When you become pregnant, sound prenatal care is crucial for your health as well as the baby’s health. Throughout the pregnancy period, you need to be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that the baby is developing properly and that there are no complications that might endanger both mother and baby. This is known as prenatal care.
Unfortunately, not all healthcare providers provide prenatal care which is crucial for successful pregnancy and delivery. If this happens, and either the baby or mother sustains injuries during birth, then the healthcare provider or facility may be held liable for prenatal care malpractice.
Understanding prenatal care malpractice
When medical mistakes lead to injury to a mother and/or her baby before or during birth, then the healthcare provider in question can be held liable under Michigan negligence laws. Examples of prenatal care mistakes that can lead to birth injuries include:
- Failing to notice when the baby is not growing properly or is wrongly positioned in the womb
- Failure to notice when the baby is too large to deliver via the birth canal
- Failing to diagnose and treat infections like STIs
- Failing to refer the mother to a specialist if the pregnancy is high risk
- Failing to diagnose preeclampsia
- Failing to diagnose gestational diabetes or hypertension
What damages can pursue following prenatal care malpractice?
Damages in birth injury claims that are attributable to prenatal malpractice vary based on the nature of the injuries and the resulting losses. Potential compensation may include:
- Medical costs
- Pain and suffering
- Reduced quality of life for the mother and child
- Wrongful death damages in the negligence lead to the death of the mother or child
The birth of a child is a life-defining milestone. But when this moment is filled with pain and trauma rather than joy, then you might consider pursuing the liable party for damages.
