Baby Died Because of a Forcep Injury

When you are pregnant and it is time for your child to be delivered you usually think that the doctor who is treating you probably knows what is best for you, your baby and the delivery process. While this is true most of the time it is not always true.  Some doctors, although this is not right to do, are very concerned about keeping the number of cesarian or c-sections low and the number of vaginal deliveries high.  This can create a situation where the doctor may not want to do a delivery as a c-section because of their vaginal delivery "rating".  This is never good and if the situation is complicated enough can result in severe injuries to the baby and/or the mother delivering the baby. 

There recently was a story in the news that is a scary reminder of the fact that not all doctors are out to help their patients and not all doctors make the right decisions and when they are negligent in their decisions or if they make poor decisions it can result in injuries and even death.  The story that was recently in the news was about a couple by the name of Craig and Beatrix Campbell who had been trying for years to have children and finally she got pregnant after both underwent surgery and went through the process of in vetro fertilization but the family would have never imagined that they would lose their precious daughter to a birth injury that could have been avoided.  Beatrix finally became pregnant but went two weeks past her delivery date and had to have her labor induced.  The baby was not turned the right way and after hours upon hours of her pushing to try to get the baby out she asked for a c-section but the doctors at the hospital would not perform a c-section on her instead they pushed for her to have the baby turned and then she would continue to try to push.  It turned out that the way they wanted to turn the baby was with forceps.  The hospital allowed a junior doctor to do the procedure on his own for the first time while the senior doctor helped others in the hospital deliver.  When the doctor attempted to turn the baby he turned the baby's head but not her body which resulted in her suffering a severe spinal cord injury.  The baby was unable to breath on her own or move aside from a few facial expressions.  After three days of being on life support the baby died. 

Stories like this are not what happens to the majority of the population who give birth but it does happen way too often and forceps raises the chances of injuries happening to the baby or to the mother.  Most common injuries that usually occur is bruising and scratches but there are instances such as this case where there are far more severe complications than the normal warnings call for.  There are approximately 31,500 babies delivered by forcep delivery every year - that's 1 in 20 that are delivered by forceps.  Many times such as in this case it would be more practical for the doctor to perform a c-section but the doctor does not. 

If you have experienced a situation similar to the story of the Campbell's where your baby was injured or was killed because of improper use of forceps or using forceps when they should have been avoided you are probably dealing with a lot of hurt right now and are very disturbed by the doctor, midwife or hospital's negligence.  Speaking to a birth injury lawyer regarding your child's forcep injury will allow you to find out what your next steps should be if you want to sue the doctor for negligence.  If you would like to speak with me, Frank J. Dito, I will be waiting to hear from you regarding your case.  We do not ask for any money up front and do not expect any payments from you until your case has been settled. Contact our Staten Island, NY office at 800.976.4904.