Childbirth and Labor Errors

Improper Technique

Healthcare providers have a duty to properly care for their patients. If a doctor fails to follow the proper procedure or uses the wrong techniques at any point throughout the childbirth process, they can complicate labor and injure the child.

Improper Monitoring

Fetuses must be closely monitored for changes in their heart rate. Any changes in heart rate could be a sign of trauma or another health issue. If no one is monitoring the heart rate or medical personnel do not take action when they notice a change in heart rate, they could endanger the child’s life.

Delayed or Improperly Performed C-sections

C-sections are serious surgeries that involve making a large incision, removing vital organs, and extracting a delicate fetus. If a doctor uses the wrong techniques or delays the C-section, they could harm the child.

Insufficient Oxygen

When medical procedures are done improperly, the baby can suffer by not getting enough oxygen to their brain. This occurs when babies are left in the birth canal for too long, when a C-section is delayed, or if the umbilical cord wraps around their throat and is not removed.

Improper Use of Equipment

Clamps, forceps, and other instruments are used during labor to help deliver the child through the birth canal. If these large metal instruments are used improperly, they can wound the child.

Improper Drug Administration

Mothers are often given pain medication such as epidurals and anesthesia to help with labor and C-sections. If the doctor gives the mother too much medication or the wrong type of medication, it can harm both the mother and the child.

Not Following Procedure

Protocols are in place to protect all patients. Doctors who do not wear masks, do the proper follow-up care, or skip scrubbing in, put their patients’ lives at risk.

Birth Injuries Due to Negligence

When delivery room doctors do not offer patients a quality standard of care, they can cause long-term injury to the babies they are delivering.

Sometimes, these injuries are visible right away, such as a cut on the baby due to improperly using the scalpel during a C-section. Other times, they may take months or years to become apparent, such as cerebral palsy. Parents may not notice symptoms until their child is a few years old.

Some birth injuries to look out for are:

• Injuries to the baby’s skull
• Cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen during the birth
• Hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain)
• Brain damage
• Wrongful death

Proving Labor and Delivery Errors are Malpractice

A successful labor and delivery lawsuit requires you to prove negligence on the part of your doctor. It can be extremely challenging, especially while dealing with an injured infant at home. That is why we recommend working with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who can assist you throughout the process.

In medical malpractice claims, the plaintiff has the burden of proof. To meet the burden of proof, your legal team will be charged with proving that the doctor’s actions were negligent and breached their duty of care to you as a patient. A breach means that the doctor acted unreasonably during the circumstances, such as arriving intoxicated to the delivery room or using the wrong instrument during a C-section.

You will likely need the assistance of medical experts who can testify to the procedure. When you work with a labor and delivery lawyer at Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, we provide experts at no upfront cost to you.

It is our goal that you get the best representation possible without fearing the costs. That’s why we work on a contingency basis, where you don’t pay until we win your case.