Shoulder Dystocia Medical Malpractice Cases in Maryland

 

Our medical malpractice lawyers handle all types of medical malpractice claims in Maryland. Among these malpractice lawsuits are claims for birth injuries from shoulder dystocia.

Shoulder dystocia is an obstetrical complication that occurs in 30,000 deliveries in the U.S. each year.   According to the Journal of Midwifery & Women's health report, shoulder dystoica and brachial plexus injury occur in 0.5 to 1.5% of all births.  Shoulder dystocia stems from complications during childbirth where the child's head is able to clear but the shoulders require additional medical maneuvers to be properly delivered.  In a shoulder dystocia case, typically one shoulder of the baby becomes trapped behind the mother's pelvis during delivery. 

How Medical Malpractice Can Cause Shoulder Dystocia

 Once the obstetricians realizes that a baby's shoulder is stuck on the pelvic bone, the OB/GYN has a limited window of opportunity to perform one or more of the well known maneuvers to free the shoulder and deliver the baby safely.  The "McRoberts'" maneuver is an often used technique to resolve shoulder dystocia so that the baby's impacted shoulder may be dislodged without causing injury.  In a nutshell, the mother's legs are taken out of the stirrups and raised so that the pubic bone shifts in place.  The result of the McRoberts maneuver is that the baby's shoulder slips out more easily.

None of these maneuvers requires touching the infant's head.  But, regrettably, doctors - often some very good doctors - panic when they see the head of the baby is delivered but then retracts against the perineum (the first sign of the problem) and apply excessive traction laterally to the neck - pushing the head toward either shoulder - leading to shoulder dystocia and the complications that ensue.  The doctor's fear is that if the shoulder is not quickly dislodged, the baby cannot breathe and there is risk of death by suffocation.  It is understandable that a doctor would panic when the baby cannot be successfully delivered.  But obstetricians are trained to handle this panic and to employ certain medical techniques that must be employed to manage the labor and reduce the risk of shoulder dystocia.  If they do not employ these medical techniques and try to laterally force the baby out, or otherwise take steps outside of the standard of care, the doctors can cause harm to the baby and mother that leads the family to contact a medical malpractice lawyer about a potential malpractice lawsuit. 

What Will the Doctors Medical Malpractice Lawyers Argue?

The arguments that defendants' medical malpractice lawyers in Maryland make in shoulder dystocia cases varies from case to case.  It should be pointed out that not all shoulder dystocia cases are caused by medical malpractice.  But in meritorious shoulder dystocia malpractice lawsuits, these are some of the arguments defendant doctors' medical malpractice lawyers make:

Doctor's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Argument:  Even if the delivering doctor applied excessive force, the doctor did so because there was no alternative.

Plaintiff's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Response:  Because lateral traction is the only known cause of Erb's palsy in head-first vaginal deliveries, it is a breach of the standard of care to attempt it in light of the fact that the procedure cannot free the shoulder anyway.

Doctor's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Argument:  The baby was delivered without incident.  The baby's complications must have occurred in utero.  In support, these lawyers point to the medical literature supporting this proposition.

Plaintiff's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Response:  The baby's malpractice attorney and their medical expert can counter these articles by pointing out they are not case reports by treating obstetricians.  Instead, the articles review medical records of mothers who have had infants who had shoulder dystocia.  If the doctor does not admit to how the delivery occurred, the article becomes useless.

Doctor's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Argument:  The shoulder dystocia occurred because the fetus was too big. 

Plaintiff's Medical Malpractice Lawyer's Response:  Shoulder dystocia is foreseeable because birth weights can be predicted.  Typically, there are signs that forebode a large baby such as the mother previously having large children, gestational diabetes or maternal obesity.  A sonogram can also assist in predicting birth weight.  If this information leads the doctor to believe that the baby is going to be excessively large, preventive steps should be taken (such as a cesarean section).  (A baby weighing more than 8.13 ounces at birth has a five times greater risk of suffering shoulder dystocia during birth than a child weighing less.)

Shoulder dystocia followed by permanent brachial plexus injury or mental impairment is one of the leading causes of medical malpractice lawsuits against medical doctors in Maryland.  The baby's mother can also suffer injuries such as uterine rupture or rectovaginal fistulas.  If you believe that you or your child has been injured as the result of shoulder dystocia caused by medical malpractice of a doctor in Maryland, call a Maryland malpractice lawyer at Miller & Zois at 800-553-8082 or click here.