From HealthNewsDigest.com

Women's Health
Medical Negligence and Women’s Health: Putting On a Brave Face
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Jun 1, 2015 - 12:35:12 PM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Medical negligence is a huge issue around the world that causes suffering and ongoing injuries for many people. Women, in particular, are disproportionately affected, with the value of obstetric and gynaecological medical negligence claims making up over 1/3 of all claims in 2013 and 2014. But is the true extent of this problem obscured by the fact that women are more likely to put on a brave face and hide their pain?

The primary type of medical negligence that affects women relates to obstetric and gynaecological procedures. The first category of medical negligence claims are those relating to any injuries to the mother or child during pregnancy or delivery.

There are a number of conditions that can occur throughout pregnancy that pose a risk to the mother. One of the most common is pre-eclampsia, where the placenta becomes toxic. Pre-eclampsia can have serious and fatal consequences for both mother and baby, including seizures during the delivery that can leave permanent injuries.

Failure to diagnose it is one of the primary ways in which a pregnant woman can be subject to medical negligence during her pregnancy and delivery. A pregnant mother may also be at risk immediately after delivery. After the delivery of the baby, maternal haemorrhage is a common occurrence that can be prevented by the injection of artificial hormones. Medical negligence can occur if the practitioner negligently fails to control excessive maternal blood loss post-delivery. In the UK, you need to show that the negligent care (rather than the underlying condition) caused you harm. In the case of pre-eclampsia or maternal haemorrhage, these are common conditions that are relatively easily treated, and if your practitioner fails to diagnose or treat them you may be able to more easily prove that it was the negligent care that caused you harm.

Mistakes are often made prior to the woman even having a child, in performing abortions and other medical procedures to prevent pregnancy. In the UK the NHS released figures showing that from 2003 to 2013, over 164 cases of wrongful birth were brought. This included 40 healthy babies. This may not even be the full extent of the number of patients who suffered from wrongful birth, as there are numerous reasons why women may decide to keep the child and decline to litigate.

There are also numerous cases in which cervical, ovarian, and breast cancer have been failed to be detected. In relation to ovarian cancer, medical negligence poses a serious danger. If the healthcare provider is negligent, this could cause a delay in finding the cancer, which could cost the patient their life. Suffering and financial hardship are reduced, and the patient's chances for recovery are amplified, when ovarian cancer is detected in its early stages. Women are often very reluctant to go to the doctor in the first place, and nearly 17% of women waited over a month to see their GP after spotting their first symptom. Despite this, in many cases it is not the woman's fault.

Late diagnosis of breast cancer is often down to women delaying going to see their doctor, but it is also due to the health provider or service failing to respond quickly and efficiently. In some cases, even when the woman does everything right, the health service provider is completely at fault: a Maine woman had yearly cervical checks and complained of pain from 2008 to 2011, yet she was diagnosed with cervical cancer that was found to have been there since 2008. She won $7.65 million after a jury ruled that the hospital technician was at fault.

Speaking to a lawyer about making a claim for medical negligence can help you feel less angry and alone in this kind of situations. Don't be one of the persons who suffer in silence, don't wait for one year to make a claim, like 64% of people that have been injured by medical negligence do.

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