Practice Areas

Birth Injuries & Wrongful Birth

Medical Malpractice • Consequences That Last A Lifetime

The birth of a child is a time of high expectation and great risk. Even with careful medical supervision, things may not go smoothly. Birth injuries can result from negligent or improper medical care, from lack of care, from delayed care, and from failure to follow standard procedure before birth, at the moment of birth, or shortly after birth.

However the birth trauma occurs, harm done at birth is likely to have a lifelong impact on the physical or cognitive development of the child.

If your child was injured at birth due to medical malpractice, you need an experienced Illinois birth injury lawyer to help you obtain full and fair compensation so that you can provide the care and services your child will need to reach his or her full potential.

Chicago birth injury lawyer Gerald Donoghue handles birth injury cases involving:

• Failure to treat pregnancy complications such as pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes
• Failure to prepare for problem birth due to improper positioning or a large baby
• Failure to extract the child correctly, leading to shoulder dystocia and possible brachial plexus injury or Erb's palsy
• Failure to respond when fetal monitoring detects slowed heartbeat suggesting the umbilical cord is wrapped around its neck, leading to oxygen deprivation and brain damage or cerebral palsy

Chicago birth injury lawyer, Gerald T. Donoghue has been helping injured people and their families for more than 25 years. Contact our office to schedule a free initial consultation.

Genetic Malpractice
For mothers over 40 or those whose family history would indicate a potential for a genetic disorder, it may constitute medical malpractice for a physician not to offer amniocentesis, genetic testing, or metabolic testing for genetic disorders such as Sickle Cell Anemia, Tay-Sachs Disease, Spina Bifida, Down Syndrome, Fragile X, and Huntington's Disease. When major genetic disorders are possible, some parents would choose abortion rather than bringing a child into the world with a life-shortening genetic disease. The birth of a child in these circumstances is considered a wrongful birth.

Wrongful Death
A child lost due to medical negligence during childbirth results in the profound loss of irreplaceable hopes and dreams of its parents.

When you need an experienced Illinois birth injury lawyer to help you obtain full and fair compensation, contact the law office of Gerald T. Donoghue. Gerald T. Donoghue has over 25 years of trial experience helping birth injury victims and their families.

Chicago birth injury attorney Gerald Donoghue has demonstrated superior legal ability in the courtroom, resulting in jury awards and settlements for clients and earning him the highest rating* for legal ability and ethical standards from an attorney rating organization.

All cases are handled on a contingent fee basis.
That means you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.

* CV, BV, and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards, and policies. Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.

At the Law Office of Gerald T. Donoghue, we represent injured people in Chicago, Illinois and the surrounding communities of Cook County, Lake County, Will County and DuPage County.