If your child has suffered a birth injury caused by Pitocin, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. We understand that no amount of money can undo the harm and stress you have suffered, but it can help you focus on your child without having to worry about medical bills that may be piling up. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our experienced Syracuse birth injury attorneys can analyze the facts of your case and determine whether malpractice took place.
By the time you are near the end of your pregnancy, you may be uncomfortable and ready to deliver your baby. In some cases, your doctor may suggest using Pitocin – a drug that is a synthetic form of the hormone oxytocin, which helps induce labor. Although it can be safely used, using Pitocin is not without its risks. Since every pregnancy is unique, a health care provider must continually monitor and adjust the dosage of Pitocin. If the contractions are too weak or not frequent enough, the baby will not be delivered. If the contractions are too strong, the baby or mother may suffer injuries. Administering Pitocin in the wrong amount or at the wrong time can have serious consequences for the child. Pitocin birth injuries may include but are not limited to:
- Placental abruption;
- Fetal distress;
- Hypertension;
- Fetal academia;
- Uterine rupture;
- Brain damage;
- Fetal death or stillbirth; or
- Maternal hemorrhage.
In certain situations, Pitocin is not necessarily the best solution. For example, labor induction may not be appropriate if you have had a prior C-section with a classical incision or major surgery on your uterus. This is simply one example, but there are numerous other examples in which labor induction is not a suitable option. Physicians and other medical professionals are trained to recognize these situations.
If your child was injured due to erroneous or wrongful administration of Pitocin, you may file a medical malpractice claim against the at-fault medical professional. Medical malpractice is negligence by a medical professional or hospital, and a medical malpractice claim is a civil lawsuit that seeks to recover damages caused by that negligence. Negligence by a medical professional takes place when the medical professional fails to use the level of care that a similarly situated medical professional in the same specialty would have used, thereby causing harm to a patient.
Pitocin-related birth trauma could have permanent consequences for a child’s life. This trauma undoubtedly affects the parents, who must look after the child. Fortunately, New York law allows victims of medical malpractice to recover a variety of economic and non-economic damages.
In most cases, inducing labor goes smoothly. However, in cases in which the Pitocin dosage was incorrect, or someone failed to monitor you and your baby after the drug was administered, the consequences can be devastating. If you believe that such an error harmed you or your child, you need to reach out to a skilled Syracuse birth injury attorney who can help. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, we understand how to protect your rights in these difficult cases. For more information, call us today at 833-200-2000 or contact us online.
More Blog Posts:
Blindness Following Spine Surgery in New York, Syracuse Personal Injury Blog, June 12, 2018
Single-Vehicle Accidents in Syracuse, Syracuse Personal Injury Blog, June 5, 2018
Damages for Victims of Drunk Driving Accidents in Syracuse, Syracuse Personal Injury Blog, June 1, 2018