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Four Signs Your Birthing Experience Was Negligent (And What to Do About It)

birthing hospital negligence

Every human is fallible, even the ones you desperately hope get it right every single time, like the medical staff. Just because accidents happen, however, doesn’t mean that they should – especially not in such crucial times like those had in a hospital. Negligence can range from being overtired and making a mistake to criminal negligence to outright criminal.

In most cases, a serious accident, mishap, or case of negligence in a hospital won’t be enough to strip a doctor of their license. That doesn’t mean you cannot get justice. Compensation is a common tool for families to get the justice they seek, and also the financial payout they’ll need to now live with the consequences.

1. Birth Injuries

Take birth injuries, for example. Cerebral Palsy birth injuries are almost always compensated and for good reason. As a parent, you’ll need to pay a lot over the course of your child’s life to cover the accessibility tools, therapy, and treatments. Rather than try to negotiate a worthwhile settlement on your own, however, it’s critical that you hire a specialist lawyer to build up the necessary evidence and handle your case on your behalf.

The first step, of course, is recognizing there’s a problem in the first place, which is why you need to watch out for these top signs:

2. You Didn’t Receive The Right Amount of Prenatal Care You’re Due

If you weren’t properly communicated with during your pregnancy, then this is a key sign of negligence. It, unfortunately, happens to minorities most often. It can also be due to clerical errors. The fact is, however, that regardless of why you don’t get ongoing tests, checks, and checkups throughout your pregnancy, key issues cannot be caught and addressed when they should, which is the earliest possible time.

3. Fetal Distress Wasn’t Monitored During Birth

When you’re in labor, your baby’s distress needs to be taken into account. The medical staff needs to pay attention to issues like heart rate irregularities. Delays in taking action in response to your baby’s distress can lead to injury or even death of the baby or mother. A lack of oxygen during the birthing process, for example, can result in asphyxia that then results in Cerebral Palsy.

4. Medication Errors

If your medication was improperly calculated or dispensed, there are a host of issues that can occur. You may get the wrong dose or may be allergic, for example. The worst case is if you aren’t properly monitored afterward, and your vitals drop as a result of the improperly administered medication.

5. Inadequate Post-Partum Care

The time immediately after giving birth is a critical one. If you aren’t properly monitored, your health could be at severe risk. The same applies to your baby. Vitals can drop, bleeding can occur, and so on. That’s why both you and your new baby must be constantly supervised for a short while after birth to catch any complications early. If you’re left alone and don’t have any supervision and something happens during that time, then that is a case for negligence, and you have a right to compensation.