Losing a baby during pregnancy or delivery can leave a family with grief and questions that don’t have easy answers. When you suspect a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider failed to recognize a serious problem, a fetal demise lawyer in Bridgewater can investigate what happened and whether medical negligence played a role.
At O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble, we bring more than 200 years of combined legal experience to difficult cases involving medical care.
A Bridgewater medical malpractice lawyer from our team can review the circumstances surrounding your loss, explain your options, and help determine whether the care you received fell below the accepted standard of care.
When Fetal Demise May Involve Medical Malpractice
Not every stillbirth or fetal death is caused by malpractice. Sometimes a loss occurs because of a genetic abnormality, chromosomal defect, maternal infection, or another medical condition that couldn’t reasonably have been prevented. Other times, however, warning signs were present and weren’t addressed soon enough.
Fetal demise malpractice may occur when a medical professional fails to properly monitor the mother or baby, respond to fetal distress, diagnose a dangerous complication, or provide appropriate emergency interventions.
A fetal demise lawyer in Bridgewater can examine the medical records and fetal heart tracing to determine whether the care provided was reasonable under the circumstances.
Some medical mistakes that may contribute to a stillbirth include:
- Missed signs of fetal distress: A baby’s heart rate can sometimes show that something is wrong. If those changes aren’t noticed or acted on quickly enough, the baby may be put at serious risk.
- Placental complications: Placental abruption or placental insufficiency may threaten the baby’s oxygen supply and require quick medical attention.
- Umbilical cord complications: Umbilical cord strangulation, compression, or other cord problems can interfere with oxygen and blood flow.
- Maternal conditions: Gestational diabetes, Group B strep, infection, or other conditions may require closer prenatal care and monitoring.
- Delayed delivery: A failure to order a timely cesarean section or other intervention during labor and delivery may have serious consequences.
How a Bridgewater Fetal Demise Attorney Will Investigate Your Loss
A malpractice case isn’t established simply because the outcome was devastating. We need to understand what the healthcare providers knew, what they should have known, and whether another reasonably careful provider would have acted differently. Then we have to examine whether that failure caused or contributed to the fetal demise.
Our investigation may involve medical records, healthcare records, prenatal testing, imaging, fetal heart monitoring, and documentation from the labor and delivery rooms. Medical experts can also be important in determining whether doctors, nurses, or medical institutions departed from the applicable standard of care.
Evidence gathering should begin as soon as reasonably possible. Records can be extensive, and these cases often involve multiple healthcare providers and insurance companies.
Having a Bridgewater fetal demise attorney review that information can help your family understand whether there is evidence supporting a medical malpractice claim.
Understanding Fetal Death and Stillbirth in New Jersey
The New Jersey Department of Health defines fetal death as a death that occurs before complete expulsion or extraction from the mother. The state notes that fetal deaths may also be referred to as stillbirths, miscarriages, or spontaneous abortions.
Those definitions help with medical and state records, but they don’t explain what happened in an individual case. Finding the cause of a stillbirth often means looking closely at the mother’s prenatal care, her health during pregnancy, fetal monitoring, and the decisions made leading up to and during delivery.
In some cases, a mother may have also suffered significant physical injuries or complications, including postpartum hemorrhage, birth trauma, or other harm related to negligent care. We’ll look at the complete medical history rather than focusing on a single event in isolation.
Filing a Fetal Demise Malpractice Claim in New Jersey
New Jersey places deadlines on medical malpractice litigation. Under N.J.S.A. 2A:31-3, an action for the death of a person caused by a wrongful act, neglect, or default generally must be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues. The correct deadline can depend on the particular facts, however, so families shouldn’t assume they have a full two years remaining.
The law surrounding a fetal death can be different from a conventional wrongful death claim involving a person who was born alive. Rather than making assumptions about which civil action applies, we will examine the medical circumstances, potential defendants, injuries to the mother, and available damages before determining how a case should proceed.
What Compensation May Be Available After Medical Negligence?
Compensation will look different from one case to another. There may be unexpected medical bills and other financial losses, while the mother may also be dealing with physical injuries that require continued care. And, of course, there is the emotional impact of losing a baby, which can be difficult to put into words.
A fetal demise lawyer in Bridgewater can identify potentially recoverable damages after reviewing the medical evidence and applicable New Jersey law. The goal is to understand the full impact of the negligent care and pursue the compensation the law permits, rather than placing every family’s experience into the same category.
These cases can become contentious. Hospitals, healthcare systems, medical professionals, and their insurance companies may dispute whether negligence occurred or argue that an underlying medical condition caused the loss.
Talk With Our Bridgewater Fetal Demise Lawyers
You may still be trying to understand why your baby was stillborn. You may have been given an explanation that doesn’t quite answer your questions, or perhaps different healthcare providers have told you different things. You don’t need to determine on your own whether someone committed malpractice before speaking with an attorney.
At O’Connor, Parsons, Lane & Noble, we take a collaborative, team-oriented approach to complex medical malpractice cases. Our founding attorneys also have prior defense-side experience, which gives us insight into how medical providers and insurance companies may approach these claims.
Contact us to discuss what happened and whether you may have grounds for a fetal demise malpractice case. Our Bridgewater fetal demise attorneys can review the available evidence, help you understand the next steps, and work to hold negligent medical professionals accountable when the facts support a claim.