Midwife Malpractice

When a woman is pregnant, she can plan to give birth at a hospital, a birthing center, or at home. Women who want to have their child at a birthing center or at home will need to work with a midwife in order to deliver. Most midwives can deliver at hospitals, too.

A midwife is a health professional who will provide a pregnant woman with care before she gives birth and during labor. They will also help a woman after she’s given birth. They deliver babies, do prenatal exams, order tests, advise women on how to stay healthy, educate them about the birthing process, make referrals to doctors, provide family planning services, and give women the support they need during labor.

Midwife malpractice occurs when a midwife breached their duty of care by acting in a negligent way and caused your child to become injured. This malpractice can result in a number of different conditions that range from minor to severe.

Symptoms of Birth Injuries Caused By Midwife Malpractice

Midwife malpractice can lead to many different birth injuries including:

• Brachial plexus palsy
• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy
• Infant hematoma
• Brain damage
• Spinal cord injury
• Birth asphyxia
• Infant hematoma
• Kernicterus
• Meconium aspiration syndrome

Some noticeable symptoms of these conditions may include:

• Seizures
• Hard to wake the baby up
• Weakness
• Fussiness
• Difficulty eating
• A high-pitched cry that does not sound normal
• Poor muscle tone
• Jaundice
• Distorted facial features
• Overly large forehead
• Intense crying
• Poor Apgar scores

The symptoms and injuries will depend on the type of midwife malpractice that occurred, and the severity could depend on how quickly a health condition was taken care of once it was apparent.

Treatment for Birth Injuries Caused By Midwife Malpractice

Treatment for midwife malpractice birth injuries is going to vary based on the type of injuries a baby is experiencing. If they have cerebral palsy, they will need lifelong treatment, and could have go on anti-seizure medication and sedatives, use crutches, go to physical, occupational, and speech therapy, and have surgeries done.

If they have kernicterus, they may need light therapy and intravenous fluid replacement. They also might need to have a tube placed down their stomach so they can eat, and get blood tests and transfusions done.

If a baby is diagnosed with meconium aspiration syndrome, they may need to be placed in the NICU. Treatment would involve tapping on the baby’s chest to loosen up the secretion as well as suctioning the meconium out of a tube placed in a baby’s windpipe.

A doctor will be able to diagnose the condition a baby is experiencing and then determine the proper treatment.

How Do I Know if Midwife Medical Malpractice Caused Birth Injuries?

Your midwife may have made mistakes during your pregnancy, when you were giving birth, and after your baby was born. However, that doesn’t always mean that they were negligent and that their actions would count as medical malpractice.

The only way to find out if malpractice did happen is to contact a birth injury lawyer. They will collect the evidence you provide them and be able to give you a professional opinion on whether or not they believe it occurred.

If your midwife did not properly exam and test you while you were pregnant, send you to a doctor when you needed to go, did not provide emergency medical intervention, failed to monitor your baby when you were in labor, or otherwise made an error, then it’s entirely possible that there was some medical malpractice going on.

When you contact a birth injury lawyer, they will let you know if you have a valid case.
How Much Will I Receive From a Midwife Malpractice Settlement?

You could receive damages for your midwife malpractice settlement for things like:

• Medical bills
• Loss of companionship and enjoyment of life
• Pain and suffering
• Future medical care
• Loss of earning capacity

While your lawyer will not be able to predict how much your settlement will end up being, they will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve. There will be economic damages like medical bills and non-economic damages like pain and suffering that your lawyer will calculate for you. They will strive to get you the highest settlement possible so you don’t have to worry about the financial aspects of your child’s birth injury.

Settlement Offers in a Midwife Malpractice Case

The way settlement offers work when it comes to malpractice is your birth lawyer will gather the evidence you have and work with you to collect any other evidence. For instance, you may not have all your medical records; your lawyer will be happy to call the hospital and retrieve them for you. Other evidence could include witness statements and photographs of birth injuries.

Then, your lawyer will calculate all the damages and present your midwife, who is the defendant, with a settlement offer. They may accept it, reject it, or try to offer you a lower settlement. You can ask your lawyer to attempt a renegotiation but if your midwife will not settle, you can absolutely take them to court.

Keep in mind that it’s very difficult to prove medical malpractice. If it wasn’t, people could sue medical professionals and then nobody would want to go into that field. It would be too risky.

Having an experienced birth injury lawyer on your side is the only way you’ll have a chance of proving medical malpractice and retrieving the damages that are rightfully yours.

Why Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer?

Your baby is injured. You’re worried, scared, and stressed out. Right now, you don’t need to think about litigation or fighting with your midwife. Instead, you have to focus on your baby, yourself, and your family, and let your birth injury lawyer stand up for you in your time of need. They will advocate for you during this vulnerable time and be in your corner no matter what.
Midwife Malpractice Birth Injury Attorneys

If you believe that medical malpractice occurred when you were working with a midwife, then contact the birth injury attorneys Gilman & Bedigian today. We will work hard to get you what you deserve so you can move forward with your life.

Contact Gilman & Bedigian 24/7 for a free consultation at (800) 529-6162.