While miscarriages are unfortunately common, they are not always purely accidental. Some people experience miscarriages because of the negligence of others. Whether a doctor or someone causes an injurious accident, you might be entitled to fair compensation for your grievous loss.
Sometimes, miscarriages happen because someone else did something wrong. You might miscarry if your doctor fails to catch a certain medical condition or approves you for medication that is dangerous for pregnancy. Alternatively, your pregnancy might have been normal and healthy until someone else injured you so badly that you miscarried. The timeframe for filing your case may depend on whom you sue, as different legal claims may be subject to varying statutes of limitations.
Contact our South Carolina personal injury lawyers at Rice Law by calling (803) 219-4906 to request a free initial case evaluation.
Suing for a Miscarriage
While many miscarriages occur naturally, others happen because of medical negligence, accidents, unsafe products, or even violence. If you experienced a miscarriage because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful actions, you may be entitled to fair financial compensation.
Medical Negligence
During pregnancy, people rely on doctors to guide them through the experience and deliver a healthy newborn. Unfortunately, not all doctors are as careful as they should be. Your doctor might give you inaccurate or dangerous medical advice that could cause a miscarriage.
Not all pregnancies are the same, and your doctor must be ready to help you through various complications. If they prescribe unsafe medication or fail to identify medical conditions, you might have a miscarriage. While medical mistakes can happen, they must fall below the standard of care to be considered malpractice.
Medical negligence that results in a miscarriage might be grounds for a medical malpractice claim against the doctor and possibly the hospital they work for.
Accidents
Miscarriages might result from accidents that cause serious bodily harm. For example, a pregnant person might be driving to work when they are struck by another vehicle, and their injuries cause a miscarriage. In such a case, our South Carolina personal injury attorneys may work to hold the other driver responsible for their negligence and make them cover your damages, including the loss of the pregnancy.
Other possible accidents might include slip and falls, where a pregnant person slips and falls forward, landing on their abdomen. Such an injury can be extremely dangerous for the pregnancy and cause a miscarriage. The owner of the property where you fell may be responsible if they negligently failed to clean up the spill or debris that caused you to fall.
Acts of Violence
While it is uncomfortable to consider, miscarriages may occur when a pregnant person is violently assaulted. Perhaps you got into an argument with someone, and they snapped and pushed you, causing you to fall on your stomach, leading to a miscarriage. Maybe a pregnant person is injured during a robbery. Violence can be traumatic, and a miscarriage can make the ordeal even worse.
Always report violence to the police, especially if you are injured. The police may investigate, turn up evidence, and arrest the person responsible, making it easier for you to sue them in civil court later.
Product Liability
Pregnant people must be careful about what they put in their bodies, as not all food, drinks, or medications are safe during pregnancy. For example, your doctor might prescribe medicine that is supposed to be safe for pregnant patients, but it turns out to be dangerous and leads to a miscarriage.
Food poisoning may increase the risk of a miscarriage. If you unknowingly consume contaminated food at a restaurant and later suffer a miscarriage, you might have a claim against the restaurant. We would need to prove that the miscarriage was a direct result of the food poisoning.
When You File a Civil Case for a Miscarriage in South Carolina
Exactly when you must file your civil case may vary based on how we believe your miscarriage happened. Miscarriage might involve medical negligence or result from other, more common forms of negligence.
Different statutes of limitations may apply depending on how the miscarriage occurred. For example, if you were injured in an accident, you might file a personal injury claim. According to S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5), personal injury plaintiffs have 3 years from when they are injured to file their cases.
If your miscarriage is the result of medical negligence, you can file a medical malpractice case. Medical malpractice claims must be filed according to the statute of limitations under § 15-3-545. You have 3 years from the date of the injury that caused the miscarriage to file your case.
However, if it took you some time to discover that medical malpractice caused your miscarriage , you may have 3 years from the date of discovery to file. In any case, you cannot file after 6 years of the negligent treatment.
When You Cannot Sue for a Miscarriage in South Carolina
While a miscarriage is tragic, it is a good idea to understand when you might not have a legal case. A lawyer can help you determine if you have a valid cause of action.
One possibility is that the miscarriage happened naturally. This is very common, especially in the first trimester of a pregnancy. While this is hard to deal with, you likely cannot file a civil case for a miscarriage that happened from natural causes.
You also cannot sue for someone else’s miscarriage. Miscarriages can be painful for numerous people, in addition to the pregnant person. Even so, you would have a very hard time filing a civil case for someone else’s miscarriage.
Talk to Our South Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys About Your Miscarriage Case
Contact our Socastee, SC personal injury lawyers by calling Rice Law at (803) 219-4906 and request a f initial free case evaluation.