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Denver Uterine Rupture Attorneys



Get Help After Medical Malpractice Leads to Birth Injury

Giving birth can be extremely traumatic for both mother and baby, especially without competent medical care. Uterine rupture is one such complication that can occur during late pregnancy or active labor. Uterine rupture is serious and significantly increases the odds of injury or death to the baby.

If you or a loved one suffered uterine rupture during childbirth and believe it could have been prevented with better care, please call us. The top Denver birth injury lawyers at Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. have handled hundreds of similar cases and know how to examine your records and find out if the medical professionals attending you were negligent. If so, you and your child may be entitled to compensation, which we will pursue for you at no upfront cost. Please call (303) 759-9945 to set up a no-cost consultation today.

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What Is Uterine Rupture?

Uterine rupture is the spontaneous tearing open of the uterus that may thrust the fetus into the abdominal cavity. Rupture will cause severe, constant pain in the abdomen and an abnormally slow heart rate in the infant. The following factors increase a woman’s risk of uterine rupture:

  • Previous cesarean delivery, especially if labor had to be induced (started artificially) instead of occurring spontaneously
  • Use of Pitocin or other labor-inducing drugs that cause uncontrollable contractions
  • Previous surgery on the uterus, such as fibroid removal
  • Stretched uterus, either due to too much amniotic fluid in the uterus or several fetuses
  • Fetus in the wrong position, putting unnatural pressure on the uterus for too long

Uterine rupture happens suddenly. Doctors treat uterine rupture with surgery. If a uterine rupture causes major blood loss, the mother may receive blood transfusions and have her uterus removed (hysterectomy) to save her life.

After a uterine rupture, the medical team should immediately stabilize the mother, deliver the baby and administer critical care, such as supplying oxygen. However, uterine rupture is largely preventable and shouldn’t happen in the first place.

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Uterine Rupture and Medical Malpractice

Uterine rupture is typically a result of previous birth complications or multiple fetuses. However, it is a medical team’s responsibility to examine a patient’s history and plan a safe birth, and both inform the patient of the risk of attempting vaginal birth after a previous C-section (VBAC) and continuously monitor mother and baby during childbirth. If your doctor did either of the things below, you may have suffered medical malpractice:

  • Failed to warn you: It is common medical knowledge that a vaginal birth after a previous C-section or uterine surgery increases the risk of a uterine rupture. So does having the baby in an abnormal position for too long. Physicians must warn a patient of the risk of opting for a vaginal birth, and if they fail to do so, they have breached their duty to allow you informed consent.
  • Failed to monitor you: Generally, a failure to monitor occurs when a physician or other healthcare provider should have kept better track of a patient’s health. A woman giving birth vaginally after a previous cesarean delivery is considered higher risk and must be closely monitored during the childbirth process. Failing to continuously monitor the fetal heart rate can lead to a delay in spotting the symptoms of uterine rupture, causing further damage to the baby and mother.
  • Failed to appreciate the monitoring: Interpretation of the fetal heart rate monitor is something a nurse or doctor is required to do. However, we have handled too many cases where the monitor worked properly but the healthcare provider did not understand or appreciate the monitor. This failure can lead to permanent injuries to the baby.

If the child is not delivered quickly after a uterine rupture, the baby can suffer serious oxygen deprivation, and end up with cerebral palsy or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) - serious health conditions with lifelong repercussions.

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Work With an Experienced Denver Birth Injury Lawyer

Experiencing uterine rupture is even more difficult to process when you find out it was preventable. No mother deserves to have her life and her baby’s life endangered due to medical negligence.

If you suspect your child’s birth injury was caused by a medical error, you should contact an experienced Colorado birth injury lawyer as soon as possible. Our award-winning team at Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. will work to determine what went wrong and see if you can hold the negligent medical team responsible for the cost of your child’s future care, pain and suffering, and more.

To consult with Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. about your potential case at no cost, give our Denver office a call at (303) 759-9945. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means we will take care of all costs until we recover compensation for your family. We also accept cases nationwide, so no matter where you are, we are available to advise you.

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