You can sue a hospital for an umbilical cord birth injury under certain circumstances. It may be possible to build a case against the hospital and file a legal claim to hold them accountable if they played a role in your child’s birth injuries.
You will need to have the right evidence to support your allegations against the hospital, including a medical expert witness who can confirm that malpractice occurred.
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When You Can Sue a Hospital for Your Child’s Birth Injuries
You can sue a hospital for an umbilical cord birth injury if you can show that the hospital acted negligently and was legally responsible in some way. While the specific facts of the case and how the facility and its administration caused your child’s injuries are unique, there are a limited number of ways that a hospital can be responsible for birth injuries. This includes:
Vicarious Liability
A hospital may be vicariously liable for the negligence of a staff member. This means a birth injury victim’s family can generally sue the hospital any time the negligent party was a non-doctor medical professional employed by the hospital.
Culture of Laxity
When a facility’s administrators are lax on enforcing safety rules, and the hospital develops a culture of carelessness, it becomes a dangerous place for patients.
For example, one of the conditions screened for during a 20-week anatomy scan of a developing baby is vasa previa. If the ultrasound technician does not perform the in-depth screening necessary, the consequences could be severe. According to Medical Science Monitor, diagnosing and monitoring vasa previa increases the baby’s survival chances from 44 percent to 97 percent.
Failure to Uphold Required Protocols
There is a duty of care that applies to every situation and every interaction between patients and medical professionals. When hospitals do not require staff to follow these protocols to protect patients and put systems in place to ensure all safety measures are followed, patients suffer injuries. This may include babies born in these hospitals.
Negligent Hiring
If hospital administrators knew about a staff member’s history of bad behavior and hired them anyway or retained them on their staff, they may be guilty of negligent hiring. While vicarious liability only applies to staff, negligent hiring and retainment can also apply to doctors under some circumstances.
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When the Hospital Is Responsible for the Doctor’s Actions
In most cases, the hospital is not legally responsible for the negligence of a doctor who provides services there. Only under rare circumstances are doctors considered hospital employees. Instead, they are usually independent contractors.
This means you will need to prove that the hospital was responsible for your child’s injury outside of vicarious liability rules if you want to name the facility as a defendant in your case. If only the doctor acted negligently, the hospital is unlikely to be legally accountable.
While the hospital is not legally liable for the doctor’s behavior in many circumstances, there are some cases when it might be. This is generally possible because negligent hiring or negligently allowed the doctor to continue practicing at the hospital.
For example, imagine the hospital discovers the doctor has a problem with drug or alcohol abuse. They could be held liable for any harm the doctor does if they do not force them into treatment and restrict their work at the hospital during the process or revoke their privileges at the hospital permanently.
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You May Have a Case for Compensation Based on Your Child’s Injuries
Umbilical cord birth injuries may lead to additional medical concerns and conditions. Your child’s diagnoses could be related to an umbilical cord accident or another incident that caused a loss of blood flow to their brain. Some complications of this type of brain injury could include:
- Epilepsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Cognitive disabilities
- Behavioral disabilities
- Vision or hearing loss
- Damage to other organs
You may only have a limited time to take action to hold the hospital or other liable parties responsible. Each state has a statute of limitations that creates a deadline for filing a suit. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), many states also have exceptions for minors, allowing families to toll the deadline for several years.
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You Can Talk to a Team Member for Free About Your Case Today
If you believe your child suffered injuries because of a hospital’s negligence, the Birth Injury Lawyers Group is here to help. We will review your family’s case for free. Our attorneys help their clients assign liability and develop a claim against the doctor or hospital responsible.
You can speak with a team member now by calling (800) 222-9529.
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