Caregiver’s malpractice: Did your obstetrician commit negligence?

Did you come home from the hospital after a difficult birth? Did your baby suffer severe birth injuries and you’re not sure if he or she will fully recover? Clearly, you want answers and you want to know how you’re going to pay for all the medical bills resulting from the additional treatments required.

It may be possible for you to pursue a caregiver’s malpractice claim regarding the medical treatment you received from your obstetrician and the team that tended to your care during the delivery. That said, such a claim will require legal expertise and sound reasoning to achieve a successful result.

What do I need to prove in a lawsuit against my obstetrician?

To prevail in a medical malpractice claim against your obstetrician, delivery room staff or a hospital, there are three primary elements of medical negligence you’ll need to prove:

• Prove the defendant owed you a duty of care: First, you’ll need to prove that one of the responsible parties – such as your physicians, doctors, nurses, obstetricians, the medical facility, medical device makers – held the legal obligation to ensure the health of your baby and/or you.
• Prove that the defendant breached the legal duty: Second, you’ll need to prove that one or more of the defendants breached the legal duty of care owed to you. This might have happened due to negligence, carelessness, intentional wrongdoing or fraud. It might have happened because the staff or treating physicians completed or failed to complete actions in a way that did not achieve the standard level of care that you deserved.
• Prove that harm has occurred to your baby and/or you: Third, it’s not enough to simply show that a breach of duty occurred. You want to receive financial compensation to pay for you and your baby’s medical care and injuries. As such, you need to prove that your baby’s injuries occurred as a direct and proximate result of the defendants’ breaches of their legal duties.

Pursue legal remedies in court

In order to prove the above and seek remedies in court for a birth injury matter, you’ll need to prepare your case for financial compensation with diligence and care. A personal injury lawyer can assist you in analyzing you and your baby’s injuries and their circumstances to determine the most suitable strategies for seeking financial restitution in Connecticut civil court.