Twins And Birth Injuries: Is It Medical Malpractice Or Negligence?
By their general nature, births involving twins or other multiples in pregnancy run a higher risk of experiencing birth defects, with one twin often more affected than the other.1 In addition, certain conditions, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a serious, life-threatening form of brain damage that can occur during childbirth, have the potential to be more common among twin births.
Further, a rare condition in which twins share the placenta and one twin receives more blood flow than the other, known as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), can occur, and often presents with devastating consequences.2
But what about when such risk is compounded by birth injury medical malpractice negligence by a doctor, obstetrician, physician’s assistant, nurse, birthing specialist, hospital, birthing center, or other individual and/or entity? Pregnancies with twins require attention to detail from the onset with regard to potential additional risks, and when medical malpractice negligence results in birth injuries many seek legal assistance. Causes of such birth injuries may include:
* improper or insufficient monitoring (blood pressure, glucose, etc.) during pregnancy or delivery
* undetected existence of twin
* undetected infection
* inaccurate test results
* delivery errors
* undetected and/or improperly addressed umbilical cord problems
In these instances, birth injuries may result in lifelong medical and functional needs. It is therefore essential to obtain monetary compensation commensurate to meet those needs. Costs for medical care, medications, physical therapy, mental health help, transportation, and other essentials, as well as anticipated price increases over time, must be considered.
If you or a loved one is currently experiencing, or has already experienced, a twins-related birth injury, or a loved one has died due to a birth injury involving twins, contacting an experienced lawyer for an initial consultation is an important step. It is helpful to research information about lawyers or legal teams who specialize in birth injury cases, or if possible, who specialize in the particular type of birth injury lawsuit case you may be currently dealing with.
Many lawyers and legal teams offer free initial consultations. At Mallard & Sharp, P.A., we specialize in a wide variety of birth injury cases, including those related to twins or other multiple births. To schedule a free initial consultation with our expert legal team call 877.662.5527 or 305.461.4800.
1https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2085079/
2https://www.birthinjuryhelpcenter.org/twin-twin-transfer.html