Joliet, IL Personal Injury Attorneys Represent Victims of Fetal Death from Car Crashes
Illinois Accident Law Firm Focuses on Auto Accidents Involving Pregnant Women
It is estimated that between 1,500 and 5,000 fetal deaths happen each year in the U.S. as a result of maternal involvement in automobile accidents. Even if the fetus survives, complications like low birth weight and neonatal respiratory distress syndrome often arise from early emergency delivery of a premature fetus, and many children grow up disabled as a result of injuries they suffered in utero.
The unborn offspring of pregnant occupants of motor vehicles are at a particularly high risk for injury in a motor vehicle accident. Some of the injuries that are unique to pregnant drivers and passengers include:
- Placental abruption. The most common cause of fetal death as a result of an automobile crash, placental abruption occurs in 20 to 50 percent of severe crashes happening during pregnancy. Placental abruptions can happen as a result of high-velocity deployment of an airbag, from compression between the mother’s body and the steering wheel, or trauma causing separation of the placenta and the uterus.
- Uterine rupture or laceration. Although uterine rupture is extremely rare, occurring in less than one percent of pregnant trauma cases, the likelihood of fetal death with such an injury is almost 100 percent, although pregnant women sustain only minor injuries to themselves.
- Direct fetal injury. Occurring in less than 10 percent of all automotive accidents involving pregnant women, direct fetal injury most often occurs when the vehicle occupant was not properly restrained.
Contact a Joliet, IL Personal Injury Law Firm Today
Were you involved in an automobile accident that resulted in injuries to a pregnant woman and the death of her fetus? Contact the Joliet, IL accident attorneys at Kelly Law Offices, LLC online or call 1-800-859-8800 to schedule your initial consultation to discuss your potential for recovery today. There is never a fee unless you collect!
