Fetus Wrongful Death Attorney Serving Marietta & Atlanta Ga
A healthy pregnancy is what every woman wants, but more often than we realize, women experience a myriad of complications and need medical care during their pregnancy, and afterward. Women who are at high risk of complications can be older pregnancies, or even first time mothers. Every age runs the risk of being misdiagnosed, or worse, a wrongful death of the fetus.
There are several areas in which doctors play a serious roles in the outcome of a healthy baby. When a doctor takes the oath to perform and practice medicine, he/she is held to a higher standard of care. If the doctor is a specialist (like an OBGYN), he/she practices that specialty as an expert, and not just a general practitioner. They are liable to higher standards of care in treatment and diagnosis.
Were You Misdiagnosed During Your Pregnancy?
In some cases, women may wonder if their doctor truly did all they could to save their baby, or if they were actually involved in a negligent act of physician care. If you suspect the wrongful death of a fetus while you were pregnant, please read the outlined points to see if these describe your case.
Medical Misdiagnosis
Medical misdiagnosis is common in the medical practice, since each patient is different and there are so many possibilities. It also relates to many areas, such as injury from a surgical service, a diagnosis, or even prescriptions and treatment from those authorized to perform medical care. Medical misdiagnosis can often go along with mistreatment.
The proper care of a patient is not just limited to a physician, it may also can apply to a medical facility, if the lack of care and the case of medical malpractice applies to the facility involved.
In certain cases, when pregnancy is involved, misdiagnosis can lead to uniformed decisions that lead to unintended abortions. There have been cases where a simple misreading of a pregnancy test caused a permanent termination of the pregnancy. In one case example, a misreading showed the doctor that down syndrome was present, when in fact, they read the test wrong. In cases such as this, it could lead to misinformation and permanent decisions of abortion. If the test results are found in fact to be the misreading of the doctor and the pregnancy was terminated, the patient has a case of medical misdiagnosis, and can file a suit.
Death of a Fetus
If you feel that an unintended fetal injury was caused, or death of the fetus was possibly caused by the doctor, you have a case that should be investigated. If your pregnancy involved the fetus at an age when it had begun to move in the womb (10+ weeks), your claim should be heard by an attorney. If the age of the fetus was old enough for the mother to feel movement and a wrongful death occurred while under the care of a physician, we see this as a reason for investigation and concern.
If your pregnancy resulted in an unwanted and unexpected abortion, or if you became sterilized due to a negligent surgical procedure, you should allow us to further investigate your case and inspect this claim for you. No one should have to undergo undue suffering at the hands of an unskilled or negligent physician.
Areas of medical malpractice that relate to patient care and diagnosis:
Abandonment
Leaving the patient at a crucial time in their care plan could be a case for abandonment. Referring the patient to another doctor that is unable to provide better care or the kind of care that the patient’s case demanded, is negligent treatment, and could also be a case for abandonment.
Battery
This is wrongful pain and suffering to the patient, even if it is unintended. If the act of an unconsented surgery was performed, or un-due suffering was caused, it may be an act of negligence. If a patient is under medical care, they have a right to expect a certain level of treatment. If you believe that there was a breach in proper care and treatment, it is reason enough to further examine the treatment.
Lack of Consent
If a procedure occurred without appropriate consent, or if no consent was obtained prior to the incident, this could prove a lack of consent. Was it unauthorized treatment? In addition to this necessary consent, a doctor cannot “misrepresent” the need for surgery when explaining it to the patient, nor can they misrepresent the side effects to the patient in order to justify the surgery. As the patient, you must be informed of the procedure and the recovery.
Emotional Distress
The doctor can not apply intentional infliction of emotional pain, nor can they cause infliction of emotional distress by negligence. If you believe that you suffered undue emotional distress as a result of a surgical procedure, misdiagnosis or improper care, it is reason for concern.
Wrongful Death
If you believe that a doctor terminated life support without appropriate consent, or if a wrongful death was caused at the hands of a qualified physician, it may be reason to suspect malpractice.
In addition to these areas of malpractice, there are also outside effectors that can damage the outcome of surgical procedures, such as the liability of products or instruments. If a malfunctioning product or surgical instrument causes damage, it is not a malpractice issue, however, there is a liability that should be discussed and investigated.
In some cases, punitive damages can be recovered when cause is found to be present. In a case of willful misconduct, gross negligence, fraud or other oppressive consequences, these damages may be sought in a case.
With a medical malpractice claim, there is a two year limit to file such cases. If you suspect that you are a victim of medical malpractice or wrongful death of a fetus in your pregnancy, call us immediately. We are experienced in the cases of medical malpractice claims and can discuss this with you immediately.
At Christopher L. Phillips Law Group, we have the experience, knowledge and compassion you need for the results you deserve