If a pregnant mother progresses substantially past her due date without going into labor or does not progress quickly enough through labor once it begins, doctors may use a substance called Pitocin to speed up the delivery process. Pitocin is a synthetic version of oxytocin, a naturally occurring hormone which—in addition to performing various other functions in the body—stimulates the uterine muscles into contracting during childbirth, and when used appropriately, it can be very helpful to ensuring childbirth goes smoothly with minimal risk to the fetus or the mother.
However, if obstetricians and other healthcare providers with childbirth are not careful while administering Pitocin, they may wind up causing serious and even life-altering trauma to the fetus. When doctors fail to act within the standard of care that is expected of them, they can be held accountable via a Connecticut Pitocin injury lawsuit. A birth injury attorney at Berkowitz Hanna can help you determine whether you have a case and help pursue the compensation you deserve.
As is the case with other types of synthetic hormones and most medications in general, every pregnant person’s body responds slightly differently to the intravenous delivery of Pitocin, which means it is vital for physicians to ensure they administer the correct dosage of Pitocin to their patient and then monitoring that patient’s condition for complications. With that in mind, healthcare facilities generally require doctors to start pregnant patients on very small amounts of Pitocin and then gradually increase the dosage only as much as is necessary to induce healthy contractions.
Administering too much Pitocin to a patient can result in hyperstimulation or excessively strong contractions with dangerously short gaps between them. This, in turn, can lead to excessive compression of the placenta, oxygen deprivation for the fetus, and an increasingly high risk of that fetus sustaining permanent brain damage from the lack of oxygen. In a nutshell, this is how Pitocin injuries typically occur in Connecticut to a degree that may justify a civil lawsuit.
Importantly, the fact that a physician or team of physicians caring for a pregnant person gave them an unsafe dose of Pitocin generally cannot serve as grounds for a malpractice lawsuit all on its own. In addition to proving that an overdose occurred, the injured person filing suit will generally need to prove that the overdose happened as a direct result of an unreasonable breach in the applicable “standard of care”—in other words, through care that was so reckless or careless that no equally qualified and experienced physician would have made the same error under the same circumstances.
An injured person will also need to prove that their—or in practice, their newborn baby’s—injuries and subsequent losses stemmed directly and primarily from the breach. Working with an attorney who has experience handling Connecticut Pitocin claims can help ensure all legal requirements are met.
Pitocin is usually extremely helpful and safe when used properly to induce labor, but like almost all medicinal substances, it can be very dangerous if misused. Unfortunately, it is not unheard of for doctors to end up causing immense harm to patients—including newborn infants—by misusing this substance or by not closely monitoring the condition of their patients while administering it.
Either way, any injuries you or your child suffered under circumstances like this may give rise to a Connecticut Pitocin injury lawsuit. Call today to discuss your options with a dedicated member of our team.
Berkowitz Hanna
