Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer: Should Your Baby’s Group B Strep Infection Have Been Prevented?
In some cases, infections and serious diseases can’t be prevented. In some cases, a serious infection can’t be successfully treated or cured. But there are other cases in which an infection should have been prevented, should have been diagnosed earlier, or should have been treated differently. In this last set of cases, the doctor or hospital that failed to respond properly to the infection may be responsible for damages.
The Fatal Danger of Group B Streptococcus
One of the most serious and deadly infections that a newborn baby can contract during its first hours and days is group B strep. This infection, which can quickly lead to sepsis, meningitis, and permanent injury, is sometimes passed from mother to child during the birth process.
Doctors and medical professionals guard against this disease—which affects about 2 out of 1,000 births—by testing the mother’s birth canal for a group B strep infection during her last weeks of pregnancy. Those with positive test results—about one in five women—will receive antibiotics during labor that will often prevent the infection from harming the child. Babies with any signs or symptoms of the disease will also be tested for the infection and may be given precautionary antibiotics to stop an infection from progressing.
Group B Strep, Birth Injury, and Medical Malpractice
Not all group B strep infections can be caught and stopped; in fact, group B strep is known for how quickly and insidiously it can infect and harm newborn babies. However, your doctor and hospital should take reasonable steps at a certain standard of care to prevent, diagnose, and treat group B strep in your newborn baby. While some medical professionals and medical centers do their best to keep both mother and baby healthy and unharmed, some children are left with permanent injuries or lose their lives because of carelessness, medical malpractice, and negligence.
Illinois Birth Injury Attorneys
If your baby suffered an injury or died due to a group B strep infection, you have a right to know exactly why this happened and whether your doctor or hospital should have prevented what happened.
- Were you properly screened for group B strep during your pregnancy?
- Was your baby properly screened after his or her birth?
- Was group B strep diagnosed in a timely manner?
- Was group B strep treated quickly and correctly?
At the Law Offices of Lane Brown, LLC, our Illinois birth injury lawyers will sit down with you and find the answers to these questions. Call today to schedule a free, confidential case evaluation: 312-332-1400.
