When you are expecting a baby in Maryland, you expect your physician to guide you through the birthing process in a safe manner. However, physician negligence can quickly lead to birth injuries, which unfortunately can prove to be fatal in some cases. If other hospital staff and medical professionals, such as obstetrical nurses, are negligent, this can also cause your child to suffer serious injuries.
Some injuries that occur during birth are not avoidable. However, medical errors do happen and are a causal factor in many birth injuries. Sometimes these injuries, or even fetal demise, take place because medical teams don't respond correctly to fetal distress signs.
In other situations, medical professionals may not perform necessary Cesarean sections in a timely fashion. Examples of birth injuries stemming from doctors' negligence include Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy and brachial plexus injuries, which are complications associated with shoulder dystocia. Other types of injuries are birth defects and even brain damage.
Losing a baby or watching a baby suffer birth injuries as a result of the carelessness of a doctor is grounds for a medical malpractice suit in Maryland. An attorney can help you to pursue maximum compensation; you may pursue compensatory damages, with punitive damages potentially also being awarded in cases of egregious fault. This type of suit can be litigated successfully if liability is established via competent proof submitted to a civil court. Awarded damages can help the baby's family to cover medical expenses, burial costs and other losses caused by the act of negligence.