Injuries During Birth and Medical Malpractice

The birth of your child is meant to be a time of celebration and joy, but sometimes unexpected events during birth can lead to more pain and anxiety surrounding the birth of your child than expected.

Usually, medical teams in the United States are competent and do their best to provide a safe birth for you and your baby. Injuries during birth do happen, though, and can leave lasting trauma for baby and parents.

Many birth injuries, such as facial paralysis, broken collar bones, and bruising go away fairly quickly. The most worrisome birth injury is probably traumatic brain injury, which can be caused by a prolonged lack of oxygen to the baby. This prolonged oxygen deprivation can cause long-term mental impairment or seizure disorders.

If your baby has suffered from a birth injury such as brain injury, the long-term effects can be a lot to deal with. Hopefully your doctor did everything possible to prevent harm to your baby, but there are some cases where doctors are at fault for birth injuries. When a doctor does not provide a patient with a reasonable standard of care or was negligent in their professional duties, the case can be considered for medical malpractice.

Some behaviors that might be considered medical malpractice include:

• Not responding or a delayed response to fetal distress

• Untimely ordering of a c-section

• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors

There can also be cases of negligence involving the maternal health, including:

• Delayed or lack of response to excessive bleeding

• Unwatched infections after surgery or birth

• Improper administration of epidurals or Pitocin

If you think that you or your baby has suffered injuries because of a negligent medical team, you should contact an attorney specializing in medical malpractice cases who can review your case to determine if you have legitimate grounds to file a claim. Most doctors do all that they can to ensure both maternal and baby health and malpractice cases should not be taken lightly.

If your medical malpractice claim seems solid, your attorney may request compensation for your injuries, including related medical bills, compensation for pain and suffering, and, in the case of long-term injuries, compensation to provide for your child throughout his or her lifetime. A medical malpractice attorney will know how to properly file a claim, how to work with insurance companies, and, if necessary, how to file a lawsuit against the responsible doctor or hospital.

Again, medical teams usually do their best to protect maternal and baby health, but medical malpractice cases do happen. If you think your child is the victim of medical malpractice, contact an attorney as soon as possible to review your options.