There are about four million births in the United States every year, and over 30 percent of these are cesarean sections. According to the World Health Organization, there is no empirical evidence to support an improvement in overall maternal and fetal outcomes once a country’s C-section rate exceeds 15 percent. Yet, there is no question that emergency C-sections are life-saving procedures for many mothers and babies. Without this important surgery, childbirth would claim thousands of lives every year.
As C-section rates in the U.S. have climbed, however, patients have begun to question whether a C-section is always the safest choice.
In some situations, doctors must rush into a C-section because they waited too long to deliver a baby or because they failed to properly monitor the fetus, leading to a cascade of interventions ending in an emergency procedure. Because emergency C-sections carry a much higher risk than planned cesareans, it’s critical for doctors to adhere to a high standard of care for each and every patient.
Medicine, and especially obstetrics, is unpredictable. In the labor and delivery unit, there are two lives at stake: the mother and the baby. Doctors are not perfect; they are subject to the same errors in judgment as anyone else. When their actions or inactions cause harm to a mother or an unborn child, they must be held responsible for any injuries that result.
At LawMD, our birth injury lawyers help families hurt by medical mistakes during emergency C-sections. If you or your child suffered injuries or complications following an emergency C-section, contact birth injury attorneys to fight for your recovery.
When an unborn baby is in distress, the clock starts ticking. Doctors and nurses must move quickly to deliver the child so they can stabilize the medical problem causing the distress. In general, obstetricians aim to perform the C-section and deliver the baby within 30 minutes of an identified problem—a timeframe known as “decision to incision.” The more time that passes, the greater the likelihood of long-term damage or fetal or maternal death.
In some cases, however, a doctor waits too long to perform a C-section. Each birth is different, and many factors influence a physician’s decision to move forward with an emergency cesarean, but certain warning signs almost always indicate a need for immediate delivery.
These warning signs include:
Cesarean section is the most routine surgical procedure in the United States, but it is still a surgery and a major one at that. Because C-sections are so common, many people think they are almost entirely without risk. On the contrary, any abdominal surgery carries a high rate of risk. Common errors include damage to the bladder or bowel, infection of the incision site, failure to remove the entire placenta, and failure to control bleeding. In the most heartbreaking cases, a doctor’s error leads to complications that destroy a patient’s fertility.
At LawMD many of our attorneys are also medical doctors who have extensive personal experience in medicine. We understand how devastating it is for families to deal with a serious medical crisis during what should have been the happiest moment of their lives. This is why we work hard every day to bring these families closure and compensation.
If your baby was injured due to a doctor’s mistake during labor or delivery, or if your child suffered complications during an emergency C-section, our birth injury lawyers can help. We also assist mothers who have been injured due to a doctor’s error or a hospital’s negligence during an emergency C-section.
WE UNDERSTAND YOUR INJURIES, BECAUSE WE’VE LIKELY TREATED THEM.
Most of our physician-attorneys are either current or past treating doctors in, collectively, a wide range of medical specialties. There is a good chance one or more of our physician attorneys have actually treated medical conditions similar to the ones from which you or your loved one now suffers. That translates into care and understanding as your Counselors, and know-how as your Advocates.
TIME- AND COST-SAVINGS FOR YOUR CASE
Any honest medical malpractice attorney will tell you that one of the greatest expenses in a medical malpractice case is having to pay physician experts to study the details of the medical issues in your case and, if necessary, provide testimony at deposition and trial. While even our physician attorneys may also need to hire outside medical experts for your case, our medical know-how allows us to perform a significant amount of the medical analysis necessary for your case in-house which may translate into significant savings at the conclusion of your case.
RAPID RESPONSE WITH SOLID ANSWERS TO YOUR SERIOUS QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR CASE
Because we have in-house medical know-how, we can evaluate the medical questions in your case and provide answers without a lengthy wait. Our internal process involves getting the issues in your case quickly in front of the right physician attorney who, based on his or her medical experience and training, is most likely to have the answers you seek about whether you have a case and how we might help you get the compensation you deserve to help secure a brighter future for you and for your loved ones.
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