Bad Medical Direction During Labor...

by Rosa
(Pittsfield, MA, USA)

During labor I was fully dilated and had the strong urge to push, I was told I couldn't push because I had a cervical lip. I was put on my side for an hour and a half, fighting the urge. After an hour and half I could not fight it any more and had to yell for a nurse to come and listen to me saying that I HAD to push.

After 6 minutes of pushing my son was born not breathing with a very low Apgar, and had to be resuscitated. This resulted in my son being admitted to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), and I was not able to hold my son for 3 days. This has caused a lot of emotional damage to me, and had made it very hard to bond with my son. I also don't know if there will be any long term effects on my son's health.

Do I have a valid medical malpractice case? Is there anything I can do to protect my son's rights in case he does develop some kind of medical condition or brain damage (due the lack of oxygen)? Thank you.

Disclaimer: Information provided in our response is NOT formal legal advice. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information you provided. Under no circumstances should the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site be relied upon when making decisions about your case. You should always get a formal case review from a licensed attorney.

ANSWER for "Bad Medical Direction During Labor...":

Rosa (Pittsfield, MA, USA):

If the doctors advised you not to push because of the cervical lip and you pushed anyway it will be hard to assess liability against the doctors or the hospital.

Knowing whether you had an epidural would be important as well. It will also depend on what other actions the doctors or hospital staff took to enhance the delivery. Whether or nor a Cesarean Section was considered would be also be important to know.

Your facts seem to imply your son is doing just fine right now. At this time you don't seem to have a case of medical malpractice against the doctors, the staff, or the hospital.

If in the unfortunate event your son develops any medical problems the Statute of Limitations in the State of Massachusetts is is 2 years. That means you have 2 years fromn the date of the injury within which to settle a case or file a lawsuit.

Since laws change frequently and across jurisdictions you should get a personalized case evaluation from an attorney licensed in your state (if you haven't already). Find an experienced local attorney to give you a FREE personalized case review here.


Best of luck,

Law Guy