Preeclampsia and HELLP Syndrome

Our Chicago, IL Birth Injury Attorneys Can Help You

Experienced doctors know it’s critical to carefully monitor pregnant women for any unusual and potentially harmful medical conditions. Near the top of the list of complications doctors need to watch for are preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome.

If these serious and potentially fatal medical conditions are not treated in time, the mother’s life could be at risk and the baby could be born with a serious birth injury. That’s why it’s important for injury victims and their families to talk to a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible about all their legal options.

We can help you every step of the way at Jeffrey M. Goldberg Law Offices,PC. Our knowledgeable attorneys have more than four decades of legal experience – and we have the case results to prove it. We understand how upsetting and overwhelming such injuries can be for everyone involved. That’s why we want to be here for you when you need us most.

What Is Preeclampsia?

Preeclampsia is a medical term used to describe a potentially fatal medical condition involving high blood pressure that develops in the mother during pregnancy. Preeclampsia can develop as early as 20 weeks or as late as six weeks postpartum.

Preeclampsia, which occurs in about 1 in 20 pregnancies, is characterized by:

When preeclampsia and related conditions such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and toxemia are not diagnosed or properly treated, serious harm may result, such as kidney and liver damage, cerebral hemorrhaging, or placental abruption.

What Is HELLP Syndrome?

When preeclampsia is allowed to go unchecked, more serious and potentially deadly conditions such as full-blown eclampsia or HELLP syndrome may develop. HELLP stands for hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count.

Eclampsia causes seizures in the mother and can be life-threatening to both mother and baby. HELLP syndrome is characterized by symptoms such as:

HELLP syndrome can cause life-threatening bleeding, liver problems, and blood pressure problems to the mother that put both mother and baby at risk.

What if a Doctor Claims Not to Have Seen Warning Signs?

Often doctors and other medical professionals refuse to admit they did anything wrong. This is especially true if they failed to diagnose preeclampsia or HELLP syndrome because they know there could be thousands or millions of dollars at stake.

Many preeclampsia sufferers exhibit no outward signs or symptoms. But given how common – and how harmful – such medical conditions can be, doctors need to be vigilant and conduct all the necessary tests designed to diagnose them.

Did your doctor heed the warning signs? Take the proper precautions? Order the necessary tests? Or did your doctor fail to follow standard procedures for diagnosing and treating these extremely harmful medical conditions?

Put Your Trust in Our Birth Injury Lawyers

Put your trust in a law firm that puts your family’s needs first. Contact us today and schedule your free case evaluation. Call us at 312-236-4146 or contact our firm online for a free consultation.

We can talk with you by phone; meet with you at our offices in Chicago, Illinois, or Milwaukee, Wisconsin, or travel to meet with you at a more convenient location. No recovery, no fee.