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Cleveland Birth Injury Attorneys Seek Justice for Harm Caused by Midwife Errors

Midwives may be held liable for injuries that occur at birthing centers or at a mother’s home

In recent years, midwives have become a popular alternative to medical doctors in the delivery room, with just over 10 percent of births in the United States being attended by midwives. Many women seek a more “natural” approach to childbirth, and prefer to give birth in a birthing center or even in their own homes with the assistance of a midwife. Midwives commonly work in birthing centers, hospitals, and clinics. Like an obstetrician-gynecologist, a midwife can provide care throughout a woman’s pregnancy, in addition to her labor and delivery.

Though many midwives provide excellent care to women during their pregnancies and deliveries, others may provide substandard care that leads to illness, injury, or even death.

 

How are midwives different from medical doctors?

Midwives and medical doctors differ in several ways. These include:

 

Risks of using a midwife

Midwives should seek medical intervention from physicians as soon as possible when labor and delivery become high risk. This may occur at any point during a woman’s prenatal care or labor. Unfortunately, some midwives wait too long to seek medical intervention. Since medical intervention may require a patient’s transport to another facility, waiting even just a few minutes may lead to serious injury or death. For example, if a baby is not getting enough oxygen, a brain injury will likely result if action is not taken quickly. In cases where a Caesarean section becomes necessary, failing to intervene could result in the death of the baby or the mother. Other types of midwife errors include:

These are only a few of the errors that may occur.

 

Midwives and malpractice

Midwives are medical professionals, and they may be held accountable for negligence that causes patient harm. A patient must demonstrate that the midwife owed that patient a duty, that the duty was breached, and, due to that breach, an injury occurred. A skilled medical negligence attorney can determine if and how a midwife was liable for an injury that occurred.

Contact the Eisen Law Firm for a free consultation today

At the Eisen Law Firm, our Cleveland medical negligence attorneys are experienced in midwife malpractice claims. We are skilled in identifying errors in midwife care and concentrate solely on medical malpractice and negligence. To schedule a free consultation, call 216-687-0900 or contact us online today.