Medical negligence during childbirth occurs when a doctor or other healthcare provider does not follow the acceptable standard of care and causes a birth injury to a pregnant mother or child during delivery. There are some key aspects of pregnancy, labor, and delivery that, when carefully monitored, can help prevent birth-related medical malpractice. When doctors or nurses fail to do these tasks, and the baby or mother suffers as a result, it is considered medical negligence. Some examples of medical negligence during childbirth are:
A baby not receiving enough oxygen during labor and delivery, causing brain damage.
A medical instrument used incorrectly and causing the baby to suffer a skull fracture.
Undetected or untreated preeclampsia, leading to a mother seizing during delivery.
Medical equipment or supplies left inside a mother after a cesarean section (C-section).
Damage to the mother’s internal organs during a C-section.
When a baby is born with congenital disabilities, which if the parents would have known about, would have avoided or ended the pregnancy, they may have a wrongful birth claim. Wrongful birth actions are commonly based on negligent genetic testing or negligent failure to detect impairments.