When people are hurt because of someone else’s negligence, they can usually sue that person for damages. If the injury causes a miscarriage in a pregnant person, the damages are far greater.
A personal injury causes harm to a person’s body. Personal injuries are often very serious, and people experience severe injuries. In cases where the injured victim is pregnant at the time of the injury, a miscarriage might be possible. If you miscarried because of an injury, you can sue for your damages, including the miscarriage. In your lawsuit, you will need to prove that your miscarriage directly resulted from the injury. In most cases, testimony from a physician is necessary to support these claims. You can recover damages related to medical expenses in addition to your intense pain and emotional suffering.
Suffering a miscarriage because of injuries caused by another’s negligence is an extremely painful experience. Our Maryland personal injury lawyers can help you get justice for the harm you endured. For a free case evaluation, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.
Personal Injuries Leading to Miscarriage in Maryland
When a person is pregnant, they are in a very delicate position because serious injuries might harm them and their unborn child. Injuries during pregnancy can lead to a miscarriage, which is physically and emotionally devastating for the parents. In many cases, not only does the pregnant plaintiff experience a miscarriage, but they also have their own severe injuries to deal with. Our Baltimore personal injury attorneys can help you file a lawsuit for your miscarriage in addition to your own injuries.
Accidents on the road are known to cause miscarriages in pregnant drivers and passengers, especially when accidents are severe. Even when a person is wearing their seatbelt, they might be so violently tossed around that they experience a miscarriage. Airbags have also been known to cause miscarriages as they deploy very quickly and with a surprising amount of force.
Miscarriages can also happen in instances of slip and falls. These kinds of accidents often lead to premises liability lawsuits. In such cases, property owners can be held liable for a slip and fall accident if the accident directly results from poor property maintenance. For example, neglecting to shovel a snow-covered walkway or clean up a spill might cause a pregnant person to fall. Pregnant people who fall forward onto their stomachs are at high risk for a miscarriage.
Medical malpractice is another possible cause of a miscarriage. Doctors are supposed to be helping pregnant people throughout their pregnancies, but when medical treatment falls below the standard of care, the doctor can be held liable for their negligence. In many medical malpractice cases, doctors negligently fail to spot or outright ignore pregnancy complications that ultimately lead to a miscarriage.
Lawsuits for Injuries Causing Miscarriage in Maryland
When filing a lawsuit after experiencing a miscarriage due to injuries, it is important to figure out just what kind of lawsuit you need to file. Not all accidents and injuries happen in the same way, and how your injuries happened determines what you must prove to hold the defendant liable. For example, most injuries will fall under the broad category of personal injury law, but special circumstances might call for a more specific kind of lawsuit. Our Dundalk personal injury lawyers can help you determine how to approach your case.
As stated above, most accidents lead to personal injury lawsuits. These lawsuits involve plaintiffs who experienced some bodily harm caused by the defendant’s negligence. In some cases, the defendant acted intentionally and might also be criminally prosecuted for their actions.
Medical malpractice is a more specific lawsuit filed against medical professionals that requires evidence and arguments beyond the basics of personal injury. In a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland, you must submit a certificate from a qualified expert attesting that the defendant did in fact provide treatment below standards of care.
Generally, you cannot file a wrongful death lawsuit for losing a fetus after a miscarriage unless the fetus was viable outside the womb. In the 1995 case of Kandel v. White from the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the court ruled that the plaintiff, who miscarried at 8 weeks after a car accident, could not sue for the wrongful death of the fetus as it was too early in the pregnancy for the fetus to be viable. However, the court recognized that a miscarriage of a viable fetus later in a pregnancy might be grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit.
Damages Recoverable if an Injury Causes a Miscarriage in Maryland
When suing for a miscarriage caused by a personal injury, our Easton personal injury attorneys can help you understand the full extent of the damages you can claim and hopefully recover. Chief among these damages are your medical expenses related to your injuries and the miscarriage.
Depending on the nature of your injuries, your medical expenses might be very high. For example, an injured victim might need emergency surgery after a bad car accident. Other aspects of treatment like prescription medications and follow-up doctor visits should also be counted among your damages.
Additionally, having a miscarriage often involves medical procedures to remove the fetus from the womb safely. How this procedure is performed may depend on how far along the pregnancy was. Later-term miscarriages might require doctors to induce labor to deliver the miscarried fetus. The medical bills associated with the miscarriage should be included in your damages.
Another important aspect of damage to consider is your physical and emotional pain and suffering. While these damages might come up in various personal injury cases, they are especially important in cases involving miscarriage. Experiencing a miscarriage because of injuries caused by another can be emotionally devastating. Many plaintiffs spend years trying to reconcile with such a tragedy.
Contact Our Maryland Personal Injury Attorneys About Your Injury
If you or someone you love experienced a miscarriage after being injured, our Columbia personal injury attorneys can help you get compensation from the person responsible. To schedule a free case evaluation with our team, call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291.