According to a report in The Telegraph, nearly £500 million, or one fifth of the budget, of maternity units in the United Kingdom was spent on covering birth injury claims. In the same report, it was revealed that more than half of maternity units had a shortage of physicians and there is shortage of close to 2,300 midwives nationwide. However, these types of problems are not limited to the UK.
In the United States, on December 23, a Lehigh County, Pennsylvania jury awarded $55 million to parents who sued St. Luke’s University Hospital and one of its doctors for medical malpractice, according to The Express-Times. During the November 2009 delivery of their son, the parents accused the doctor of ignoring signs that their son was not receiving enough oxygen and required a Caesarean section delivery, which led to their son losing more oxygen when he became stuck during vaginal delivery. According to the lawsuit, the oxygen deprivation during birth resulted in their son suffering from cerebral palsy and being severely developmentally delayed.
How Can Birth Injuries Be Such a Large Part of the Budget?
In the case of the maternity wards in the UK and the US, the increase in medical malpractice litigation can be linked to the amount and severity of mistakes committed during labor at specific hospitals. The Telegraph report mentioned that both cases of delivery complications and infection rates in newborns varied between hospitals. For instance, in some hospitals, over four percent of newborns suffer infection, while in others the newborn infection rate is only 0.6 percent. Similarly, some hospitals reportedly have to re-admit three times as many women after having a baby for an emergency as compared to other hospitals. These numbers translate to about £700 per birth being spent to cover medical negligence.
Comparably, using current conversion rates, that £700 would add up to about $1,148 per birth being spent to cover medical negligence by US maternity wards, which see an average of over 3.9 million births per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, of the nearly four million births per year seen by US maternity wards, RightDiagnosis.com reports that there is an average of three birth injuries per hour, many of which may be due to preventable medical errors such as:
- Failure to order a caesarian (C-) section delivery
- Failure to protect the newborn from potential illness during passage through the birth canal
- Failure to use forceps or a vacuum extractor properly
- Failure to timely and correctly resuscitate the newborn
- Failure to properly administer medications
Lawyers That Handle Birth Injury Cases Near You
Our birth trauma attorneys are dedicated to defending the rights of the victims of birth injury and their families. We know that one medical error during prenatal care or birth can negatively affect a child’s entire life. While the damage done by medical malpractice often cannot be undone, the quality of life of the victim and their family can be improved by the compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering recovered through legal action. With over 80 years of combined legal experience, our birth trauma lawyers have successfully guided several families through the legal process of bringing those responsible for their loved one’s birth injury to justice.
There is more information about birth injuries and birth trauma cases as well as free attorney advice about birth injury available if you call us today at 1-(800)-460-0606.
