scans
Parents who receive poor prenatal care often lose their babies to a stillbirth. To make matters even worse, when the mother is beyond a certain number of weeks pregnant and the baby has reached nearly full term, the mother will need to go through the additional trauma of labor and delivery of a stillborn baby. That kind of suffering calls for maximum compensation from the at-fault party.
Damages You Could Recover for a Stillbirth
The medical professional responsible for your child’s stillbirth should be held accountable and compensate you appropriately for the devastation his or her negligence has inflicted upon your family. Knowing that your child’s death could have been avoided if it weren’t for this medical professional’s irresponsible decisions is devastating.
Once we establish negligence, you can recover compensation for a wide range of damages, including pain and suffering, lost wages, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of companionship and love, and damage to your potential future earnings, among others.
The Illinois Supreme Court declared caps on damages in medical malpractice claims unconstitutional in 2010. Your attorney will stop at nothing to obtain every dollar you’ll need to pick up the pieces of your life.
Although your monetary award will do little to heal the emotional devastation you and your family are most certainly feeling, knowing that you’ve gotten some measure justice for your stillborn baby can make the fight for compensation feel worthwhile.
Call a Chicago Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you believe that your stillborn child’s death could have been prevented if it weren’t for the negligent actions of your medical caregivers, get in touch with a compassionate Chicago medical malpractice lawyer at Lane Brown, LLC.
We offer prospective clients a free, no-obligation claim assessment. You can take advantage of yours by completing the contact form below or giving our office a call at 312-332-1400.
