You may be able to sue your doctor if he failed to diagnose your gestational diabetes, and it resulted in injuries or losses. Gestational diabetes is a serious condition that, if left untreated, can cause harm to you and your baby. The associated risks can cause complications during birth and throughout your life and your baby’s life. These complications can also be costly. It is essential that a doctor diagnoses gestational diabetes in a timely fashion and guides you through a management plan.
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Grounds To File a Lawsuit for Undiagnosed Gestational Diabetes
Certain factors must occur for you to be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor who failed to diagnose your gestational diabetes. You should be able to pinpoint how your doctor failed to follow proper protocol and exercise his standard duty of care. Additionally, you must be able to provide proof of injuries. Furthermore, you need to show how your doctor’s failure to diagnose your condition was the cause of your injuries.
It is important for your doctor to discuss gestational diabetes with you, especially if you are at high risk. You may be able to prevent gestational diabetes if your doctor warns you beforehand.
High-risk factors of gestational diabetes include:
- Being overweight
- Not being regularly physically active
- Previous gestational diabetes
- A history of prediabetes
- A family history of diabetes
- Previously giving birth to a large baby (9 pounds or more)
- Polycystic ovary syndrome
- Being nonwhite
- Being older than 25
Your doctor should have also scheduled a blood-glucose level test around your 25th week of pregnancy. This procedure requires you to drink a very sugary drink, and then your blood will be drawn after an hour. This test will reveal how your pancreas is breaking down the sugars. At the end of the hour, your blood-glucose levels should be below 140 mg/dL, according to Mayo Clinic.
If it is higher than that number, then a second test will be scheduled. It will be the same test, but your blood will be drawn every hour for three hours. Your blood-glucose levels should be at a certain number after each hour. If you have two or more numbers that exceed the limit, then it can signify that you have gestational diabetes.
If your doctor failed to do these steps, which resulted in being untreated for gestational diabetes and injuries occurred, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit.
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Taking Legal Action for Undiagnosed Gestational Diabetes
If gestational diabetes goes undiagnosed, it can be harmful to you and your baby. It may cause complications at birth because your baby could grow too big to pass through your birthing canal. This condition could cause a lengthy delivery, which is also risky and cause more problems for you and your baby. A baby that is too big may further be at risk for a serious birth injury known as shoulder dystocia. It could also increase your risk of getting preeclampsia prior to birth and type 2 diabetes after birth.
Likewise, it could cause your baby to be born with diabetes and an increased risk of child obesity. Your baby may be born prematurely, have hypoglycemia, and respiratory issues. You may also experience a miscarriage or a stillbirth.
These issues can be life-changing and damage you and your family financially. You deserve to be compensated for the monetary and non-monetary costs associated with the problems that arise from the negligence of your physician. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can help you seek these rewards.
It is important to know that you may only have a certain amount of time to pursue legal action for an undiagnosed gestational diabetes case that caused serious harm. These deadlines are referred to as the statute of limitations. You may want to consult with a birth injury attorney as soon as possible to discuss your legal options. The sooner you can begin working on your case, the closer you can be to reaching a settlement that can help you with the costs and losses you have endured.
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Contact Legal Representation To File a Medical Malpractice Claim
You may be able to sue your doctor for failing to diagnose gestational diabetes during your pregnancy. An attorney at the Birth Injury Lawyers Group can look over your case and determine your legal rights. Call today at (800) 222-9529.
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