Birth injuries are devastating — and many are preventable. When an OB/GYN, midwife, or labor and delivery nurse misses fetal distress, fails to call a timely C-section, mismanages shoulder dystocia, or improperly uses forceps or vacuum, the harm to the baby can last a lifetime. Illinois gives families more time than most states to bring these claims under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(b) — but the cases are complex, evidence is critical, and the right experts must be retained early. Schwaner Injury Law represents children and families in Chicago and throughout Illinois with cerebral palsy, HIE, Erb's palsy, and other birth-related injuries.
A child living with a serious birth injury will need decades of specialized care. Illinois law allows recovery of:
Birth injury cases are among the most expert-intensive in personal injury law. They require meticulous review of fetal monitoring strips, placental pathology, neonatal imaging, and the timeline of every clinical decision in labor. David Schwaner has spent over two decades developing the medical team and litigation playbook that Chicago birth injury families need.
You pay nothing unless we win. We advance every cost — record acquisition, expert reviews, life-care plans, and economists — so families can focus entirely on their child.
For minors, Illinois generally allows 8 years from the negligent act, but in no event past the child's 22nd birthday (735 ILCS 5/13-212(b)). The deadline is far longer than the standard 2-year SOL — but evidence and witnesses become harder to find with time.
No. Some CP cases are unrelated to delivery. But many are caused by preventable oxygen deprivation, missed fetal distress, or delayed C-section. Expert review is the only way to know.
Severe cerebral palsy and HIE cases in Cook County frequently settle or verdict between $5 million and $15 million, with some cases substantially higher when warranted by lifetime care needs.
Prenatal, labor and delivery, fetal heart rate strips, operative report, neonatal records, NICU course, MRI, placental pathology, and developmental records. We can request them for you.
Yes. There are no upfront fees and no charge unless we recover compensation. Every cost — including expert reviews — is advanced by our firm.
Schwaner Injury Law offers free, confidential consultations 24/7. No fee unless we win. Tell us what happened and we'll have an experienced medical-legal team review the records — no obligation.
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From the first call through final settlement or verdict — here's how David Schwaner builds birth injury cases for Chicago families.
We meet at our office, your home, or by video. You speak directly with David Schwaner about the pregnancy, delivery, and your child's diagnosis. No cost, no pressure.
We obtain every relevant record — prenatal, fetal monitoring, delivery, NICU, imaging, pathology — and have a board-certified maternal-fetal medicine and pediatric neurology team review for negligence and causation.
We file the lawsuit with the required 735 ILCS 5/2-622 affidavit and report, take depositions of the providers, and develop the proofs needed to prove deviation from the standard of care and causation.
Most birth injury cases resolve through structured mediation backed by a comprehensive life-care plan. When a hospital or insurer refuses fair value, we try the case to a Cook County jury.
We help structure recoveries — special needs trusts, structured settlements, Medicaid set-asides — so the funds protect a child for a lifetime without disrupting public benefits.
Illinois law gives families generous time to bring birth injury cases — but the rules and exceptions matter. Here's what every parent needs to know.
Tens of millions recovered for injured Chicagoans — including catastrophic medical malpractice and birth injury cases.
Two decades handling complex medical-legal cases in Cook County and across Illinois.
We meet families at home or by video and adapt to nursing schedules and therapy appointments.
No upfront cost. We advance every record, expert, and litigation expense.
Illinois-specific answers to the questions birth injury and cerebral palsy families ask most. If your question isn't here, call (312) 635-4000 — David answers personally.
Illinois treats injuries to minors differently from adult medical malpractice. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(b), a birth injury or other medical malpractice claim involving a minor must be filed within 8 years of the negligent act or omission, but in no event later than the child's 22nd birthday. This is far more generous than the standard 2-year personal injury SOL — but evidence becomes harder to recover and witnesses harder to find as time passes.
No. CP can result from genetic conditions, in-utero infection, prematurity, or events outside any provider's control. However, a meaningful share of CP cases are linked to preventable birth-related events — failure to recognize fetal distress on monitoring, delayed C-section, mismanaged shoulder dystocia, improper instrumented delivery, or failure to treat neonatal jaundice. The only way to know is for a maternal-fetal medicine and neonatology team to review the records.
Severe cerebral palsy and HIE cases in Cook County frequently settle or verdict in the $5 million to $15 million range, with some cases substantially higher when the child's life-care plan and lost earning capacity warrant. Damage value depends on the severity of impairment, the projected life expectancy, the cost of needed care in the local market, and the strength of the liability evidence.
The complete prenatal record, fetal heart rate strips, all labor and delivery notes, the operative report, neonatal records, NICU course, brain MRI, placental pathology, Apgar scores, cord blood gases, and developmental records as the child grows. We also retain board-certified maternal-fetal medicine, OB/GYN, neonatology, pediatric neurology, and life-care planning experts. The full picture only emerges when each of these pieces is reviewed together.
We handle cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), Erb's palsy and brachial plexus injuries, shoulder dystocia injuries, skull fractures and intracranial hemorrhage from forceps or vacuum, untreated maternal hemorrhage and preeclampsia, undiagnosed and untreated jaundice (kernicterus), failure to diagnose and treat infection, and any other birth-related injury caused by obstetric negligence.
Yes. Every birth injury and cerebral palsy case is handled on a contingency-fee basis with no upfront fees and no charge unless we recover compensation for your child. We advance all medical record, expert, life-care planner, and economist costs so families can focus entirely on their child. Call (312) 635-4000 anytime for a free, confidential review.
Schwaner Injury Law represents birth injury families throughout the Chicago metropolitan area including the Loop, Lincoln Park, Hyde Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Lakeview, Wicker Park, Rogers Park, Evanston, Oak Park, Skokie, Berwyn, Cicero, Naperville, Schaumburg, Aurora, Joliet, and throughout Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, and Kane counties. Cases involve hospitals such as Northwestern, Rush, UChicago, University of Illinois, Stroger, Loyola, Advocate, NorthShore, and AMITA. Call (312) 635-4000 for a free consultation. Available 24/7, no fee unless we win.