The birth of a child is typically one of the most joyful occasions in a parent’s life, but what happens when medical staff are negligent and celebration turns to tragedy?
Birth-related medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, hospital, or medical staff acts negligently and causes injury to the mother or child during pregnancy. Some examples of malpractice that can cause birth-related injuries include:
- negligently failing to control excessive maternal blood loss post-delivery, and
- negligently failing to monitor the baby’s oxygen intake pre-and-post-delivery.
If an infant is injured, the parents must bring the lawsuit, acting as guardians for the infant. On behalf of the infant, the parents may ask for both general and special damages. An example of this would be when a doctor doesn’t use reasonable care and erroneously decides to deliver a baby prematurely. As a result, the baby suffers brain damage. The parents may sue to recover medical expenses incurred to pay for ongoing rehabilitation and developmental needs, as well as pain and suffering since the baby will experience the ongoing trauma of physical and mental disability.
An example of injury to the mother is if the doctor fails to note the mother’s high blood pressure prior to delivery, a sign of a condition known as preeclampsia, and the mother has a seizure during delivery. The mother may have a claim for medical malpractice to recover for injuries caused by the seizure. In a case like this, there may also be a high chance that the mother passes due to medical negligence during childbirth.
All medical providers should know to properly communicate health risks to their patients and immediate family at all times. This would reduce the risk that medical malpractice would take place, for the sake of the mother and child. Contact Parvey & Cavenago today to get started on getting the compensation you deserve.