While it is fairly common knowledge that developing countries still struggle with infant and maternal mortality in childbirth, many wrongly assume that such tragedies are not an issue in developed nations. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, statistics indicate that maternal mortality has doubled over the last 20 years. If someone you love has suffered the same fate, and you believe medical negligence may have been a factor, the following information can help you better understand your rights, including your right to compensation.

Understanding Maternal Mortality in the United States

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 600 women die from childbirth complications per year. Complications related to the puerperium (the reproductive system’s return to its pre-pregnancy state, which continues over the course of about six weeks after childbirth), eclampsia, preeclampsia, hemorrhaging of the pregnancy, placenta previa, and pregnancy with an abortive outcome are some of the most common causes. Many of these complications, if caught early, could be prevented or managed prior to, during, and after delivery. In such instances, medical negligence may have occurred.

Expecting parents often imagine what it will be like to hold their baby for the first time, ponder what their first words will be, and may even envision the adult their child will eventually become. Sadly, some parents never see their hopes and dreams come to fruition. All that they had hoped for is taken away by a physician who made a horrible, permanent, irreversible, and preventable mistake. The injuries sustained by infants during these incidents are known as birth injuries.

Rate of Birth Injuries in the United States

Out of every 1,000 babies born in the United States, six to eight sustain an injury during birth. To put that into perspective, nearly four million babies are born in the U.S. each year. Of those, 24,000 to 28,000 sustain a birth injury. That is more than 2,000 infants per month, or approximately three each hour. So, while at first glance, the rate may seem inconsequential (just two percent of all births), the numbers show that an alarming number of parents must face heartbreak on what should be the happiest day of their lives.

Healthcare professionals are meant to care for their patients, and the companies that hire them should vet their employees to ensure they are safe, of sound mind, and reliable. Sadly, a South Holland mother’s experience proves that this does not always happen. Now she is bringing a lawsuit against the facility responsible.

Special Needs Abuse

The woman’s daughter suffers from hypoxic-ischemic encephalogoy, cerebral palsy, and a seizure disorder – all results of a traumatic birth injury. She requires close monitoring, and when she started kindergarten she required the services of a personal nurse to assist with her daily activities and medical care while at school. This nurse, employed by the Pediatric Services of America, Inc. allegedly abused the child instead of caring for her.

For most parents, the birth of a new child is a joyous event, one full of promise and a long and happy future. Sadly, there are far too many other parents that go through a very different sort of experience. They are thrust into tragedy, or onto a path that they could never have anticipated or planned for. Sometimes, these experiences are the result of an unpreventable tragedy; other times, they are the result of a birth injury caused by a negligent healthcare provider. In both instances, the future can become one that appears bleak, blurry, or even frightening.

For Ted and Jennifer Hill, the future became a place of uncertainty after the delivery of their son, Ryan. Born with permanent brain damage, Ryan would need lifelong care. His parents faced concerns over how his needs would be met after they were no longer living. But even more concerning was the feeling that Ryan’s injuries could have somehow been prevented. In 2006, they pursued this possibility by filing a lawsuit on behalf of Ryan against the hospital. In late 2008, they were referred by another attorney to Hurley, McKenna & Mertz, P.C.