Parents count on health professionals to assist them throughout the course of their pregnancy and to help deliver a healthy baby boy or girl. However, occasionally the very medical professionals they trust are the very ones to let them down. When a doctor, nurse or other hospital medical staff member fails to use reasonable care in treating an expectant mother or her child, he or she may be liable for medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice is a type of negligence claim specific to the health community. Medical practitioners are expected to provide a certain level of care and when they dip below this standard and injure a patient as a result, they are expected to answer for their negligence.
In the arena of birth-related medical malpractice, there are a number of types of claims a parent could bring. One of the most common relates to injuries suffered by the mother or child during the pregnancy or delivery. These may stem from a failure to carefully monitor the fetal heart rate or schedule a necessary caesarean section.
In addition to pregnancy and birth injuries, a parent may also sue for wrongful birth. This type of claim alleges that medical professionals failed to apprise a parent about the condition or risks posed to the mother or child and, had they known, the parents would have avoided or ended the pregnancy.
The final type of claim is wrongful pregnancy. A parent can sue for wrongful pregnancy if the parents’ medically assisted attempt to avoid or end a pregnancy failed. This claim alleges that the parents did not intend to have a child and that the medical professionals failed to provide the appropriate care to assist in avoiding or ending that pregnancy.
If your family has suffered due to birth-related medical malpractice, you may need to seek compensation from the health care professionals responsible. Contact the skilled birth injury attorneys at Lanier Law Group, P.A. in North Carolina.
