More than 200,000 individuals die due to medical malpractice every year, ranging from inappropriate prescriptions to surgical blunders to misdiagnosis. Yet, only about 2% of the injured sought compensation to the court.
If you’re wondering if you have a medical malpractice case, you should approach reputable birth defect lawyers. But first, let’s clarify if birth defects are a valid ground for a legal battle.
Birth defect as medical malpractice
Failure to notice and notify the parents of a birth defect could be considered malpractice. A doctor is supposed to provide the best possible care for a patient using all available resources.
To assess the baby’s overall health, the doctor must perform the appropriate screening tests and interpret the data correctly.
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor’s inability to discover or diagnose a defect leads to a delay in treatment, causing the baby to suffer further or more severe injury.
Similarly, if a condition is discovered early in a pregnancy, but the parent is not notified in time to decide whether to terminate the pregnancy, this could be considered neglect.
In that case, the doctor may have failed to care for the mother, their patient properly, and the infant’s birth and quality of life may have been a breach of the doctor’s duty.
How to screen birth defects?
A screening test is a technique that is done while the baby is still in the womb to see if the pregnant lady or her baby has any health issues. These tests are offered to pregnant women to check for health concerns or birth defects in both mothers and babies.
A few examples of this procedure include:
Ultrasound
An ultrasound can detect the presence of excess fluid behind the baby’s neck by taking photos of the newborn. If the ultrasound reveals that the baby has a chromosomal abnormality or a heart defect, the baby may be at risk for these diseases.
Maternal serum screen
This screening method is a simple blood test that determines whether a woman is at an elevated risk of having a baby with birth defects such as neural tube defects or chromosomal diseases like Down Syndrome.
Maternal blood screen
This test will measure the levels of particular proteins in the mother’s blood. The newborn could have a chromosomal abnormality if the protein levels are excessively high or low.
Kinds of birth defects
One example of birth defects is Degenerative Illnesses. They wreak havoc on body parts and systems, causing them to fail. Babies born with this condition may appear healthy at birth, but they will lose functions and develop slowly later.
Rett syndrome, a syndrome that primarily affects females and involves intellectual difficulties, seizures, delayed or slowed development, and muscular dystrophy, are two examples of degenerative disorders.
Unlike the first one, a muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that create progressive weakness and often result in an inability to breathe or walk for the people who have them.
When it took a turn for the worse
Doctors aren’t responsible for the majority of birth abnormalities. Still, they are in charge of educating parents about congenital disorders and monitoring the baby and mother for birth defects and giving the best possible care for both to avoid difficulties.
Your lawyers can help you assess whether you have a medical malpractice case if your family has experienced severe harm due to a doctor’s carelessness in dealing with a birth defect.
We advise that you immediately contact a trusted law firm if death occurs soon after the negligence. A stillbirth, the mother’s death during pregnancy or birth, or the newborn can be called a wrongful death.
Such tragedies crush families. So, upon the death of a family member from medical malpractice, you should speak with an attorney who can help you understand your compensation alternatives and legal rights.
Among the developing countries, it was the United States that recorded the highest maternal mortality rate.
Most of these deaths could’ve been avoided if healthcare professionals and mothers didn’t overlook pregnancy difficulties or if they had managed issues during birth.
Summary
Admittedly, these are complex situations. However, if your kid is injured because of a doctor’s negligence, you’re entitled to compensation.
Your child may be diagnosed with a lifelong disease that requires continuing care or extensive medical treatment, all of which incur financial expenditures.
So it’ll be a good idea to have a lawyer by your side who can review your case and offer sound advice.
