The death or serious injury to a child is one of the most traumatic experiences a parent can experience and can have serious ramifications for the entire family. Birth-injury lawyer Jeffrey Killino is no stranger to what parents must endure when a child suffers from birth injuries that lead to life-long impairment or even death. Though a great many birth defects are not the result of medical malpractice, many infant deaths or birth defects are caused by medical mistakes made before, during, or after birth. Such mistakes occur with single as well as multiple births, including twins.
Attorney Jeffrey Killino has extensive experience with birth-injury cases of all kinds and can work with you to determine what course of action to take regarding your twin birth-injury or death case. Contact attorney Killino at 877-875-2927 to learn more about your legal options.
Potential Risks
Women who are pregnant with twins have higher risks of complications than do women who are carrying only one child. Multiple births can create unique challenges for a mother-to-be, necessitating careful monitoring of the mother and the fetuses.
Increased risk factors associated with twin or multiple pregnancies include gestational diabetes, anemia, vaginal bleeding, increased blood pressure, kidney infections, water retention, and miscarriage.
Multiple fetuses may also be at great risk of certain complications than single fetuses. According to an article published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG), for example, women who are carrying twins face a higher risk of miscarriage from amniocentesis than do women carrying only one child.
Twin-to-twin Transfusion Syndrome
Another complication that may occur when a woman is pregnant with twins is knows as twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome occurs when the placenta cannot provide a sufficient amount of blood and nutrients to the twins while they are still in the uterus because twins’ blood vessels are interconnected, but one is getting too much food while the other is being deprived. A timely diagnosis and response to twin-to-twin syndrome may be required to save the babies’ lives.
Legal Liability for Twin Birth-defects and Death
The negligence of obstetricians or other medical personnel during a woman’s pregnancy with twins, or during her labor and delivery of twins, can result in injury or death to either or both fetuses or to the mother. Failure to properly monitor and respond to certain complications or conditions during the mother’s pregnancy may also result in birth defects to the fetuses.
Negligence of Medical Personnel during Pregnancy
In some cases, a woman pregnant with twins or one of her fetuses undergoes a potentially critical or adverse change during the pregnancy. If an obstetrician or other medical professional fails to take reasonable care to monitor the heath and condition of the woman and both fetuses, certain birth defects may occur to one or both fetuses as a result of the medical professional’s negligence.
Physicians routinely detect abnormalities and complications that develop during a woman’s pregnancy with twins through prenatal ultrasounds and other tests. If such tests are not performed when a reasonably prudent physician or obstetrician would have performed them under the same or similar circumstances, the physician may be held liable for any injuries or defects to the twin fetuses that could have been prevented upon detection through the use of such tests.
A premature rupture of the woman’s membranes, for example, if left undetected and/or untreated, may result in oxygen deprivation and brain damage to one or both fetuses. If an obstetrician fails to detect that one or both fetuses are in a breech position during the pregnancy, similar problems may develop as a result. If the negligence of the obstetrician or physician is determined to be a cause of birth defects or the injury to or death of one or both twins, the physician may be found liable in a medical malpractice action for the damages suffered as a result.
Failure to detect and properly respond to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome during a woman’s pregnancy may also result in severe consequences to one or both fetuses. These consequences may include birth defects such as cerebral palsy, for which an obstetrician may be held liable in a medical negligence action.
Negligence during Labor and/or Delivery
Twin fetuses may incur birth defects or other birth injuries as a result of the negligence of medical personnel during the mother’s labor and delivery of her twins. The negligent use of forceps to aid in delivery, for example, may cause serious injury to a fetus. A delayed or incorrect decision regarding the method of delivery may also cause injury or death to one or both fetuses. These matters are crucial in every pregnancy but are all the more so when more than one fetus is involved.
Twins are at more risk of umbilical-cord complications than are single fetuses, for example. A physician’s or other medical professional’s failure to monitor and respond to such complications may also result in birth defects or death of a fetus or fetuses, subjecting such medical personnel to liability in a medical malpractice action.
Contact Us
Attorney Jeffrey Killino is an established and experienced birth-injury lawyer who is able to take on the most diverse and complex of cases and is dedicated to getting clients what they rightly deserve. He will take you step-by-step through the often complicated legal process to make sure that you are fairly compensated for the pain you have endured. Contact twin birth-injury and death lawyer Jeffrey Killino at (877) 875-2927 or fill out the email form below to learn more about how we can help you.
