Mental Disability Caused by Birth Injury
What are the Causes of Intellectual Disability?
When the brain is injured at birth, a child may become mentally disabled, which is a developmental issue. If you have observed abnormal signs in your newborn and your doctor is not providing the answers you are seeking, you should consult with a Chicago birth injury attorney at Beam Legal Team. If you suspect that this may be the case with your child, you need to take action. Identifying a birth injury is difficult, especially without the guidance of a skilled trial lawyer. Our legal team can help you not only investigate your child’s potential case but also help you understand your legal rights as a parent.
There can be many causes of intellectual disability. Our firm can help you with the following kinds of cases:
- IUGR (intrauterine growth retardation) that should have been diagnosed or treated by your doctor
- Preeclampsia or hypertension during pregnancy (high blood pressure)
- Pregnancy complications not properly diagnosed and addressed
- Excessive force used during a delivery
- Brain injury during birth
Request a free consultation: Call us at (866) 404-5221 for more information. We serve clients nationwide.
Types of Mental Disabilities Following Birth Injuries
Oxygen deprivation or trauma to an infant’s brain during labor and delivery can cause various types of mental disabilities, including:
- Global Developmental Delays: Significant setbacks in reaching cognitive, motor, language, and social milestones
- Intellectual Disability: Permanent limitations in cognitive abilities, reasoning, learning and problem-solving skills
- Specific Learning Disorders: Difficulties with reading, writing, math, or processing or comprehending information
- Cerebral Palsy: A disorder impacting muscle tone, movement, and motor skills, sometimes accompanied by cognitive impairment
- Seizure Disorders: Abnormal excessive or synchronous neurological firing in the brain causing recurring seizures
- Psychiatric Disorders: Increased risk of conditions like ADHD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia
Legal Steps After Mental Disability Diagnosis
If your child has been diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability stemming from a potential birth injury, taking legal action right away is critical to the success of your case. Here are a few steps to consider along your legal path:
- Collect all medical records related to the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and any complications that occurred.
- Maintain a detailed log of your child’s developmental milestones and any challenges they encounter.
- Request copies of all test results, evaluations, and assessments that may help to diagnose the disability.
- Consult a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to have your evidence reviewed.
You will have a limited timeframe to file a claim, so don’t delay getting legal help. Delays can also lead to vital evidence being lost—medical records may be harder to obtain, witness memories may fade, and the direct link between the negligence and the injury can become more difficult to prove. Meanwhile, medical expenses and care needs will continue to mount, putting financial and emotional strain on your family.
Promptly consulting with a birth injury lawyer is critical to secure the resources your child needs.
Understanding Medical Negligence in Birth Injuries
For a birth injury case to be viable, it must be proven that substandard care occurred through medical negligence, such as:
- Failure to properly monitor fetal distress signals and the mother’s vitals during labor
- Delay in ordering an emergency C-section when complications arose
- Improper use of delivery tools like forceps or vacuum extractors
- Inadequate treatment for maternal health conditions that indirectly harmed the baby
To prove medical negligence caused the birth injury and subsequent damages, an experienced birth injury lawyer often needs to consult medical experts and thoroughly investigate the evidence. Then, they can build a strong case showing how the doctor failed to provide the standard level of care, and how their actions or inactions directly led to the injury.
Chicago Birth Injury Attorneys Representing Families from Sea to Shining Sea
Having a child with a brain injury can be challenging and stressful for parents and family. It requires a high level of care, which can be costly and add financial stress to the already difficult situation. If caused by substandard medical care by your hospital or doctor, you may be entitled to financial compensation. We advocate for the rights of injured children to obtain justice in a court of law. No matter where you live in the U.S., our experienced birth injury lawyers in Chicago can help you take swift and decisive action.
Get in touch with our nationally recognized firm to discuss your options and rights.
