Pregnancy is often a time filled with joy. Couples in Illinois and elsewhere spend months preparing for a baby's arrival. Often the day the baby is finally born is filled with excitement and happiness, but that may not be the case for couples whose babies have been born with birth injuries.

According to one news source, six out of every 1,000 babies that are born in the United States suffer a birth injury, such as fractured bones, facial paralysis, erb's palsy and cerebral palsy. The injuries can be caused by incorrect use of medication or forceps. In some cases, a cesarean section may not have been completed at the correct time causing injury to the child and the mother.

Just this past May, a jury found that a physician made multiple errors during one baby's delivery causing the child to suffer from cerebral palsy. The family was awarded $58 million for the doctor's errors.

Although not all injuries that occur during birth are preventable, some of the injuries are a direct result of medical negligence. What makes the errors so egregious is that many birth injuries can affect a child for their entire life.

Doctors and other medical professionals have a duty to care for their patients. In some cases their carelessness causes harm to patients. Although doctors don't have to deal with a birth injury on a day-to-day basis, parents and other family members must live with it for the rest of their lives.

Families who believe they are the victims of medical negligence may be compensated for the errors made by a medical professional. When a doctor's negligence causes harm, they should be held accountable.

Source: News4Jax, "How medical malpractice leads to birth injuries," Ed Greenberger, Jan. 11, 2012