Last time, we began looking at the high rate of Cesarean sections at hospitals, and the unnecessary risks patients are exposed to when vaginal delivery is low risk. Aside from increasing the risk of unnecessary complications and fatality, unnecessary C-sections also increase the risk that a woman will have to delivery by C-section in future pregnancies. This can lead to additional risks.
It isn’t, of course, that C-sections are never desirable, but that the risks always need to be weighed against the benefits. Physicians, of course, have professional expertise and are supposed to ensure that patients are not put at unnecessary risk. Informed consent should always be there before the decision is made to pursue a C-section.
One interesting point from the data we mentioned in our last post is that most women who receive C-sections do not request it without a medical reason. In other words, women generally don’t seek out the procedure unless they have a reason to believe there is a good medical reason to do so.
When a woman or her baby suffer serious injuries or fatality as a result of an unnecessary C-section, it is important that those impacted by the physician’s negligence seek experienced legal counsel to build the strongest possible case. It isn’t only physicians that can face liability for harming patients through unnecessary C-sections, either. Hospitals may also bear liability.
According to available data, some hospitals perform significantly more C-sections than others, suggesting that some hospitals might have a culture of encouraging the procedure when it really is unnecessary. Working with experienced legal counsel helps ensure a patient has a fighting chance to hold liable all parties responsible for unnecessary childbirth complications and consequent medical harm.
