During a delivery, there are two patients: the baby and the mother. While doctors are required to focus their attention on the baby to help prevent potential birth injuries and complications, they must also give care and attention to the mother. When they fail to do so, the mother could be seriously injured or pass away from injuries, blood loss, or other conditions.
If you or the mother of your child was seriously injured while delivering their baby – or if the mother passed away during childbirth – contact a lawyer immediately. The Queenan Law Firm’s Houston attorneys for birth injuries to mothers represent victims of medical malpractice in childbirth and fight to get families compensation for additional medical care costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other effects brought about through a doctor’s negligent care. For your free legal consultation, call us today at (817) 476-1797.
Common Childbirth Injuries for Mothers
Mothers will often do anything for their children, and suffering pain and discomfort is typical during delivery. Mothers often face severe pain that might be mitigated by epidurals or other drugs, and this pain is an expected part of childbirth. However, some injuries go beyond the expected norms and are only caused by medical negligence, or they are allowed to get worse and escalate because of inattentive or negligent post-delivery care.
Mothers face expected injuries during birth, including vaginal tears, blood loss, and ruptures. While some of these injuries are expected, they can often be mitigated through proper care and birth coaching. If these injuries are allowed to become extremely severe or the doctor takes no steps to help avoid these injuries, the doctor may be responsible for their negligent care.
Doctors often need to make quick decisions to use different procedures, such as a C-section or forceps delivery. If the doctor waits too long to perform these procedures, the mother may have already suffered severe injuries if the baby was too big or the baby was in breech position. Once they choose to perform a C-section or forceps delivery, the doctor must use the proper care and skill in doing so. Failing to use the proper care can result in injuries like tearing, uterine prolapse, and excessive bleeding.
Additional procedures and surgeries might be required to help deliver the baby or help the mother recover after the delivery. These treatments and surgeries must be performed with the proper care and skill that other reasonable physicians would use or else the mother could face additional injuries, bleeding, or scarring.
Suing for Birth Injuries to the Mother in Houston, Texas
If you suffered injuries while giving birth in Houston, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit to seek damages for those injuries. However, your right to sue will depend on how the injuries occurred and whether the doctor was responsible for them or they were natural complications.
When a doctor provides medical care to a patient, the doctor is required to follow the “standard of care” in that case. This standard is based on objective standards that use the concept of what a “reasonable physician” would do in the same situation. Often, it is up to a jury to decide whether the doctor’s care fell below this standard or not, and if it did, the victim can recover compensation for any harms resulting from that negligent care.
To prove that a doctor was negligent in Houston, Texas, you often need to file the case in court and use a medical expert to testify about the care. Your medical expert can help explain the case to the jury and testify as to what the doctor did wrong and what they should have done differently. The expert will typically be a physician of similar training and experience that performs similar types of procedures so that they can testify to what the expectations are.
In most cases, your doctor will seek to defend themselves by claiming that your injuries were not their fault and that they were normal complications. Sometimes, mothers can suffer severe or catastrophic injuries during childbirth even if the doctor did everything they could. In these cases, it is unfortunate, but the victim typically cannot sue. However, attorneys and medical malpractice insurance companies representing a negligent physician are often going to argue that this was the case even if the doctor was negligent, and it is up to your lawyer to prove your malpractice case.
In addition to suing for the mother’s injuries, you can also sue for any childbirth injuries the baby suffered because of negligent care.
Damages for a Mom’s Injuries During Childbirth
When you give birth, you will need medical care and you will face some pain and suffering – but if you suffer negligent care, you may need additional care and you will face higher pain and suffering. Any expenses for care above and beyond the normal complications should be covered in a medical malpractice lawsuit, as should damages for any additional pain and suffering brought about by the doctor’s negligence. If this negligence causes permanent injuries or conditions, a lawsuit could entitle the victim and their family to additional future expenses for lost wages, pain and suffering, and future medical care.
Call Our Houston Lawyers for Mothers Injured During Childbirth
If you or the mother of your child faced avoidable injuries during the delivery, talk to a lawyer about whether the physician was responsible for those injuries. You could be entitled to substantial financial compensation, and you should review your case with a lawyer to understand what your claim is worth. Never accept offers from a medical malpractice insurance company or negligent doctor before speaking with a lawyer. Instead, call The Queenan Law Firm’s Houston, Texas attorney for birth injuries to mothers today at (817) 476-1797.