Not every state allows parents to successfully pursue a case for medical malpractice or wrongful death following the stillbirth of their child.  In some states only the mother can file a case.  The father has no standing to file a lawsuit.  Certain states allow only some mothers to pursue a claim for the emotional harm she experienced from the death of her baby.  To qualify she had to have experiences a physical injury from the same act of medical negligence that resulted in the stillbirth.

In one case a man and a woman finally find each other, fall in love, and decide to marry and raise a family together.  They want a baby so much that they begin trying to conceive prior to the wedding.  They do marry and they are delighted to receive the news that the woman is pregnant.  Their desire for having a family seems to be taking shape.  They learn that the baby is a boy.  A baby shower is thrown and family and friends get invited.  The couple picks out a name for their son.  They start making sure everything is set for his arrival.  They paint, decorate, and equip the baby’s room in the home. 

The woman does everything possible to ensure that the baby is safe and healthy throughout the pregnancy.  She only eats and drinks what is healthy for her baby.  She takes her pre-natal vitamins.  She does not miss any prenatal visit.  She follows all her doctor’s orders and recommendations.  Throughout the pregnancy testing showed a normally developing baby.

{When the mother reached {the end of her|full} term and it was time for the baby to be {delivered|born} she was admitted to the hospital for a vaginal delivery.  Once in the delivery room she found that she was not able to push the baby through the birth canal.   Believing that she would not be able to give birth to the child naturally, she asked the doctor to deliver her baby via C-section.~At full-term the expectant mother was admitted to the hospital for labor and delivery.  Unfortunately, the expectant mother was unable to push the baby past the birth canal.  Given the trouble she was having she requested that the physician perform a C-section in order to deliver the baby.~The mother reported to the hospital when she reached full term and it was time deliver the baby.  Upon admission she was taken to the delivery room for a natural delivery.  As time went on she realized that she was unable to get the baby past the birth canal.  At this point she asked that her physician discontinue further attempts at a natural childbirth and instead perform a C-section to deliver the baby.}

Instead of paying attention to her intuition and doing as the patient requested, the physician went into a tirade of ridicule aimed at her.  The doctor continued by calling the woman lazy and a coward who wanted to quit to avoid the pain of delivery.  The physician told her she was not trying hard enough.  The doctor  even told her that she would never be a good mother.  As per testimony, on top of this, the doctor was not even paying adequate attention to the mother as his attention was focused on flirting with a nurse in the delivery room.

Refusing the mother’s request the physician instead went on to complete a vaginal delivery through the use of a vacuum extractor.  The vacuum extractor requires very careful given the risk of serious injury to the baby.  In this case the physician ended up crushing the baby’s skull.  As a result the baby was a stillbirth. And with this physician’s stubborn refusal to follow the mother’s request the life of the couple was forever altered into a nightmare that any parent would understand.  Not only would this couple forever mourn the loss of their baby and wonder how different their lives would have been if not for this physician but they also discovered that they could not have another baby after what happened.

The law firm representing the parents took the matter all the way to trial.  Through the use of expert medical testimony the law firm attorney was able to introduce evidence that the physician had committed a medical error that resulted in the baby’s death.  The attorney also helped the jury understand the pain the parents went through due to their baby’s death.  The law firm reported that at the end of the trial the jury awarded the parents ,000,000.

The defense appealed the verdict.  The Appeals Court held that, given the suffering of the parents following the death of a child, and the fact that these parents would be unable to have another child, the verdict was not excessive.  The Appeals Court further held that, unlike some other states, under the laws of the state in which this case arose the mother need not suffer a separate physical injury in order to pursue a case for the mental pain and anguish resulting from the loss of her baby, and that both parents (and not just the mother) were entitled to recover.  In this case, the mother and father recovered .5 million each.

A birth injury attorney should not only have the experience and skill to handle the many complex legal and medical issues involved but should also understand that any case involving a stillbirth is tragic and that the parents deserve to be treated with empathy and respect.

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