New mother sues doctors over baby’s severe birth injuries

Expectant mothers try to do everything they can to make sure that their baby is born healthy and happy. They take all the parenting classes, they eat the right foods, and they stay away from secondhand smoke and abstain from alcohol.

Sadly, even if you do everything right, you can’t guarantee that a pregnancy and delivery will be free from complications. A significant number of birth injuries are caused, not by a mother’s mistakes, but by the negligence of the hospital and its physicians. Complications or injuries during birth can irreparably damage a newborn for the rest of his or her life.

As just one of many examples of the heartbreaking consequences of birth injuries, an Illinois woman has filed a lawsuit against the obstetrician and midwife who delivered her baby. Her lawsuit alleges that because they repeatedly ignored signs of fetal distress and failed to deliver the baby quickly enough, her daughter was born severely and permanently disabled.

The plaintiff alleges that her daughter was so badly injured during delivery that she will never be able to walk, talk, think, work or enjoy life. Additionally, medical bills and other care costs that the family will incur are estimated to total tens of millions of dollars.

It is frightening and heartbreaking to think that an otherwise healthy baby could suffer so much harm during the transition from the womb into the world. That’s why competent and experienced perinatal care is crucial to successful childbirth. When doctors are negligent in their care, both parents and children deserve to be compensated.

Source: Madison-St. Clair Record, “Obstetrician and midwife accused of failing to timely deliver infant,” Kelly Holleran, May 2, 2013