Birth Injuries to Mothers – Know Your Legal Rights and Options

Giving birth can be dangerous. Studies show that up to 30 percent of mothers experience avoidable medical injuries during childbirth. These injuries can threaten their health, their income, and their lives.

Fortunately, if you or a loved one was injured while giving birth due to a doctor’s mistake, you have legal rights. This article discusses common maternal birth injuries and their causes. It also explains how a Laurel personal injury lawyer can help.

Types of Birth Injuries Affecting Mothers

A birth injury is any physical injury that happens during labor and delivery. Both mothers and infants can experience birth injuries. When experienced by mothers, they are known as maternal birth injuries, childbirth injuries, or obstetric injuries. Common maternal birth injuries include:

• Bladder injuries
• Blood clots
• Damage to the pelvic floor
• Infections (sepsis)
• Muscle damage
• Nerve damage (particularly to the lumbosacral plexus and the femoral nerve)  
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Postpartum hemorrhage
• Pre-eclampsia
• Perineal tears
• Retained products of conception (RPOC)
• Uterine rupture

Causes of Maternal Birth Injuries

Medical mistakes are a leading cause of obstetric injuries. These mistakes can happen before or during delivery.

• Before delivery. During pregnancy, obstetricians must screen their patients for various conditions. Failure to conduct proper screenings or misreading test results can cause doctors to miss serious conditions like preeclampsia. Doctors must also monitor the fetus’ size and position. If the fetus is larger than normal or in breech position, the doctor should develop a delivery plan that will protect the mother’s health. Failure to do so can increase the risk of uterine rupture.
• During delivery. Doctors must properly monitor the mother’s vitals to look for signs of distress. Additionally, medical staff must comply with all sanitization and hygiene protocols to prevent infection. Doctors should also look for complications from epidurals and other types of anesthesia.

Other risks are specific to the type of delivery. Vaginal delivery carries many risks:

• The improper use of tools such as forceps or vacuum extractors can cause vaginal tears, bleeding, and scarring.
• During an episiotomy, a doctor makes an incision in the vaginal wall to create additional room for the baby to pass. While episiotomies are common, if improperly done, they can cause nerve injury and increase the risk of infection.
• The version procedure is used to reposition the baby during delivery. An incorrectly performed procedure can cause bladder injuries, hemorrhage, and even death.
• Uterine inversion happens with the placenta remains attached to the uterus and pulls the uterus inside out. Failure to properly manage this condition can lead to hemorrhage or an emergency hysterectomy.
• Failure to properly position the mother during labor can cause femoral nerve damage.

Cesarean (C-section) deliveries are common. At times, they may even be necessary to save the life of the mother or baby. However, a C-section is a major surgery, so it must be done perfectly. An improper incision can increase the mother’s risk of bladder and bowel issues, hemorrhage, and blood clots.

Legal Remedies for Maternal Labor Injuries

Medical malpractice lawsuits provide relief for people injured by medical errors. To start your lawsuit, you’ll need to hire a Laurel birth injury attorney. To win a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland, you and your attorney will need to prove the following:

• The medical staff or facility had a duty to care for you
• They failed to follow the standards that reasonable medical professionals in the obstetrics field would have followed and therefore fell short of their legal duty
• You were injured during childbirth
• The medical team’s failures caused your injuries

If you win your case, you may receive compensation, also known as damages, for your injuries. Typical damages in obstetric injury cases cover past and future medical expenses and lost wages. You may also be entitled to damages for pain and suffering or harm to your relationship with your spouse, known as loss of consortium. Your Leonardtown medical malpractice attorney can tell you which types of damages are typical in your case.

Talk to a Laurel Injury Lawyer About Maternal Labor Injuries

If you were injured while giving birth and inadequate medical care played a role, you have rights. A Waldorf personal injury attorney can help you protect those rights. To learn more about your rights after a labor and delivery injury, contact The Law Offices of Thomas E. Pyles. Our team of highly experienced attorneys can help you navigate the legal process. To learn more about what our team can do for you, call 301-705-5006 or complete our online intake form.