Can I Sue for Medical Malpractice If I Was the Victim of a Surgical Mistake During a C-Section?

 Posted on April 16, 2021 in Medical Malpractice

Cesarean sections or “c-sections” are used as an alternative to vaginal birth. Some individuals choose to have a c-section for personal or medical reasons while others are forced to under c-section delivery due to medical complications. Doctors, surgeons, and other medical professionals must use extreme caution during a c-section. Any mistake or oversight has the potential to harm the mother or the newborn baby. Sadly, some c-section errors are fatal. If you or a loved one were the victim of a surgical mistake during a c-section, you may be able to hold the surgeon or other at-fault parties accountable through a medical malpractice claim.

Examples of Medical Negligence During a C-Section

Medical negligence occurs when a surgeon or other medical professional fails to act as a reasonably prudent medical professional in the same situation would act. If a medical professional’s negligence causes a patient to be injured or killed, that doctor may be liable for damages.

Some examples of C-section surgical errors that may constitute medical negligence include:

• Laceration of the mother’s bladder or bowels – Like all surgical procedures, a c-section involves making an incision in the patient’s body. When a surgeon performs the incision incorrectly, he or she may accidentally cut the mother’s organs. Laceration or perforation of the bowel or bladder can cause dangerous infections and often requires additional surgery. Bowel perforation can be especially dangerous because it allows dangerous bacteria such as E. Coli to leak into the mother’s body.

• Leaving surgical equipment in the mother’s body – Retained foreign bodies, or objects being left inside a patient’s body after surgery, is considered a “never event” because the mistake is so egregious that it should never happen. However, this never event does occasionally occur. One mother spent four agonizing months with a foot-long surgical sponge inside her abdomen after her c-section. She is now left with permanently reduced bowel function.

• Postpartum hemorrhage – Mothers lose a considerable amount of blood during a c-section. However, when bleeding becomes excessive, the mother may be at risk of serious or even life-threatening postpartum hemorrhage. Postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality.

Contact a Rockford C-Section Errors Attorney

If you or a loved one were the victim of a surgical mistake during a c-section, speak with a Winnebago County medical malpractice lawyer at Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Jambois, to discuss your legal options. You may be able to hold the negligent medical provider accountable and recover compensation for additional surgeries, medications, lost income, and other damages. Call us at 815-215-7561 for a free case evaluation.

Source:

https://www.self.com/story/serious-medical-error

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3168987/