How Do Brain Injuries Occur as a Result of Medical Negligence?

As the body’s control center and the base of human thought and personality, the brain is our most critical organ. A brain injury is always a frightening diagnosis. Even a mild concussion can have lingering impacts and potential cumulative effects, but a more severe injury can leave the injury victim facing an uncertain future. When the injury results from a medical provider’s negligence, it’s even more traumatic and distressing.

Because we place our lives and our trust into a doctor’s hands, medical negligence is a uniquely distressing type of personal injury, constituting medical malpractice. A brain injury is one of the worst outcomes of medical malpractice. Contact our brain injury lawyer in Chicago for skilled legal assistance.

Understanding Brain Injuries

Brain injuries occur when the delicate bundles of nerve cells in the brain are damaged by trauma, pressure, bleeding, or the lack of oxygen. Depending on the severity of the injury, the injury victim may suffer temporary symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, coordination problems, and difficulty concentrating until the inflammation resolves. A more severe injury could mean serious or grave permanent injuries, such as cognitive impairment, disability, coma, vegetative state, or death.

A brain injury can have lifelong implications, including the need for ongoing medical care, rehabilitative therapies, and diminished earning ability. Many brain injury victims also suffer emotional impacts, such as depression, anxiety, sleep disturbances, or changes in mood and personality.

What Types of Medical Malpractice Cause Brain Injuries?

Medical providers have a legal duty to treat their patients at the standard of care accepted by the medical community. When a physician or other medical provider breaches their duty of care to a patient, it’s actionable medical negligence. The most common causes of brain injuries that result in medical negligence include the following:

• Anesthesia errors
• Misdiagnosis
• Missed diagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Medication mistakes
• Surgical errors
• Birth injuries
• Failure to monitor oxygen levels during surgery
• Sepsis resulting from an undiagnosed infection

When a brain injury could have been prevented if a doctor or other medical provider had adhered to their required standard of care, the negligent provider is liable for the damages. Reach out to our medical malpractice lawyers in Chicago today for the compensation you deserve from your injuries.

Evidence In Medical Malpractice Claims After a Brain Injury

Evidence in medical malpractice claims includes medical records, medical imaging tests, and medical expert testimony, as well as medical bills and employer statements proving the injury victim’s damages. The evidence must demonstrate the following:

• A doctor/patient relationship was in place at the time the malpractice occurred
• The doctor, medical provider, or facility owed a duty to treat the patient at the level of care accepted as standard by the medical community
• They breached the duty of care through negligence
• The negligent breach of duty directly caused the patient’s brain injury
• The malpractice victim (or their surviving family members) suffered damages from the injury

Damages in brain injury claims are often extensive and sometimes lifelong.

Damages In Medical Malpractice Brain Injury Claims

Brain injuries are financially costly, with medical care ranging from a single emergency room bill to lifelong care, depending on the severity of the injury. Compensation in brain injury claims against a negligent provider could recover damages such as:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Physical and occupational therapy costs
• Out-of-pocket expenses for traveling to see specialists, adaptive equipment, and home health assistance
• Past and future income loss
• Diminished future earning capacity
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Compensation for catastrophic injury (in disability cases)

If a severe brain injury from a medical provider’s negligence causes the patient’s death, the decedent’s personal representative can file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the family.