C-Section Malpractice Maryland | Cesarean Section Injury Lawyers Placeholder canvas

If you or your child suffered a severe birth injury due to medical malpractice, the best way to seek justice is to contact a top-rated birth injury lawyer in Maryland. We are here to help you hold medical professionals accountable when they make preventable and grave errors that result in severe and permanent neurological injuries to newborns or mothers. C-sections are considered to be a relatively safe procedure when properly executed. This is particularly true for the planned procedures when the mother and baby are closely monitored and evaluated during the pregnancy. However, if the medical staff fails to monitor the mother and baby properly or makes a mistake during the surgery, this could result in serious health issues or even tragic death.

Dubo Law has handled many cases of C-section injuries in Maryland. If you or your family member were injured due to the doctor’s inability to order a C-section in a timely manner or not ordering it at all, we could represent you in obtaining rightful compensation for their malpractice. Let us be your trustful partners in times when you are emotionally exhausted, traumatized, and vulnerable. Our team will support you through the usually complicated process that lies ahead.

Proving Negligence in C-Section Injury Case in Maryland

Negligence occurs when the medical professional’s conduct fails below the standard of care established by law for the protection of individuals against unreasonable risk of harm. Working with a reputable C-section injury lawyer in Maryland can help you gather all the proof needed to file a C-section lawsuit. Proving medical malpractice has four necessary steps:

Determine that a Doctor-Patient Relationship Existed

This simply means that you need to prove that you are the patient of this particular medical practitioner. The evidence can be medical records, documents, and hospital bills.

Breach of Duty of Care Occurred

Breach of duty requires evidence that an action or action omission took place that a reasonable party would not have committed in the given situation. Some examples can be

  • the misuse of the birth assistive tools,
  • failure to monitor fetal distress signs,
  • failure to order an emergency C-section,
  • use of dangerous or inappropriate birthing techniques.

Linking the Duty Breach with Injuries

Demonstrating the causation means that you must prove a link between the breach of duty and injuries sustained during the C-section. C-section injury lawyers at Dubo Law are here to help you prove that there is a proportionate and direct result from the actions OB/GYN did or did not take. We will provide documentation showing the extent of your medical expenses and other damages resulting from the diagnosis.

Proving You or Your Child Have Suffered Damages

You also must prove that you and your child suffered substantial damages during the C-section due to the medical professional’s negligent actions. This may include claims for physical injuries, emotional distress, pain and suffering, medical expenses, lost quality of life, and more.

Do not hesitate to speak with an attorney as soon as possible, as the confidence in the resources and skills will allow us to effectively evaluate and determine whether and how we can assist in your recovery.

Categories of Botched C-Sections Lawsuits

When bringing your child into the world, you expect that your medical provider will keep you and your child safe. However, as we are all human and errors happen during high-pressure situations, it is not an excuse for negligence that lead to a birth injury.

Medical malpractice claim for a botched C-section falls under two main categories: surgical error and failure to perform.

Surgical Error

Your healthcare practitioner has a duty of care to make sure any procedure is conducted appropriately. As a C-section is serious abdominal surgery, making an error during the procedure can cause serious consequences for both mother and child. For example, if your doctor cut too far and damaged one of your internal organs (bladder or intestines) or even a child, you could file a medical malpractice lawsuit for a botched C-section.

Failure to Perform

If your OB/GYN fails to notice signs of fetal distress and quickly performs a C-section, the results can be catastrophic. If a doctor prolongs a procedure for whatever reason and that leads to a serious development issue in your infant, you have a right to file a malpractice suit against the doctor for a failure to perform a C-section in a timely manner.

What are C-Sections?

A Cesarean section, commonly referred to as a ‘C-section,’ is a surgery where an unborn child is delivered through an opening made through the mother’s abdomen and uterine wall. It is a serious surgery and often comes with serious risks, like infections or other organ damage.

C-sections can be necessary for a number of reasons, so it is a necessary option when the risk of vaginal birth is significant to either mother or the baby. The doctor may plan ahead and schedule a C-section, or the mother may need an emergency C-section due to complications.

Planned C-section may be scheduled in cases:

  • Mother previously had a C-section or another womb surgery that resulted in birthing issues
  • Mother has certain conditions like pre-eclampsia, heart disease, high blood pressure, or diabetes
  • Baby is in breech position, sideways, or changing position
  • Mother is expecting multiple babies, and the first baby is in a breech position
  • There are problems with the umbilical cord, including prolapse (when the cord comes out before the baby) or it is wrapped around the baby’s neck
  • There are problems with the placenta, like placenta praevia
  • Mother has an infection
  • Baby is too big for a vaginal birth

Emergency C-section is scheduled in cases:

  • Labor progresses too slowly or stops completely
  • The baby shows the signs of fetal distress (heart rate is too high or low)
  • The baby changes the position during the delivery (becomes breached or lays sideways)
  • There are placental problems like abruption (when the placenta detaches from the uterus too early)
  • Mother is under too much physical stress from labor

Risks of the C-Sections

As with any other surgery, C-sections have an extensive list of risks to both mother and the baby.

Risks for the mother are:

  • Excessive bleeding
  • Uterine rupture (this risk increases with every C-section performed, so mothers who undergo a C-section may face risky birth complications in later pregnancies and, in most cases, will have to give birth to any future children through C-section)
  • Blood clots
  • Increased risk of infection
  • Wound complications
  • Negative reactions to anesthesia

Some risks for the baby include:

  • 1 in 50 babies is accidentally cut during a C-section
  • Breastfeeding delay
  • Breathing problems, especially when the baby is born too early or before the labor process started
  • Obesity, allergies, and other permanent medical issues

Common C-Section Errors

If the mother or a child experienced unnecessary harm during the procedure, they experienced a botched C-section. It is typically a result of the medical staff’s error that causes a birth injury to the mother or a child. This situation gives grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Although there are many different errors during performing a C-section that can affect both mother and child, some of them are more common than others:

Failure to Perform a Timely C-Section

Timing during delivery is especially important. Although most labors can proceed naturally when the pain starts, in some cases, it is not possible. This is ideally determined before the labor starts with a comprehensive labor plan. Still, in a certain percentage of labor complications arise, leaving a C-section as the only option. Delaying a C-section can result in severe or permanent harm to the baby and mother. Oxygen deficiency is one of the most severe complications caused by waiting too long to perform the surgery. It can lead to permanent brain damage through anoxic (complete oxygen deficiency) or hypoxic (decreased oxygen supply) injury. It is the main cause of cerebral palsy.

Also, premature delivery is as dangerous as a delayed C-section. If the procedure is conducted too early, the baby is born prematurely and can face a number of complications, including developmental delays, increased risk of tachypnea (a condition characterized by extremely rapid breathing after birth), increased risk of traumatic injury, and even increased risk of developing respiratory distress syndrome because of the undeveloped lungs.

Wound Infections

Improper wound care during and after the surgery may result in serious infection. It is estimated that roughly 3-15 out of every 100 births are affected by improper wound closure. Endometritis (infection of the uterus lining) is also one of the common complications. The doctors must uphold the standards of care while dressing wounds, during skin closure, tissue closure, aseptic and scrub techniques, and postoperative wound care and examination.

Bowel and Other Internal Organs Injures

The uterus is very close to the other internal organs, like the bladder and intestines. Unfortunately, internal organ damage during a C-section is not uncommon; these injuries occur in roughly 12% of C-section patients. Surgery involves cutting skin and muscle tissue, so surgeons may accidentally cut the surrounding organs. Cutting bowels is especially dangerous because fecal material may enter the mother’s peritoneal cavity.

baby cut during c-section lawsuit Baltimore Maryland

Forgetting a Foreign Object Inside the Mother’s Body

Doctors use surgical blades, sponges, clamps, and other instruments during C-sections. However, it sometimes happens that surgeons unintentionally leave objects inside the patient’s body. If they are left in the body, they can cause infection, abscesses, and other serious complications. Severe pain is present, and it impacts the mother’s quality of life, not allowing her to take care of her child. Moreover, removing the foreign object and fixing the damage usually requires more surgery and therapy, costing thousands of dollars.

Infant Lacerations

As C-sections require using sharp instruments to cut the uterus and pull the baby out, the risk of accidentally cutting the baby increases. Although many of these cuts are superficial, they increase the chances of infection.

Are C-Section Injuries Preventable?

The answer is: Yes. Most C-section injuries are preventable.

To start with, doctors should inform patients about the likelihood of a C-section delivery and what it would entail before going into the delivery room. This will reduce the emotional distress and confusion in the event that emergency surgery is inevitable.

Long-term consequences to the mother and the baby are preventable by proper training of the medical staff. Quickly recognizing when a C-section is necessary can reduce delays and prevent surgical injuries.

Ensuring the staff is always available is critical in injury prevention, as a lack of medical staff can result in severe trauma.

The combination of vaginal cleansing and antibiotic in wound care is an effective way of decreasing both surgical-site infections and endometritis following a C-section.

Free Consultation C-Section Case in Maryland at Dubo Law

If you want to file a baby cut during c-section lawsuit in Maryland, you have come to the right place. We understand that no parent should experience complications during the most joyful period of their lives but seeking justice and holding the negligent party accountable is necessary. Our law office has the experience and knowledge you need to win your case, so contact us for a free initial case review to learn more about your options.

Contact Us for Your Free Case Review!

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Lutherville-Timonium, MD 21093

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