Can Preeclampsia Lead to a Birth Injury Claim?

 Posted on September 03, 2026 in Medical Malpractice

Preeclampsia can lead to a birth injury claim. This might happen if your doctor failed to properly check for, find, or treat the condition. The failure must have caused harm to you, your baby, or both. Going through a hard pregnancy problem is scary enough on its own. When someone’s negligence brings you harm, Illinois law is on your side in 2026. Our Chicago birth injury lawyers can help you find out if you have a valid claim.

What Is Preeclampsia and How Can It Lead to a Malpractice Case?

Preeclampsia is a condition during pregnancy that’s marked by high blood pressure. It also can involve damage to organs, often the liver or kidneys. It usually starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy. If it's not watched or treated, it can cause serious harm to both mother and baby. This includes seizures, stroke, or the baby not getting enough oxygen during delivery.

Doctors are supposed to watch for warning signs of preeclampsia during prenatal care. The condition can get worse fast and become dangerous when the signs are missed or ignored.

What Medical Mistakes Commonly Lead to Preeclampsia Birth Injury Claims?

Several types of errors can turn a manageable case of preeclampsia into a serious birth injury. Common mistakes include:

• Not properly checking blood pressure during prenatal visits

• Ignoring or brushing off a patient's reported symptoms

• Waiting too long to run needed tests once warning signs show up

• Failing to deliver the baby quickly when preeclampsia gets severe

Each of these mistakes can let the condition get worse past the point where it could have been safely handled. This sometimes leads to permanent injury to the baby, the mother, or both.

How Does a Doctor's Delay in Treating Preeclampsia Cause Harm?

Preeclampsia can cut off blood flow to the placenta when it gets worse without proper treatment. This means the baby doesn't get enough oxygen and nutrients. This can lead to serious injuries like cerebral palsy, delays in development, or other lasting brain injuries.

Untreated preeclampsia can turn into eclampsia for the mother. This condition involves seizures that can be life-threatening. Catching this early and treating it fast are key to preventing these outcomes.

What Does the Law Require to Prove Medical Malpractice in Illinois?

Illinois law puts a screening step in place before a malpractice case can move forward. Under 735 ILCS 5/2-622, your attorney has to file a sworn statement saying a qualified health professional looked at the case first. That professional has to write up their findings and confirm there's a reasonable basis for the claim, and this written report gets attached to the statement.

From there, you'll need to prove three things: your doctor owed you a duty of care, they didn't meet the accepted standard of care, and that failure caused an injury to you or your baby.

What Evidence Helps Support a Preeclampsia Birth Injury Claim?

Building a strong claim requires gathering solid proof of your prenatal and delivery care. Helpful evidence includes:

• Complete prenatal records showing blood pressure readings and lab results over time

• Records of any symptoms you reported to your doctor

• Delivery records showing the timeline of decisions made during labor

• Medical records showing your baby's condition at birth and any diagnoses after that

• Expert testimony explaining what a reasonably skilled doctor should have done differently

This evidence helps show both what went wrong and how it connects directly to the harm you or your baby went through.

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Birth Injury Case?

If your claim succeeds, you may be able to recover the money you've spent treating the injury. If your baby has a permanent condition, ongoing care costs can be part of that, too. You and your child both deserve to have your pain and suffering recognized. And if your family is facing a lifelong disability, compensation can help cover what's ahead, from future medical care to therapy to the earning potential your child may have lost.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Chicago, IL Birth Injury Attorneys

At Winters Salzetta O'Brien & Richardson, LLC, our award-winning attorneys have been fighting for accident victims since 1997, bringing decades of experience to every case we handle. We have numerous favorable birth injury case results that reflect our commitment to families facing this kind of devastating harm. 

Contact us at 312-236-6324 to schedule your free consultation with our Chicago medical malpractice lawyers today.