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Group B Strep Infection Misdiagnosis Birth Injury Lawyer

Medical Malpractice NewsIf your child suffered a group B strep infection birth injury due to your doctor's failure to make a correct diagnosis, you could have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Group B streptococcus (strep) is a bacterial infection that occurs in the lining of a woman’s lower genital tract during pregnancy and can be passed to the baby during the birth process. When this happens, the baby can suffer a number of ailments, some life-threatening or potentially life-threating long-term damage, including sepsis, pneumonia, and meningitis. Your doctor has a duty to screen you for group B strep and take steps to minimize transmission to your baby.

If your medical provider misdiagnosed or failed to test you for group B strep, and your baby suffered a birth injury as a result, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. A group B strep infection misdiagnosis birth injury lawyer from Newsome | Melton can help you pursue damages from the doctor, his or her staff, and the medical facility. We offer a free consultation and case evaluation.

Call 888-526-8947 to speak with a member of our staff.

It Is Your Medical Provider’s Responsibility to Prevent a Group B Strep Infection Birth Injury

A diligent medical provider and medical staff can prevent most group B strep infection birth injuries — or at least minimize the chance of it happening. To prevent your child from suffering health risks from exposure to group B strep, your doctor should have done two things.

First, he or she should have screened you for the condition at a specific point in your pregnancy. Second, if you tested positive for group B strep during the screening, your doctor should have administered antibiotics to minimize the chance of the infection passing to your baby.

If your doctor failed to conduct this screening, or if he or she found you not to have the infection when in fact you were carrying it, you could have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Group B Strep Screening

All women, particularly those deemed high risk for group B strep infection, should be screened for the condition at around week 35 of pregnancy. It is the doctor’s duty to recommend this screening and carry it out. Upon reading the results of the screening and finding a positive reading, your doctor can then take action to minimize your baby’s risk of contracting the condition.

Antibiotics

If you test positive for group B strep at 35 weeks of pregnancy, your doctor should administer antibiotics through an IV to clear up the condition and keep it from passing to your baby. If you wait until after 37 weeks to receive this treatment, its effectiveness greatly declines, possibly to the point where it will be ineffective in preventing your baby from contracting strep.

No matter the specific circumstances of your baby’s birth injury, our team of medical malpractice attorneys can investigate, determine whether your obstetrician, midwife, or another medical staff member was responsible, and then collect evidence to prove their liability. We can then go after full and fair compensation. Call Newsome | Melton today at 888-526-8947 for a free case evaluation.

Newsome | Melton Builds a Compelling Medical Malpractice Case Against Your Doctor or Healthcare Provider

The Newsome | Melton team has a lengthy track record helping clients whose babies suffered birth injuries. We can go after whoever was responsible, whether it was a doctor, nurse, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, or the medical facility. We conduct a thorough investigation, gather evidence, and put together a compelling case.

For your birth injury medical malpractice case to be successful, it needs to demonstrate four things:

  • The responsible party owed your baby a duty of care.
  • The responsible party did not uphold this duty of care.
  • Because of the party’s failure, your baby suffered injuries.
  • Because of these injuries, you incurred economic or noneconomic losses.

Duty of Care

We first have to show that the responsible party had a duty of care to you. This is usually straightforward. All doctors owe their patients a duty of care. The duty extends to the doctor’s staff, including nurses and PAs. By showing that you had an active relationship with the medical staff we are alleging is responsible, we can demonstrate a duty of care.

Failure of Duty

Second, we must demonstrate that the responsible party failed to uphold the duty of care he or she had to you. We can demonstrate this by using the “reasonable person” standard: how would a reasonable person, someone with the same education and training and faced with the same situation, have acted?

We can bring in medical expert witnesses to review the evidence. Our witnesses can then explain how a reasonable person could have behaved differently, leading to a better outcome.

Injuries

Third, we must show that you or your child suffered injuries from the responsible party’s misdiagnosis of group B strep. We can use your child’s medical records as evidence, along with statements from subsequent doctors who treated your child.

Damages

The final step is to list the damages, both economic and noneconomic, that you suffered because of your child’s group B strep infection birth injury.

To speak with a member of our team for free, call Newsome | Melton today at 888-526-8947.

The Statute of Limitations on Group B Strep Infection Birth Injury Lawsuits

You do not have unlimited time to take legal action against the doctor or healthcare provider you believe to be responsible for your child’s birth injury. Every state has a statute of limitations. In some states, the statute for birth injuries is different from the statute for other medical malpractice cases; in other states, they are the same.

A birth trauma lawyer from Newsome | Melton can review your case and let you know what deadlines apply. If we need to, we can file a quick lawsuit to stave off any statute of limitations issues. Call us today at 888-526-8947 for a free case evaluation.

Birth Injury Malpractice Lawyer