Maryland Attorney for Missed Diagnosis Causing Birth Injury

When a baby is born with birth injuries, there are many potential causes. Sometimes, unavoidable issues get in the way of a healthy birth, and the baby suffers because of it. In other cases, the doctor makes mistakes that directly cause the injuries. In still other cases, the doctor might not have caused the injuries directly, but by failing to diagnose a condition earlier, the doctor might have left the baby in a vulnerable state. If this happened during your delivery, our attorneys may be able to help.

At Rice, Murtha & Psoras, our Maryland attorneys for missed diagnosis causing birth injury will investigate your child’s birth injuries and look at medical records to determine whether the doctor’s missed diagnosis was the cause of the injuries. If so, we can work to file a medical malpractice claim and fight to get you and your family compensation for the harm your baby suffered. To set up a free consultation with our lawyers, call today at (410) 694-7291.

How Misdiagnosis Can Cause Birth Injuries in Maryland Deliveries

When babies and mothers have certain conditions, it can make delivery harder. In some cases, the discovery of a disorder in the child might be enough to justify terminating the pregnancy rather than birthing a child that will have severe medical issues. In others, the medical conditions could make natural delivery dangerous and might justify procedures like a C-section to decrease the odds of injury. In both cases, you may be able to sue a doctor that fails to discover the diagnosis and allows the delivery to go on without proper intervention.

Cases of “wrongful birth” are rare, but in cases where a baby has a severe or terminal condition that might prevent the mother from going through with the pregnancy and delivery, the doctor should advise the mother of the baby’s health condition. Failing to do so and allowing the mother to put her life and the child’s at risk by continuing with the delivery could be considered malpractice.

Moreover, when a reasonable doctor would have decided to use a C-section or other delivery means to avoid injury from a condition, failing to diagnose the condition could put the mother and child’s lives at risk. An umbilical cord wrapped around the child’s neck, a mother’s narrow birth canal, a breech position baby, and other circumstances might be incredibly important for your doctor to discover before you go into labor so that they can avoid additional injuries.

Babies can often suffer injuries from lack of oxygen, potentially leading to brain damage, if they are not delivered quickly. They could also suffer physical injuries during a dangerous delivery. In any case of traumatic brain injury or brain injury from lack of oxygen, the baby’s life could be at risk, as could their future development and physical abilities. Many times, brain injuries during childbirth result in conditions like cerebral palsy or long-term developmental challenges for the baby. If the injury can be linked to the doctor’s misdiagnosis, the misdiagnosis and the resulting injuries can be part of a malpractice claim against the doctor.

Suing for Birth Injuries Based on Misdiagnosis

Any time a doctor’s medical care falls below the “standard of care,” the treatment can be considered “negligent.” Medical negligence, also called medical malpractice, is a surprisingly common event that doctors and hospitals carry insurance for so that victims can get compensation for the harm they suffered. In some cases, however, the victim’s injuries are so severe that the payments from insurance might not be enough. Birth injury cases based on misdiagnosis sometimes fall into this category and justify a lawsuit instead.

The standard of care expected for doctors performing deliveries often requires them to properly diagnose conditions and discover other medical ailments or circumstances that could make a birth more challenging. If the doctor failed to discover the issue or diagnose the mother or the baby when other reasonable physicians with similar training and experience would have done so, the doctor’s care is said to fall below the standard of care. This standard of care is the ultimate line that doctors cannot cross, or else they may face lawsuits for negligence.

Your attorney and a medical professional with similar training and experience to the doctor that injured your baby can help prove that the standard of care was violated in your case, and that the misdiagnosis should not have occurred. If we can successfully prove that to a judge and jury, then we can fight to get you compensation for the injuries that resulted from the misdiagnosis.

Damages for Newborn Babies Suffering Birth Injuries from Misdiagnosis in Maryland

Once it is established that the doctor’s care was negligent and that the injuries resulted from the misdiagnosis, you can claim any damages that result from that mistake. This can include direct financial compensation for the baby’s injuries, covering the pain and suffering they faced. You can also get payments for any additional medical care the baby needed to treat the injuries or deal with the after-effects of the birth injury, such as ongoing physical therapy to deal with the effects of cerebral palsy. Talk to your Maryland attorney for missed diagnosis causing birth injury to learn more about what damages you can claim in your case.

Call Our Maryland Lawyer for Misdiagnosis Causing Birth Injuries for a Free Case Consultation

If your baby suffered birth injuries because the doctor failed to diagnose a health condition in the mother or the baby, contact a lawyer right away. the Maryland birth injury attorney for missed diagnosis at Rice, Murtha & Psoras work to help families with injured newborns seek financial compensation for their injuries and the other harms that negligent doctors cause through misdiagnosis and birth injuries. For help with your case, call us today at (410) 694-7291.