Seeking Legal Compensation for Birth-Related Injuries or Wrongful Death in Georgia
Not all bad outcomes during childbirth are viable legal cases in the United States. Childbirth has always had this potential downside risk, so we start off with some statistics.
Childbirth deaths in the USA numbered 1205 in 2021, according to the CDC. This article mainly talks about a child’s birth injury, but it’s also good to know some basic information about giving birth.
Statistically, being a black female or being older (or both) increases the mother’s likelihood of death during delivery. Non-Hispanic black women are now 2.6 times more likely to die during childbirth than Caucasian women.
This number, however, is an improvement from the previous statistic of 3 times more likely a decade ago. Death rates also were higher the older the woman was when the delivery occurred. Women over 40 years old are sometimes more prone to health problems, and (statistically) were found to be nearly 6 times as likely to die during delivery than a birth mother under the age of 25.
Childbirth injuries can be difficult for families. Birth injury lawyers help parents navigate legal options to seek compensation and justice for their child’s injuries. In all of human history, giving birth has had unavoidable bad outcomes in some situations.
While most cases are in or nearby Atlanta Georgia, these medical negligence cases for our birth trauma lawyers can occur anywhere.
When a child’s birth injury shows up. Numerous significant events are somewhat predictable at certain points in a young child’s development, if she or he is progressing normally. A parent might have already noticed if their child is not able to accomplish certain tasks by a particular age. This circumstantial evidence could lead that mother or father to suspect that their child suffered some type of brain injury during the birth process.
A Partial Listing of Some Potential Causes of Childbirth Injury
Obstetric medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, are educated to assess the baby’s heart rate tracing and its reaction to the mother’s contractions. This is done to determine the well-being of the fetus in the womb at every stage of a delivery.
In the context of childbirth, healthcare providers may need to make critical decisions regarding interventions to ensure the safety and well-being of both the mother and the baby. The use of a fetal heart monitor has been an important tool for deliveries. These interventions could involve changing the mother’s position to facilitate a smoother delivery.
Also administering oxygen to address any potential complications with the baby’s oxygen levels may be needed. In some extreme cases (i.e., a still birth, an obstetric hemorrhage, or breech birth) performing an emergency Cesarean section to prevent harm to either the mother or the baby is the recommended medical procedure.
Our team of birth injury attorneys help parents with legal and financial challenges following medical malpractice affecting their child. Childbirth injury lawyers help seek compensation for preventable birth injuries and long-term care needed for affected children.
Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Attorneys: Types of Birth Injury Claims
Childbirth injuries can result from many conditions, including these common origins:
- Premature Birth cases – Prematurity (being born too early) if born earlier than 37 weeks and the baby will be more fragile than if full-term.
- Cerebral Palsy is a group of neurological disorders that affect a person’s ability to move normally and to maintain his or her balance and maintain their upright posture. Often, during childbirth, this is caused by oxygen deprivation causing this type of brain damage.
- Prolonged labor
- Perinatal asphyxia
- Large baby issues creating high pressure within the birth path and the mother not opting for a Cesarean birth.
- Pressure in the birth canal
- A missed opportunity for utilizing a C-section delivery or vacuum extraction method of delivery.
- Erb’s Palsy
Responsibility for Damages in a Birth-Related Malpractice Injury or Death Case
Physicians can prevent bad outcomes (e.g., childbirth brain injuries) by avoiding allowing certain conditions to not be quickly addressed or by acting quickly when complications arise during childbirth. Liability for injuries is determined by a legal standard called “lack of reasonable care.”
Physicians, anesthetists, nursing staff, and other healthcare practitioners are required to adhere to the professional care standards that their peers would offer under similar conditions. Typically, several kinds of medical mistakes lead to accountability for injuries sustained during childbirth:
- During labor, mothers wear a monitoring strap that tracks the baby’s heart rate and contractions. Data is sent to monitors at bedside, and to nurses’ station, and sometimes simultaneously received within the nearby doctor’s offices or on devices like an Apple watch phone.
In other words, obstetric doctors, nurses, and clinicians are specifically trained to interpret electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) tracings to determine whether the unborn baby is receiving enough oxygen or if they are experiencing oxygen deprivation. The ability to accurately interpret EFM tracings is a vital aspect of obstetric care and can make a significant difference in the outcome of labor and delivery for both the mother and the baby.
This is a crucial skill that allows clinicians to assess the well-being of the fetus during labor and delivery. By closely monitoring the EFM tracing on all birth charts, clinicians can identify signs of distress in the baby and take appropriate action to ensure their safety and well-being.
2. Not asking for a C-Section or Vacuum delivery promptly when the baby is not getting enough oxygen can be negligent. Every minute is crucial when unborn babies are deprived of oxygen.
3. Errors made in pain relief dosing of the birth mother. Although rare, these medical errors can occur when close monitoring does not catch the error in time, leading to death or serious injury cases of the birth mother.
Seeking Recovery for Birth-Related Injuries or Wrongful Death
In order to establish that a healthcare provider is responsible for birth injuries, lawyers specializing in birth injury cases need to demonstrate that one (or more) of the healthcare providers handling the delivery did not exercise due diligence in delivering their services. These standards are well-known by OB-GYN doctors and the specially trained midwives and nurses who support these deliveries.
Several factors can cause brain injuries during childbirth. Some factors can be controlled by a doctor, while others cannot. Physicians can prevent birth injuries by planning ahead or responding quickly to complications.
Because time limits apply to all civil cases, it is critical to get legal guidance as soon as the injury or wrongful death occur. in 100% of our cases our team of lawyers always provide a FREE consultation, because the last thing a stressed or grieving family needs is to worry about paying out money.
Our Georgia lawyers offer free case reviews for medical malpractice and birth injuries. As a top-rated med mal and childbirth injury law firm in the State of Georgia, our litigation firm brings many decades of experience to the table.
In fact, Mrs. McArthur’s husband is a surgeon, but practices orthopedic surgery in Macon GA, but not in obstetrics. All of the legal professionals that work at the McArthur Law Firm have great respect for medical professionals, but errors in this profession have potential repercussions far more ominous and weighty than in almost any other professionals.
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