Infections of any kind during pregnancy can be extremely dangerous to both mother and child, especially if they affect tissues inside the womb. Chorioamnionitis, so named because it typically affects the chorion and amnion, respectively the outer and inner membranes surrounding a gestating fetus, is one of the most common types of infections that pregnant women experience, occuring in anywhere from one to five percent of births according to the Cleveland Clinic.
If you or your baby were harmed because your doctors failed to properly diagnose or treat your chorioamnionitis, you may have grounds to sue. With the help of an experienced Connecticut intrauterine infection lawyer, you could hold the negligent physicians accountable.
At Berkowitz and Hanna LLC, we have a long track record of recovering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of people much like you, and our birth injury attorneys can provide the custom-tailored support you need to obtain the restitution you deserve.
Intrauterine infections typically stem from bacteria entering the tissues and membranes surrounding a fetus in the womb, including not just the chorion and amnion but also potentially the placenta and the amniotic fluid contained within the amnion. The infection can start in the uterus or spread there from the anus or rectum, and it most often stems from exposure to either E.coli or group B strep bacteria.
Symptoms can vary from person to person, but doctors caring for pregnant women should be on the lookout for symptoms like fever, elevated heart rate in the mother or her baby, foul-smelling or discolored vaginal discharge, and excessive sweating. If promptly identified, antibiotics can usually address infections like this effectively, but in some cases, it may be necessary to induce premature labor, which can increase the risk of injury.
If an intrauterine infection is not diagnosed quickly or if the infection is particularly serious to begin with, it can produce severe and potentially life-threatening complications like blood clots, endometritis, and sepsis in the mother, as well as problems like pneumonia and meningitis in the fetus.
While obstetricians and other medical professionals involved in caring for pregnant women are not expected to prevent every possible pregnancy complication, they are expected to respond to infections quickly and professionally enough to minimize the risk of harm like this occurring.
If your doctor failed to treat your infection the way another equally trained physician would have under the same circumstances, they may have violated the “standard of care” they owed you. Proving that this breach directly caused serious harm that could have been prevented is the heart of any malpractice claim. Our Connecticut chorioamnionitis lawyers will work to establish these legal pieces in your claim.
Infections of the tissues, membranes, and fluids surrounding a developing fetus are not always life-threatening if they are treated quickly and properly by qualified physicians. However, if doctors are negligent in how they handle an intrauterine infection, they may allow a vulnerable mother and child to suffer life-altering harm, as you may have unfortunately just learned.
You have support available from one of the top three medical malpractice firms in the state. Call today to learn what a Connecticut intrauterine infection lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC can do for you.
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