A recent USA Today investigation found that thousands of women experience fatal or life-changing injuries during childbirth every single year because of a failure on the part of medical professionals to follow proper safety protocols. According to the report, doctors and nurses alike are overlooking necessary steps, putting new mothers at risk of a wide range of potential complications. One of the most common mistakes these medical workers are making is failing to weigh bloody pads to track weight loss. In many cases, loss of blood is significant and went undetected by doctors until it was too late. In order to prevent fatalities, hospital workers should be administering medication within an hour of noticing high blood pressure to prevent strokes and other serious complications. Perhaps the most difficult part is that the steps that should be taken to ensure the health and well-being of new mothers are not complicated procedures, but some of the most basic tasks recommended by experts.
In the past, we’ve discussed the growing problem of medical malpractice in the United States, and this here is a perfect example of what goes wrong in our hospitals. Simple steps can easily save mothers’ lives, but they are often overlooked or negated altogether. As a result of doctors and nurses failing to follow proper safety protocol, women are bleeding until their organs shut down or suffering from high blood pressure, which can lead to strokes. Others are dying from blood clots and infections that have gone undetected, and those who survive are left paralyzed or unable to have any future children.
Medical Malpractice Still a Problem
When many people hear the term “medical malpractice”, they assume the doctor, nurse, or other medical staff made a blatant error in judgment. While this is often the case, in many situations it’s a simple issue of oversight and failure to follow proper safety practices. Medical professionals are often distracted or get into an unhealthy routine, putting patients such as new mothers at serious risk. When you go to the hospital – whether to give birth or for other medical concern – you assume you will be given the care and attention you need. However, more than 100,000 individuals die every single year in the United States as a result of preventable medical errors. In fact, 10 percent of all U.S. deaths are now attributed to medical error.
In the report by USA Today, hospitals across the country admitted to not taking the necessary safety steps to ensure the well-being of new mothers. While you may think that this inattention happens more often in small, rural hospitals, this is not the case. The lack of attention and failure to adhere to proper safety protocols happens at major hospitals in big cities as well as small community delivery units. If you or a loved one did not receive the care you needed following childbirth, please contact the medical malpractice attorneys at Wormington & Bollinger today. While many hospitals are taking the necessary steps to protect their patients and ensure mothers are adequately cared for before, during, and after giving birth, many are still at risk and we can help. Please give our McKinney medical malpractice law firm a call today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.