Most people associate joy when it comes to childbirth, but the reality is that there are times when a mother loses her life as a result of the childbirth process. In some cases, this loss of life is caused by the careless or negligent actions of a medical professional. It is important to understand who could be held liable for maternal death caused by a medical mistake.
What is Maternal Death?
Maternal death can occur in a wide variety of ways in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The agency states that women in this country “are more likely to die from childbirth or pregnancy-related causes than other women in the developed world.” The maternal death rate is particularly high amongst black women, as they are three to four more times likely than white women to die during or just after childbirth.
Maternal death that occurs right before, during, or after delivery could occur due to the negligent actions of a healthcare professional or the delivery team. This includes a doctor or surgeon failing to perform a C-section when one is warranted, making mistakes during the C-section, allowing postpartum hemorrhage, failing to recognize pre-eclampsia, failing to adequately monitor a mother or child just before or during childbirth, and more.
Who Could be Liable for Maternal Death Incidents?
In many cases, there will be no party at fault for a maternal death. Childbirth is hard on a woman’s body, and not every death will necessarily be the fault of a medical provider. However, there are times when a doctor, surgeon, nurse, or another member of the medical team fails in their duty of care.
In the aftermath of a maternal death, there will need to be an extensive investigation conducted. The families of any woman who loses her life as a result of childbirth should not rely solely on an investigation conducted by the medical agency or the medical professionals involved.
It is important to seek out a skilled maternal death lawyer in California who has experience handling these claims. An attorney will use their resources to fully investigate every aspect of the case. Not only will this include obtaining all of the evidence needed to prove what happened, but this will also include working with trusted medical experts. At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, clients are served well by Dr. Fagel. He is both an attorney and a physician and has a thorough understanding of what it takes to prove that other medical professionals made an error.
Dr. Fagel takes maternal death claims very seriously, and he fully believes in holding medical professionals and agencies responsible if they make a mistake. This includes helping family members recover compensation and justice for what happened. Not only does this include recovering compensation for medical expenses associated with the maternal death, but also compensation for the loss of life, such as pain and suffering of the family members, as well as lost wages and loss of household services the mother would have provided during her lifetime.
