Medical malpractice is unfortunately common, and most doctors and hospitals would not like to admit that it happens. Medical malpractice happens when a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional causes harm or kills a patient due to their negligence.
Birth-related medical malpractice deals with medical malpractice that happens during labor and deliveries. A large majority of labor and deliveries are handled by professional and competent doctors and staff, making this type of medical malpractice rare, but it does happen, and the damages can be severe and devastating.
Birth-related medical malpractice can result in the mother or child being injured during the pregnancy or delivery, a wrongful birth, or a wrongful pregnancy. Each type of birth-related medical malpractice claim comes with specific criteria about who can file a malpractice claim and the damages that can be recovered. Understanding the types of injuries that can occur and your rights as a patient are essential for building a strong medical malpractice case.
Birth Injuries to Mother or Child
There are times when a doctor or nurse did something, or should have done something, and failed to that puts the mother or child in a dangerous situation. If this negligence caused injury to the mother or child, this can be considered medical malpractice. Even further, if the mother or child died from recklessness, this may raise to a wrongful death case.
Injuries To The Mother
A mother can make a claim for medical malpractice if her injury was incurred before or while giving birth and was caused by negligence on the part of the medical staff. Some injuries that could lead to a medical malpractice claim include:
- Ignoring high blood pressure (a symptom of preeclampsia)
- Eclampsia, which occurs when a woman with preeclampsia has a seizure while delivering her baby
- Failing to control excessive bleeding after delivery
- Pulmonary Embolism
- Uterine rupture
- Cardiac arrest
- Surgical malpractice in the case of a Cesarean Section
Injuries To The Child
In the event that the infant is injured, both parents must bring the lawsuit and ask for both general and special damages. General damages will include the cost of medical costs and suffering, mental and physical pain and suffering, and adding difficulty and stress for the child for the rest of their life.
For example, if a doctor fails to use reasonable care and delivers a baby prematurely, causing the baby to suffer from brain damage, the parents may sue to cover medical expenses for the rehabilitation and developmental needs that the child will require throughout their life. They can also claim pain and suffering, considering the baby is considerably altered for the rest of its life with the ongoing trauma of having a physical or mental disability.
Common Birth Injuries
Some of the common birth injuries that happen to infants and mothers include:
- Erb’s Palsy is a nerve-related injury that happens when the baby’s neck or shoulder is overstretched during the delivery.
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy is a condition where the baby does not receive enough oxygen to the brain that can result in brain damage, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and even death.
- Broken bones are the most common in newborns, specifically in the collarbone or clavicle. Some bone fractures can’t be avoided, but they can sometimes have been prevented if the doctor had taken care of any complications but did not.
- Bruising or forceps marks can happen on the face or head during the trauma coming through the birth canal. These are typically temporary marks or bruises from forceps used during labor, and a vacuum extraction also can leave scalp bruising or lacerations on the head or face.
- Facial paralysis is when the pressure of a baby’s face during labor or birth can injure the facial nerve. If the paralysis is caused by a bruised nerve, it can go away in a few weeks, but surgery may be required for a torn nerve.
Wrongful Birth
Parents can make a wrongful birth claim when they should have been made aware of their child’s congenital disabilities and if they had been properly made aware of the disability, could have terminated the pregnancy. This claim is based on negligent genetic testing before the child was conceived, or the failure to detect physical or mental disabilities early on in the pregnancy.
Damages for a wrongful birth case would include the cost that comes with the child’s disorder, like medical expenses or educational therapy. Parents also may be able to claim the emotional pain and suffering they experience during the birth of and that comes with raising their child.
Wrongful Pregnancy
If parents tried to avoid pregnancy by pregnancy testing, sterilization, or abortion and those methods fail due to medical negligence, they may sue for a wrongful pregnancy. With a wrongful pregnancy lawsuit, the child may be born healthy but the parents sue for the harm caused by this unwanted pregnancy and birth.
The types of allowed damages will depend on what state you’re in, however, in most states, parents can sue for costs like lost wages and medical expenses. Some also allow damages for the parent’s pain and suffering from the unwanted pregnancy.
Seeking Help From a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
It’s rare, but birth-related medical malpractice is life-altering and something no parent ever wants to go through. Victims of this type of medical malpractice deserve representation and to be able to recover from the damages caused.
The Law Offices of Steve Newman in New York have an extensive network of board-certified physicians to help analyze medical malpractice occurrences. We provide free phone consultations to identify your legal options and are here to protect you.
If you are a victim of birth-related medical malpractice and need representation, contact us today.