Neonatal Brain Injury Medical Malpractice in Chicago

Every parent expects their newborn to come home healthy. When a baby suffers a brain injury because of a medical provider’s failure, that expectation is shattered, and the consequences can last a lifetime. Neonatal brain injury caused by medical negligence is one of the most serious types of birth injury claims families face in Chicago, and understanding your legal rights is the first step toward accountability.

Table of Contents

• What Is Neonatal Brain Injury Medical Malpractice?
• Common Medical Errors That Cause Neonatal Brain Injuries
• Illinois Law and Your Right to File a Neonatal Brain Injury Claim
• Who Can Be Held Liable and What Compensation Is Available
• Signs of Neonatal Brain Injury and Why Early Action Matters
• How Briskman Briskman & Greenberg Handles Neonatal Brain Injury Cases in Chicago
• FAQs About Neonatal Brain Injury Medical Malpractice in Chicago

What Is Neonatal Brain Injury Medical Malpractice?

Neonatal brain injury medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the accepted standard of care causes brain damage to a newborn. This is not about every complication, because childbirth carries inherent risks. Malpractice arises when a doctor, nurse, or hospital does something wrong, or fails to do something required, and that failure directly harms the baby’s brain.

Neonatal brain injury, also called neonatal encephalopathy, is a significant cause of both death and long-term disability in newborns. Its incidence is estimated at 2.5 to 3.5 per 1,000 live births, and it carries serious risks for later neurological outcomes including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and cognitive impairment. When those outcomes stem from preventable medical errors at hospitals like Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital or Rush University Medical Center, families have the right to pursue a legal claim.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral hemorrhage, infections, and metabolic abnormalities are all recognized severe causes within this clinical category. Each of these conditions can be made significantly worse, or even caused entirely, by failures in monitoring, diagnosis, or treatment during labor and delivery.

As a Chicago personal injury lawyer team with decades of experience handling birth injury claims, Briskman Briskman & Greenberg understands how devastating these cases are for families. If your child suffered a brain injury at birth and you believe a medical provider was at fault, you deserve a thorough review of what happened.

Common Medical Errors That Cause Neonatal Brain Injuries

Not every neonatal brain injury is the result of malpractice, but many are. Medical errors during pregnancy, labor, and delivery can cut off oxygen to a baby’s brain, cause physical trauma, or allow dangerous infections to go untreated. The most common preventable causes fall into several clear categories.

Oxygen deprivation, also known as birth asphyxia, occurs in approximately 2 to 10 of every 1,000 live births. When medical staff fail to respond promptly to fetal distress signals on a fetal monitor, delay a necessary emergency C-section, or improperly use forceps or a vacuum extractor during delivery, oxygen deprivation can result. Even minutes without adequate oxygen can cause permanent brain damage.

Failure to identify and treat maternal infections during pregnancy is another leading cause. Infections like Group B Streptococcus (GBS) can spread to a newborn during delivery and trigger inflammation that damages the developing brain. When providers miss warning signs or fail to administer appropriate antibiotics in time, the consequences for the baby can be severe.

Untreated jaundice is also a recognized cause of neonatal brain injury. When bilirubin levels rise too high and are not treated, a condition called kernicterus can develop, causing permanent brain damage. This is a preventable outcome when proper newborn screening protocols are followed.

Other common errors include failure to monitor fetal heart rate patterns during labor, misreading those patterns when they signal distress, and improper management of umbilical cord complications. Errors involving pitocin (a drug used to induce or speed up labor) can also cause dangerous uterine contractions that deprive the baby of oxygen. When any of these failures occur, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help families investigate what went wrong.

Illinois Law and Your Right to File a Neonatal Brain Injury Claim

Illinois medical malpractice law gives families specific rights and sets specific deadlines for bringing a claim. Knowing these rules is critical, because missing a deadline can permanently bar your family from seeking compensation, regardless of how strong your case is.

The primary law governing these claims is the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure, specifically 735 ILCS 5/13-212. Under this statute, you generally have two years from the date you knew or should have known of the injury to file a medical malpractice claim, and no claim may be filed more than four years after the malpractice occurred.

For children, Illinois provides additional time. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(b), minors generally have up to eight years after the act or omission that caused the injury, but not after the minor’s 22nd birthday. This extended window exists because some neonatal brain injuries, including those that cause cerebral palsy or developmental delays, may not be fully recognized until months or years after birth.

If the injured minor has a brain injury, the statute of limitations is extended even further, and it does not expire for as long as the child continues to have a brain injury, even into adulthood. This is a significant protection for families whose children face lifelong neurological conditions.

Illinois law also requires that before a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff must submit an affidavit under 735 ILCS 5/2-622 confirming that a qualified medical professional has reviewed the case and believes there is a reasonable basis for the claim. This requirement exists to screen out frivolous claims, and it means building a strong case from the start matters enormously. A qualified medical malpractice attorney can coordinate the necessary expert review and ensure all procedural requirements are met.

Who Can Be Held Liable and What Compensation Is Available

In a neonatal brain injury malpractice case, more than one party can bear legal responsibility. Liability can extend to the delivering obstetrician, the nursing staff, the hospital itself, neonatologists, anesthesiologists, and any other provider whose negligence contributed to the baby’s injury. Illinois law addresses how liability is shared between multiple defendants.

Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1117, the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure’s joint liability provision, all defendants found liable are jointly and severally liable for a plaintiff’s past and future medical and medically related expenses. Any defendant found to be 25% or more at fault is jointly and severally liable for all other damages as well. This matters because it means your family does not have to absorb the shortfall if one defendant cannot pay their share of a judgment.

The damages available in a neonatal brain injury malpractice case can be substantial. They include past and future medical expenses, costs of long-term care and rehabilitation, special education costs, lost future earning capacity for the child, and compensation for pain and suffering. The average lifetime medical cost for a severe brain injury is estimated between $85,000 and $3 million, and that figure can be higher when you factor in non-economic costs such as pain, suffering, and effects on quality of life.

If a neonatal brain injury results in a child’s death, the family may also have a wrongful death claim under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act, 740 ILCS 180/1. This statute allows the family to pursue damages for the loss of the child’s society and companionship, as well as other losses caused by the wrongful death.

Regarding attorney fees, under 735 ILCS 5/2-1114, contingent fees in Illinois medical malpractice cases are capped at 33 1/3% of all sums recovered. At Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, we handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. You may still be responsible for certain case costs and expenses, which we will explain clearly at the outset. Contact our office at (312) 222-0010 to discuss your situation with our team.

Signs of Neonatal Brain Injury and Why Early Action Matters

Some neonatal brain injuries are apparent immediately after birth. Others reveal themselves gradually as a child misses developmental milestones. Recognizing the signs early is important both for getting the child appropriate medical care and for preserving your legal rights.

In the newborn period, signs of brain injury can include seizures, abnormal muscle tone (either too stiff or too floppy), difficulty feeding, unusual eye movements, and abnormal breathing. Conditions like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy are often diagnosed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at hospitals like Lurie Children’s Hospital or the University of Chicago Medical Center, both well-known facilities serving Chicago-area families.

As a child grows, signs of brain injury can emerge as delays in reaching motor milestones, speech and language problems, learning disabilities, vision or hearing impairment, and conditions like cerebral palsy. About 3 out of 1,000 children in the United States have cerebral palsy, according to the CDC, and congenital cerebral palsy, meaning the type that originates at birth, makes up 85 to 90% of all cases.

Early legal action matters for several reasons. Evidence degrades over time. Fetal monitoring strips, delivery room records, and nursing notes are the backbone of these cases, and they need to be preserved and reviewed by medical experts as soon as possible. In cases involving birth injuries, developmental delays, or long-term disabilities, it is crucial to act early because evidence can be lost, and expert evaluations often take time. Early investigation strengthens your ability to prove negligence and damages.

If your child received care at a hospital near Millennium Park, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, or anywhere in the greater Chicago area, and you have concerns about the care they received, reaching out to a medical malpractice lawyer promptly gives your family the best opportunity to build a strong case. Briskman Briskman & Greenberg offers free consultations and can be reached at (312) 222-0010.

How Briskman Briskman & Greenberg Handles Neonatal Brain Injury Cases in Chicago

Neonatal brain injury malpractice cases require a deep understanding of both medicine and Illinois law. These are not simple claims. They demand thorough review of prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, NICU records, and often years of follow-up medical documentation. They also require qualified medical experts who can explain to a judge or jury exactly how the standard of care was violated and how that violation caused the child’s injury.

At Briskman Briskman & Greenberg, located at 205 W Randolph St., Suite 925, Chicago, IL 60606, our team takes a methodical approach to these cases. We start by obtaining and reviewing all relevant medical records. We work with qualified medical experts to evaluate whether the care your child received met the accepted standard. If the evidence supports a malpractice claim, we file the required affidavit under 735 ILCS 5/2-622 and pursue the case aggressively on your family’s behalf.

We handle cases involving all types of neonatal brain injuries, including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, intracranial hemorrhage, neonatal stroke, and kernicterus. We also handle related birth injury claims involving cerebral palsy, fetal monitoring errors, improper use of delivery instruments, and failures to perform timely C-sections. Our team is familiar with Cook County Circuit Court, where many Chicago-area medical malpractice cases are filed, as well as the procedural requirements specific to Illinois malpractice litigation.

Families dealing with a child’s neonatal brain injury face enormous financial and emotional burdens. The cost of lifelong care, therapy, special education, and adaptive equipment can be staggering. Our goal is to pursue the full compensation your child needs and deserves. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, consistent with 735 ILCS 5/2-1114, so there are no upfront attorney fees. If you are looking for a medical malpractice attorney who will treat your family’s case with the seriousness it deserves, call us at (312) 222-0010 for a free consultation.

Families across Chicago’s North Side, South Side, and suburban communities, including those near Wrigleyville, Hyde Park, and the western suburbs, have trusted Briskman Briskman & Greenberg with their most serious injury claims. If your newborn suffered a brain injury and you believe a medical provider is responsible, do not wait to get answers. Connect with a medical malpractice lawyer who can evaluate your claim and guide your family through this process.

FAQs About Neonatal Brain Injury Medical Malpractice in Chicago

How do I know if my baby’s brain injury was caused by medical malpractice?

Not every neonatal brain injury is the result of malpractice, but many are preventable. If your baby experienced oxygen deprivation during labor, was delivered with forceps or a vacuum extractor, or suffered a delayed emergency C-section, those circumstances deserve a close look. A qualified medical expert must review the records to determine whether the care provided fell below the accepted standard. The team at Briskman Briskman & Greenberg can connect you with the right experts and give you an honest assessment of your case. Call (312) 222-0010 for a free consultation.

What is the deadline for filing a neonatal brain injury malpractice claim in Illinois?

Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(b), a medical malpractice claim on behalf of a child must generally be filed within eight years of the act or omission that caused the injury, and in no event after the child’s 22nd birthday. Parents who have their own separate claims, such as for emotional distress or medical expenses they personally incurred, are subject to a two-year statute of limitations under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(a). If the child has an ongoing brain injury, the limitations period may be extended further. Because these deadlines are complex and fact-specific, contacting an attorney as early as possible is strongly advised.

Can we sue the hospital, not just the doctor?

Yes. In many neonatal brain injury cases, the hospital itself can be held liable for the negligence of its employed staff, including nurses and resident physicians. Hospitals can also face direct liability for systemic failures, such as inadequate staffing, faulty equipment, or failures in their policies and procedures. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1117, multiple defendants can be jointly and severally liable for medical expenses, meaning the family does not have to absorb losses if one party cannot pay. An attorney can identify all potentially liable parties during the investigation phase.

What compensation can our family recover in a neonatal brain injury malpractice case?

Compensation in these cases can include past and future medical expenses, the cost of lifelong care and rehabilitation, special education and therapy costs, lost future earning capacity for the child, and damages for pain and suffering. If the injury resulted in death, the Illinois Wrongful Death Act (740 ILCS 180/1) allows the family to pursue additional damages. Illinois does not cap compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases, which means families can pursue the full amount necessary to cover a child’s lifelong needs. Every case is different, and the value of a claim depends on the specific facts and the severity of the injury.

Does Briskman Briskman & Greenberg charge upfront fees for neonatal brain injury cases?

No. Briskman Briskman & Greenberg handles neonatal brain injury malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no attorney fees unless compensation is recovered for your family. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-1114, contingent fees in Illinois medical malpractice cases are capped at 33 1/3% of all sums recovered. You may still be responsible for certain case costs and expenses, which will be explained to you clearly and honestly from the start. To discuss your family’s situation at no cost, call (312) 222-0010 or visit our office at 205 W Randolph St., Suite 925, Chicago, IL 60606.