Maddie carefully went to all her prenatal appointments and had all the tests the doctor ordered, including several ultrasounds. She didn’t learn of the danger her baby faced until the day she gave birth. A severe lack of oxygen led to serious, lifelong congenital disabilities. Lacey faced a different type of birth trauma. Her birthing team failed to notice that her blood pressure had skyrocketed until it was too late. She spent several weeks in the ICU after suffering a stroke during childbirth. Her life will never be the same. These are just two examples of birth trauma events. They are also potential medical malpractice claims.
What are some examples of birth trauma?
We’ve already mentioned two. Maddie’s doctors misread her tests and completely missed diagnosing the condition that caused her child’s birth defects. Lacey’s team failed to take her baby by emergency C-section, exposing both of them to unacceptable risks.
Other birth trauma events for babies include:
- Poor care for underweight or premature infants.
- Physical damages from using forceps or incorrectly rotating the baby during birth.
- Death from umbilical cord issues.
Mothers can incur both physical, emotional, and mental trauma at the hands of negligent doctors and staff. Some new moms even suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or postnatal depression. Moms might even lose the ability to have more children.
Aren’t difficult births and birth defects fairly common?
Yes and no. While accidents can happen, it’s hard to ignore the following statistics:
- 6 – 8 infants of every 1,000 born in the United States suffer from birth trauma
- An estimated 28,000 babies are born with birth injuries
- About 9% of new moms have PTSD or postnatal depression.
- 4 maternal deaths per 100,000 births
At least some of these incidents involved traumatic birth experiences.
What does birth trauma have to do with medical malpractice?
Some traumatic births happen naturally. However, some are caused by:
- neglect,
- defective medical devices, and
- failure to meet the duty of care.
Medical professionals are expected to provide a certain, reasonable level of care to their patients. When they breach that standard, accidentally or intentionally, patients suffer injuries. Some even die. This type of medical malpractice is particularly hard to take because a child’s birth is supposed to be a wonderful life event.
Parents of babies injured because of their birth may face a lifetime of medical bills, therapy, medications, surgeries, and more. Holding negligent healthcare providers accountable could help parents care for their children.
Mothers might also need therapy and future medical care because of unnecessarily rough births. When healthcare professionals hurt their patients, they should pay for the damages they caused.
Was Your Birth Trauma Experience a Potential Medical Malpractice Claim?
Both you and your family will benefit from finding out whether you are entitled to compensation. Talk to an experienced medical malpractice lawyer without delay.
At the Dailey Law Firm, P.C., our team of skilled lawyers and professionals provide the high-quality legal services you need. Call us at 844-342-5353 to set up a free consultation or use the Contact Form on our website. There’s no fee for personal injury cases unless we win.
We represent clients throughout the entire United States. You can reach us online or visit one of our offices in Detroit, MI; Chicago, IL; or Valparaiso, IN.