New Jersey Lawyers for Failure to Perform C-Section

Protecting the rights of women and infants injured because of medical negligence

A Cesarean birth is a surgical procedure where the baby is removed through an incision in the mother’s abdomen and uterus rather than through the vagina. A C-section is surgery, which carries risks just like any other surgical procedure. Cesareans were performed more than a million times last year, and most of the time both mother and baby emerge happy and healthy. But sometimes, there is a complication that requires a C-section, but it does not happen, and mother and or baby suffer serious injury because of it.

The compassionate New Jersey labor and delivery malpractice lawyers at Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP are here to protect your right to recover compensation after you or your newborn has suffered a serious injury because of a preventable medical mistake. You are welcome to schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal options today.

When is a C-Section typically performed?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2016 in the U.S., there were 1,258,581 Cesarean deliveries as compared to 2,684,803 vaginal deliveries. Cesarean deliveries accounted for 31.9% of births that year.

A Cesarean section (C-section) or surgical delivery of a baby is, in many cases, a fast, safe way to get the birthing process over with without a long labor. This can be a critically important solution when there is a good reason for a mother to avoid vaginal delivery. It is often the procedure of choice when a fetus is over-sized, is in a breech position, or is in distress during labor or delivery.

A C-section is often performed in situations when a vaginal delivery would not be safe for you or your baby such as:

• Your labor is not progressing. Stalled labor is a common reason to perform a Cesarean
• Your baby is in distress. Changes in the baby’s heartbeat might signal that a C-section is the best option
• Your baby or babies are not in a normal delivery position (breech or transverse)
• You are carrying multiples
• Your placenta has a problem, such as the placenta covering the opening of the cervix
• Umbilical cord prolapses and slips around the baby’s neck or through the cervix
• Mother’s health condition. If the mother has dangerously high blood pressure or a heart condition, or an active case of genital herpes a C-section is recommended
• Mechanical obstruction such as a fibroid, or the baby has a head that is too large
• You have had a previous C-section

(Mayo Clinic)

Birth injuries that can result from failure to perform a C-section

Failure to perform a C-section may be considered a form of medical malpractice when there were clear indications that a soon-to-be-born baby’s well-being would be endangered otherwise.

Failure to perform a Cesarean can cause injury to mother and baby that in severe cases can cause death. Other injuries that could occur include:

• Hypoxia, which is lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain which could cause brain damage
• If the baby is too large to pass through the birth canal, it may suffer injuries as the doctor tried to pull it out
• The doctor might use implements such as forceps or a vacuum extractor, which can injure the baby’s head and brain

The result of these injuries could be permanent brain injuries and other permanent injuries to the child and/or the mother.

How can a NJ medical negligence lawyer help your birth injury case?

New Jersey birth injury lawyers at Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, invite you to consider our New Jersey birth injury law firm, in large part because we have achieved successful outcomes for many other families. We may be able to offer your baby and your family renewed hope in light of a birth injury. We welcome the opportunity to tell you about other clients who found financial relief thanks to our advocacy. These case results gave their children with birth injuries opportunities in terms of therapy, special education, and disability accommodations that the families would not have been able to afford on their own.

When doctors who are experts in obstetrics evaluate birth injury cases, one of the things they look for is whether the attending obstetricians did not plan for a C-section appropriately, or did not respond appropriately to signs of fetal distress during the birth process. If your child now faces a lifetime with cerebral palsy after your obstetrician failed to perform a C-section in a timely fashion, you are doing the right thing by looking for a birth injury law firm.

Our OB/GYN medical experts review your charts, speak to the other medical staff present, and investigate the incident that caused your injury. When you are facing ongoing medical expenses for your injury or your child’s injury, if the medical mistake cost you fertility or any other permanent injury, our work is to make sure that you receive the maximum compensation even as we understand that it’s not money you want, but justice.

What damages are available in failure to perform C-section cases?

In cases where injured patients sue the doctor or hospital which caused their injury and the jury rules in their favor, there are several different types of financial compensation or damages available including:

• Medical expenses past, current, and future related to the injury
• Wage losses from time lost at work recuperating from the injury and for medical care
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress from the trauma of the incident
• Other losses

While we understand that many families are reticent to sue their doctor, it is the only way to get justice and to help make sure that another family does not have to endure the pain that yours has because of a preventable medical error. Our New Jersey birth injury lawyers are here for you.

New Jersey birth injury lawyers fighting for your future

If you wonder whether your baby has suffered a birth injury because the obstetrician failed to perform an indicated C-section, the NJ birth injury attorneys at Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow, LLP, can evaluate your case, and offer legal guidance about possible next steps. Please call our office at 732-777-0100 or contact us to arrange a free consultation at one of our offices in Edison, Red Bank or Toms River.