Can I Sue a Doctor for Failing to Vaccinate My Infant?

 Posted on June 15, 2022 in Birth Injury

A delivery room in an Illinois hospital’s maternity ward is a joyful but chaotic place during and after childbirth. So many things are happening at once, and while most doctors and nurses do an excellent job of managing their responsibilities to a mother and newborn, some medical practitioners fail to do so. In the hubbub of an infant’s post-delivery care, hospital staff may forget to administer vaccines, an essential line of defense against serious illnesses for newborns.

Infants, whose immune systems are underdeveloped and require assistance to fight off many potentially fatal illnesses, can be seriously injured and even killed without proper vaccination. If your infant fell ill and you believe your doctor failed to vaccinate him or her, read on. 

Which Immunizations Are Standard in Illinois? 

Children are subject to a rigorous vaccine schedule as part of routine childhood healthcare. Immediately after birth, infants are given Hepatitis B and vitamin K shots. Over the next year, children also receive vaccinations against:

• Varicella
• Polio
• Hepatitis A
• Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Bacterial meningitis 
• Rotavirus
• Influenza

When children are not vaccinated against these diseases, they can get seriously ill. For example, infants with pneumonococcal meningitis not only suffer from painful symptoms but are also at risk of long-term health consequences like learning difficulties and vision problems. Influenza, a common illness that mutates and spreads every year, can cause serious complications such as encephalopathy, pneumonia, and death. 

What Can I Do If a Doctor Failed to Vaccinate My Child? 

When any healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, he or she may be held responsible for the consequences, providing the following conditions are met: 

• Your baby had a doctor-patient relationship with the provider 
• The doctor was negligent in treating your baby
• The doctor’s negligence caused your baby an injury
• The injury caused damages, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, or long-term health consequences

Proving these conditions exist requires thorough investigation and documentation. An Illinois personal injury attorney with a wide breadth of experience handling birth injury cases can help you take action against the healthcare provider or hospital responsible for your baby’s injury. 

Contact a Cook County Birth Injuries Lawyer

We rely on our healthcare providers to meet a standard of care, including providing medical services which we are promised. When doctors fail to provide this standard of care, the consequences for newborns can be devastating. If you believe your infant fell seriously ill or died because a doctor failed to administer a standard vaccine, contact the experienced Chicago, IL birth injuries attorneys with Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd.. We have the skills and resources necessary to conduct an investigation and help you pursue any compensation to which you are entitled. Call us at 312-462-4200 today. 

Source: 

https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/prevention-wellness/immunization.html