“Can I Only Sue In A Childbirth Injury Case If Doctor’s Actions Were Intentional?”
“I don’t think that I can look to sue the hospital where my daughter was injured at during birth because I don’t think that the actions of the doctors and the nurses were intentional.”
“I mean if they did not intend to cause any injury to my child there’s no case, right?”
The above statements were made by individuals on social media who were discussing childbirth injuries and their possible options.
Statements like the above demonstrate that there can be a lot of misunderstanding surrounding the Maryland childbirth injury and medical malpractice process.
“But What If The Doctor Didn’t Mean To Hurt My Child?”
Many people think that essentially a Maryland injury case comes down to whether a person “intended” and personally wanted to harm another.
They believe that they can only sue in a childbirth injury case if the doctor’s actions were intentional.
This is just not the case.
These cases do not revolve around whether the doctor or hospital wanted to harm a person.
They revolve around the type of care that was given.
Maryland law requires that in order to prove your childbirth injury or medical malpractice case, you have to show whether the treating doctor fell below the standard of care, causing your injury.
If you are wondering what we mean by standard of care think of it as what would a reasonable and prudent doctor do under the same set of circumstances as your doctor?
As you can see, this type of analysis has nothing to do with whether your doctor wanted to see you injured, or whether it was their intention to hurt you.
Another Way To Look At Things…
Two young brothers are in their backyard playing catch with their baseball.
The older brother throws the ball too hard for his younger brother to catch.
The ball deflects off of the younger brother’s glove and flies through the neighbor’s window.
Crash!
In the above example, does it matter that when the older brother threw the ball he intended to break the window?
No, it does not matter whether he intended to break the window.
How we look at it is that he was careless and his carelessness lead to the destruction of the window.
Whether he intended for the window to be broken is irrelevant.
In the above example most parents are going to pay for the damage to the window.
We look at Maryland medical malpractice and childbirth injury cases the same way.
The cases are analyzed with an eye on providing good and acceptable medical care.
To Learn More About Your Situation…
So what do you think about only being able to sue in a Maryland childbirth injury case if doctor’s actions were intentional?
Hopefully you now understand now that you do not need the doctor’s actions to be intentional under Maryland law.
If after reading this educational article and supporting video, you know that it’s at least time to speak to someone further about your issues, this is what I invite you to do.
Remember, taking the next action costs you nothing, and that action is to pick up the phone and give me a call.
I can be reached at 301-850-4832.
I answer Maryland medical malpractice and childbirth injury questions like yours all the time and I would be happy to listen to your story.
