subject: Jury Gives Family $5.0 Million After Physician Kills Their Child During Delivery [print this page] Not all states support a cause of action for medical malpractice or wrongful death resulting because of the stillbirth of a baby. Of those states that do, some permit only the mother, and not the father, to recover. Additionally, some states require that the mother suffer a physical injury in order to claim emotional harm.
In one reported lawsuit a man and a woman at last find one another, fall in love, and decide to marry and raise a family with each other. Their biggest wish is to have a baby and so they start trying to get pregnant prior to the wedding. They do marry and they get the long-for hoped news that the wife is expecting a baby. Their wish for having a family looks like it is taking shape. They learn that the child is a boy. A baby shower is thrown and family and friends get invited. The couple picks out a name for their son. They start making sure everything is set for his arrival. They paint, decorate, and equip the babys room in the home.
The woman did everything feasible to keep the baby safe and healthy during the pregnancy. She solely ate and drank what was healthy for her baby. She took her pre-natal vitamins. The mother went to every prenatal checkup. She followed all her doctors orders and advice. Testing done along the way showed a normally developing child.
The mother got to the hospital once she reached full term and the time came to deliver the baby. Upon admission she was taken to the delivery room for a natural delivery. As time went on she became aware that she was unable to get the baby past the birth canal. At this point she asked that her physician cease any more attempts at a natural childbirth and instead do a C-section to deliver the baby.
Instead of listening to her intuition and honoring her request, the doctor began a tirade ridiculing the woman while she was in labor. The doctor continued by calling the woman lazy and a coward trying to avoid the pain of delivery. The physician told her she was not trying hard enough. The physician even told her that she would never be a good mother. As per testimony, as if that were not enough, the doctor was not even paying proper attention to the mother as his attention was focused on flirting with a nurse in the delivery room.
