Chicago Kernicterus Birth Injury Lawyers

Welcoming a newborn is supposed to be one of life’s most joyous moments. But when preventable medical errors lead to conditions like kernicterus, that joy can quickly turn to confusion and grief.

At Beam Legal Team, we understand how devastating it is to learn that your child’s birth injury could have been avoided with proper care.

Our Chicago kernicterus birth injury lawyers are here to seek justice for impacted families. We help clients throughout the U.S. and offer extensive experience with birth injury cases and compassionate guidance through this challenging time.

What Is Kernicterus?

Kernicterus is a severe form of brain damage caused by dangerously high levels of bilirubin in a baby’s blood. Bilirubin is a substance produced when red blood cells break down. In healthy newborns, the body will typically remove it without any issue. But when jaundice (the yellowing of the skin and eyes) goes unnoticed and untreated, bilirubin can accumulate and cross into the brain, resulting in serious harm.

Kernicterus is preventable with proper medical care—newborn jaundice is common and easy to treat if recognized early. However, when medical providers fail to monitor bilirubin levels or provide prompt treatment, this devastating condition can develop.

Causes and Risk Factors of Kernicterus

Common causes of Kernicterus include:

• Failure to Diagnose or Treat Jaundice Promptly: Ignoring or underestimating the severity of jaundice can have catastrophic consequences.
• Delayed or Inadequate Treatment: Phototherapy or blood transfusion is often necessary to reduce bilirubin levels in high-risk infants.
• Lack of Monitoring: Infants with known risk factors require close observation to prevent complications.

Certain factors increase a baby’s likelihood of developing kernicterus, including:

• Premature Birth: Premature infants are more vulnerable because their systems are not fully developed.
• Blood Type Incompatibility: Conditions like Rh incompatibility (also called) Rhesus disease between mother and baby can lead to elevated bilirubin levels.
• Bruising During Delivery: Birth injuries such as bruising can increase bilirubin production.

Symptoms and Consequences of Kernicterus

Early recognition of severe jaundice is critical to preventing kernicterus. Signs that there may be a problem include:

• Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Difficulty feeding or lethargy
• High-pitched crying or body arching, which may indicate severe neurological distress

If left untreated, kernicterus can lead to lifelong consequences, such as:

• Cerebral Palsy: Impaired motor function and muscle coordination
• Hearing and Vision Loss: Damage to sensory systems
• Developmental Delays: Intellectual disabilities and learning challenges
• Movement Disorders: Involuntary muscle movements and difficulty with balance

These conditions often require lifelong medical care, therapy, and specialized support.

How Medical Negligence Can Lead to Kernicterus

Kernicterus continues to occur because of medical negligence. Specific examples of negligent care include:

• Failure to Recognize Jaundice: Examining the newborn’s skin and eyes for yellowing are part of normal assessment.
• Neglecting Bilirubin Testing: Routine assessment of newborns should include monitoring bilirubin levels, especially in high-risk infants.
• Inadequate Communication: Parents must be informed of the risks of jaundice and how to monitor it at home.

When healthcare providers fail to meet these standards of care, families deserve to get justice by holding the negligent parties accountable for the harm caused.

Legal Rights for Families Affected by Kernicterus

If your baby suffered Kernicterus because of medical negligence, your family has the right to seek justice and compensation for:

• Medical Bills: Coverage for past and future expenses, including hospitalization, medication, therapy, medical equipment, and other ongoing care
• Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical discomfort and emotional toll of the injury
• Other Damages: Loss of future earning capacity, cost of home modifications to accommodate disability, care services, and more

By pursuing a legal claim, families can hold negligent providers accountable and secure the resources needed for the ongoing care of their child.

Steps to Take if You Suspect Kernicterus Caused by Negligence

If you believe medical negligence caused your child’s kernicterus, take these steps to protect your family’s rights:

1. Obtain Medical Records: Request all records related to your baby’s care, including any evidence of bilirubin levels and treatment notes.
2. Seek a Specialist’s Opinion: A second medical opinion can help confirm the diagnosis and identify inadequate care.
3. Contact an Experienced Birth Injury Lawyer: An experienced birth injury lawyer can evaluate your case and guide you through the legal process to come.

How Beam Legal Team Can Help

At Beam Legal Team, we have decades of experience helping families affected by birth injuries. Here’s how we help:

• Comprehensive Case Investigation: We’ll review your child’s medical records, consult with leading experts, and identify instances of medical negligence.
• Tailored Legal Strategies: Each case is unique, and we’ll build a plan designed to maximize your family’s compensation.
• Compassionate Support: We know this is an emotional journey, and we’ll take your family’s pain and unique situation to heart every step of the way.

We provide all the above and more on a contingency fee basis—meaning you won’t owe us anything unless we recover compensation for you.

Contact Our Kernicterus Birth Injury Lawyers Today

Kernicterus is a tragedy that no family should endure, because it is 100% preventable. At Beam Legal Team, we are committed to helping families affected by birth injuries seek justice and the compensation they need and deserve. Based in Chicago, we help clients across the U.S.

Contact us today for a free consultation and let us fight for your child’s future.