Medical Malpractice by Family Doctors

A medical malpractice lawsuit is a civil lawsuit for compensation for damages caused by the negligence of a doctor or medical staff at a hospital or health fund which resulted in harm to a person. "Negligence" means conduct contrary to the accepted standard, and in the case of a doctor or medical staff at a hospital, this refers to a situation where a doctor or medical staff member does not act as required according to their experience, expertise, etc.

One of the most prominent cases in which negligence by a medical staff member can lead to significant damages is a natural process that millions like it occur every day around the world, almost all without any harm to the mother or baby – referring, of course, to the childbirth process. Unfortunately, sometimes the process becomes complicated in a way that ultimately leaves damage to the mother or the newborn or both. In a case where it can be proven that the damage was caused by medical malpractice during childbirth by the doctor or midwife, there is grounds to file a lawsuit against those responsible for the unfortunate outcome.

In order to examine the feasibility of filing such a lawsuit, the following actions must be taken:

• Copying all medical material related to the childbirth from the hospital where the delivery was managed. This refers to both the mother's file and the newborn's file (if it is claimed that they were injured as a result of the childbirth).

• Copying all medical material related to the management of the pregnancy in order to examine whether damage to the fetus did not occur already during the pregnancy stage. This refers to the pregnancy monitoring file, ultrasound tests, amniotic fluid, fetal protein, nuchal translucency and similar tests performed on the mother during her pregnancy.

• Transferring all the material for consultation with an expert in the field of gynecology to examine whether the medical staff acted according to accepted standards – or not. It should be noted that the "entry ticket" to court in medical malpractice lawsuits is an opinion from a medical expert in the same field being sued about. Without such an opinion, it is almost impossible to file a lawsuit in medical malpractice.

• If the expert in the gynecological field says that in their opinion there was indeed negligence during childbirth, then the material must be transferred to an expert in the field regarding which damage is claimed. For example, if the baby born suffers from cerebral palsy, then the material relating to them, together with the gynecologist's recommendation, must be transferred to an expert in the field of pediatric neurology to determine whether the cerebral palsy can be attributed to negligence during childbirth. It should be noted that here too there is a need for an "entry ticket" in the form of a medical opinion linking the negligence to the damage. For example, if it turns out that the child suffers from cerebral palsy due to a genetic defect, then even if there was negligence in managing the delivery, it will be difficult to link it to the unfortunate outcome.

Ron-Festinger Law Office specializes in medical malpractice, and has been handling thousands of cases of such lawsuits for over 44 years and has acquired extensive experience in managing files whose subject is negligence during childbirth. If you have a feeling that your son/daughter were born and remained (they and/or the mother) injured due to medical malpractice during childbirth - it is worthwhile to have us examine the medical file in order to clarify whether the damage was not caused by negligence of the midwife or doctor or someone from the medical staff.

The above is only an example for illustration purposes only and there can be many other damages of various types both to the mother and to the baby as a result of negligence during childbirth. Sometimes there will be injury to both the mother and the baby in the case of a woman who gave birth to a baby whose weight is large and a cesarean section was not performed for her in due time and this contrary to what is accepted in the field of gynecological medicine, sometimes damage will be caused to a baby extracted with a vacuum which was performed contrary to instructions while causing hemorrhages to the scalp and as a result paralysis and other such significant physical damages which can be caused during a process that is supposedly perceived as natural and simple.