Filing a Lawsuit for Gynecological Malpractice

Gynecological and obstetrics malpractice adversely affects thousands of women each year and in the most serious cases can actually lead to death. Hemorrhaging, infection, infertility, stillbirths and miscarriages are common consequences of a gynecologist's negligence. Doctors are held to a legal and moral duty not to unnecessarily harm their patients. If a doctor does fail this duty, a patient subsequently has a legal right to recover compensation to become "whole" again.

Types of Gynecological Malpractice

Gynecological malpractice can include the following:

Negligence involving any of the above can be devastating. Misdiagnosis of or failure to diagnose certain cancers such as breast, uterine or cervical often delays urgent medical measures that might save the patient's life. Even when death does not result, a patient's life can be irrevocably altered and the quality diminished in quantifiable ways. Expectant mothers are susceptible to a number of adverse conditions, and if these conditions are not timely diagnosed, the health of the unborn child can be compromised or the child can be stillborn or spontaneously aborted. Undetected ectopic pregnancies can lead to ruptures that can result in compromised reproductive health or even death.

Compensation

Although monetary compensation can never undo the harm, compensation can help to cover medical costs, life care expenditures for a child born with birth defects as well as any loss of income by the parent. Compensation can also assuage non-economic consequences such as resulting pain and suffering, depression, and emotional distress. Non-economic losses are more difficult to quantify than actual losses, but courts and juries try to estimate a reasonable restitution for the non-economic loss, no matter how devastating. In cases where the gynecological malpractice results in the death of the patient, the surviving spouse and family can file suit to recover under wrongful death and loss of consortium and companionship. Although many states have legislated compensation caps, there have been cases where the jury has awarded large punitive damages, especially where the negligence was deemed gross negligence.

Finding an Attorney

If you have suffered harm due to gynecological malpractice, you may recover both economic and non-economic losses. Although compensation cannot fully put you "whole" again, it can help cover the costs and other expenditures rising from the malpractice. Consult with an experienced attorney to determine your rights in this case and estimate the amount of restitution that is due to you.