Pregnancy can be an emotional and exciting time for expectant parents. But it always comes with risks, one of which is preeclampsia. A Glastonbury preeclampsia injury lawyer is available to help you examine whether your doctor or caregiver erred in diagnosing or treating you. Compensation could be available if a compassionate birth injury attorney concludes that you have a legitimate case.
What is Preeclampsia?
There is no known cause of preeclampsia, which is when the mother’s body rejects the placenta, which is what gives blood to the unborn baby. The body tries to compensate by pumping as much blood as possible into the placenta in order to give the baby adequate nutrients and oxygen. The body raises the blood pressure to help the baby, which makes the mother sick. There are some risk factors but they have not been shown to be an absolute cause. Some of the risk factors are high blood pressure in a woman prior to pregnancy, gestational diabetes, and being overweight.
Preeclampsia manifests itself after the 20th week of pregnancy – usually near the end of the third trimester – and the most common indication is high blood pressure in the mother.
During preeclampsia, a woman’s organs can start to fail. She might suffer kidney disease, which can be identified by protein in the urine. For this reason, when a pregnant woman goes to the doctor, a urine test is common. Doctors might also see abnormalities in the blood, specifically with the platelet counts. The only treatment or cure for preeclampsia is delivery of the baby.
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Delivering a Baby During Preeclampsia
If the mother is stable and doing well while having preeclampsia, the doctor may avoid taking any action. If she is diagnosed at 25 weeks, they will likely try to let the baby develop, because a child’s prognosis if born at only 25 weeks is extremely low.
The calculus of whether or not to deliver the baby can change week by week as the baby grows. If a woman gets preeclampsia at 38 weeks pregnant, a doctor should deliver the baby immediately because it will already be at full term. If it is earlier in the pregnancy, the risk to the mother must be balanced with the risk to the baby. However, if left untreated, the consequences could include:
- Uncontrollable bleeding
- Diminished liver or kidney function
- Heart damage
- Failing placenta, leading to the death of the child
- Death of the mother
If a doctor’s inaction leads to any of these situations, a preeclampsia injury lawyer in Glastonbury could investigate further to see if a malpractice suit is warranted.
How Often Should a Woman with Preeclampsia Visit Her Doctor?
A patient with preeclampsia should be monitored closely, with frequent urine analysis to check for elevated protein. The mother should also have blood pressure checks more frequently than usual. A typical pregnancy schedule for visits would be once a month; but a woman with preeclampsia might be seen once or twice per week, depending on how severe the preeclampsia is.
In extreme cases, a woman with preeclampsia can be hospitalized for the remainder of her pregnancy so that doctors can monitor her blood pressure and organ systems.
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Evidence and Compensation
The plaintiff will need to find a doctor who is willing to state that the management of the preeclampsia was not done according to the standard of care; and that because of this, the mother and/or the baby suffered some injury. A Glastonbury lawyer who works preeclampsia cases should have access to experts who could help.
Any injuries or dysfunctions that the baby suffers as a result of improper treatment of preeclampsia could be compensated for. However, this usually means that infant did not survive. There can also be compensation available to the mother if she ended up with permanent disability or organ damage as a result.
If the mother does not survive, then the trustee of her estate would be able to file a suit on her behalf to recover damages for the loss of life.
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Seek Justice with a Glastonbury Preeclampsia Injury Attorney
Lawyers have specific training in how to handle certain types of cases and the knowledge to secure the medical records and experts. Sometimes a medical situation goes wrong for no reason and sometimes it goes wrong because of a doctor’s malpractice. It can be hard to know the difference in the moment. Schedule a consultation with a Glastonbury preeclampsia injury lawyer today.
