Improper Monitoring of Fetal Heart Rate Attorneys in Denver
Our Legal Team Is Here to Help After Improper Monitoring of Fetal Heart Rate
Doctors are responsible for your child’s health even before that child is born. There are different ways to monitor a baby’s heart during childbirth. One way is to monitor the baby’s head when it is in the right position in the birth canal. Another way is to use a belt-like device placed around the mother’s stomach to monitor the baby’s heartbeat as well as the contractions. Nurses used stethoscopes to listen and palpated contractions for longer than fetal heart rate tracing has existed!
Leaving the womb and coming into the world is a huge change for a baby, so it’s normal for his or her heart rate to change. However, your medical team should know how to detect dangerous patterns in your baby’s heart rate, and take swift action to correct them. Typically, a doctor should be worried after dramatic changes from the baseline heart rate, or if the heart rate drops after a contraction.
The above scenarios are dangerous, and competent medical providers will address them right away in order to avoid any potential injuries to the baby.
Risks of Improper Heart Rate Monitoring
A non-reassuring fetal heart rate can be a sign that something is very wrong. If the baby’s heart rate isn’t consistently and accurately read, the baby can be injured or worse, suffer from:
- Brain damage, like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
- Cerebral palsy
- Hypoxia/anoxia
- Nerve damage
- Paralysis
- Stillbirth
In some instances, improper monitoring leads only to short-term injuries, but it can lead to lifelong disabilities. Not only is that devastating for you and your child, but a permanent injury can also be financially crippling.
Was My Doctor Negligent?
When babies get injured during birth, it’s important to figure out exactly what led to the injury. If the injury was caused by medical negligence, then the people responsible must be held accountable through a medical malpractice claim. Doing so may save another family from going through the same thing.
For brand-new parents who are going through the shock of having an injured baby, it may be hard to determine what medical negligence is. Here are some common instances of medical negligence where heart monitoring is concerned:
- Not taking quick action when the baby’s heart rate points to the baby being in distress
- Improper installation of the heart monitoring device
- Failure to properly monitor the heart rate; i.e., failure to pay attention to it at all times
- Misreading the heart rate
- Confusing the baby’s heart rate with the mother’s heart rate
Contact a Team of Top Denver Birth Injury Lawyers
Giving birth should be a joyous occasion for all parents. Instead, some families are left holding an injured child due to the negligent actions of their medical providers. This is unacceptable to us.
If your baby was harmed because your medical team did not act quickly enough, did not have the proper equipment, or did not take your concerns seriously, consider speaking with an experienced Denver birth injury attorney to learn what your legal rights are.
Contact Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. at (303) 759-9945 for a free consultation. We have a team of dedicated birth injury lawyers who have handled cases across the United States. We will fight on your child’s behalf, and you owe us nothing until we reach a satisfactory settlement or verdict.
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