Misdiagnosed Miscarriage: Risks and Legal Liability

Any mother suffering from the loss of her child due to a misdiagnosed miscarriage experiences copious amounts of emotional and mental pain. Furthermore, certain cases of misdiagnosed miscarriage place the mother at risk for medical injuries, as well. The loss of a child is often one of the many cases the law seemingly cannot adequately address in terms of compensating grieving parents, nor would compensation even really address the true losses suffered by a parent. From a legal perspective, a mother suffering as the result of a misdiagnosed miscarriage may have options to hold responsible parties liable for their losses.

Potentially Liable Parties in Misdiagnosed Miscarriage Cases

Often, an expectant mother will rely on the medical advice and treatment of an OB/GYN practitioner during her pregnancy. In cases of misdiagnosed miscarriage, patients may be able to hold their OB/GYN liable for damages and losses, if they can prove the misdiagnosis was negligent in nature.

Per legal standards, the patient must prove the OB/GYN overseeing their pregnancy failed to diagnose an impending miscarriage in a manner that was below the professional standard of care required in a given situation. The standard of care doctrine, which if violated constitutes negligence and makes negligent parties liable for damages, questions whether a given OB/GYN facing the exact patient and circumstances would have properly diagnosed the miscarriage, unlike the defendant OB/GYN in the case. Should an OB/GYN practitioner be found negligent, they may be held liable for damages, but what damages exist?

Determining Damages in Misdiagnosed Miscarriage Cases

Unfortunately, miscarriage is a well-known risk inherent to carrying a child, and in many instances, no amount of medical intervention can prevent a miscarriage. In the case of a misdiagnosed miscarriage, patients will have to ascertain what damages they suffered as the result of the miscarriage and whether the negligent misdiagnosis was the proximate cause of these damages.

For example, a patient enduring a misdiagnosed miscarriage, which ultimately leads to the miscarriage, may not have had the ability to prevent the miscarriage, should the patient have received a proper diagnosis. Only an expert medical witness statement can determine whether a given miscarriage was proximately caused by the misdiagnosis of an individual OB/BYN or other medical professional. In other cases, the mother may suffer medical damages, in addition to loss of their unborn child, which may have been preventable should a misdiagnosed miscarriage been properly noticed. Though the diagnosis of the miscarriage would not have saved the pregnancy, the diagnosis may have prevented further damages to the mother during and after the miscarriage, if properly diagnosed.

Getting Legal Help with Misdiagnosed Miscarriage Claims

Medical misdiagnosis claims are often complex by their very nature, and when considering an unborn child and the mother, the complexity is only increased further. Finding and using legal counsel to move forward with any misdiagnosed miscarriage claim is ultimately the only method of obtaining a favorable outcome to a given claims case.