Giving birth is exciting but scary, and any mistakes during labor or delivery can have severe health consequences for newborns. Unfortunately, these mistakes happen often in the U.S., including here in Arizona. The key to recovering compensation for birth injuries due to delivery room negligence is knowing how these injuries occur and how to protect your rights.
Examples of Delivery Room Negligence and Injuries
Some ways that delivery room negligence can cause birth injuries include:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress: Any delays in responding to abnormal heart rate patterns can cause oxygen deprivation, which may lead to a brain injury or cerebral palsy.
- Misuse of delivery tools: Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors can lead to skull fractures, nerve damage, or long-term developmental issues.
- Delayed emergency cesarean section: Waiting too long to perform a C-section during complications such as prolonged labor or cord prolapse can put newborns at risk of severe injuries.
- Medication errors: Doctors and nurses sometimes administer the wrong drugs or the incorrect dosage during labor, which can lead to seizures or respiratory problems in newborns.
- Failure to treat maternal infections: Untreated infections during delivery can spread to the baby and cause severe health complications.
- Rough handling after birth: Mishandling an infant immediately after delivery can cause fractures, shoulder dystocia injuries, or damage to delicate nerves.
Who’s Liable for Delivery Room Negligence Birth Injuries?
A key step in recovering compensation for your child’s birth injury is identifying who caused the injury. The parties who could be liable include:
- Doctors: Obstetricians or other doctors may be liable if they made errors in monitoring the mother or child, didn’t act quickly enough to address complications, or improperly used medical tools during delivery.
- Nurses: Nurses may be liable for a birth injury if they failed to track vital signs, recognize complications, or promptly alert doctors to potential problems.
- Hospitals: A hospital may share responsibility when poor policies, understaffing, or inadequate training contributed to unsafe care in the delivery room.
- Anesthesiologists: Errors in administering anesthesia or monitoring the mother’s response can create dangerous conditions for both mother and baby. Anesthesiologists are generally responsible for this aspect of care during labor and delivery, which can make them liable when injuries occur.
- Pharmacists: Pharmacists may be liable if they dispensed the wrong medication or gave the incorrect dosage during labor and delivery.
How Do You Prove a Healthcare Provider Is Liable for a Birth Injury?
To prove that a doctor or other healthcare professional is liable for your child’s birth injury, you must show that they failed to meet the applicable medical standard of care. The medical standard of care is the level of skill and attention that another provider with similar training and experience would have used in the same situation. If a doctor or nurse acted in a way that fell below this standard, the law may view that as negligence.
You need evidence to meet this legal standard, which could include your or your child’s medical records, expert testimony from a healthcare provider in the same field, and treatment timelines during labor and delivery. By comparing the provider’s actions to what a competent professional would have done, you can demonstrate whether a doctor’s negligence caused your child’s birth injury.
How Gill Law Firm Can Help
At Gill Law Firm, we understand the lasting impact a birth injury can have on your family. We can carefully review your case, gather medical evidence, talk to expert witnesses, and handle all the legal procedures to build a strong claim on your behalf. Trust our team to fight for full compensation for your child’s injuries. You don’t owe any legal fees unless we secure compensation for you. Contact Gill Law Firm today to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help protect your child’s future.