Responsibility for a California birth injury may be far-reaching

Bringing a child into this world is a beautiful event that brings joy and excitement for families. Unfortunately, sometimes infants suffer birth injuries or mothers suffer injuries during the childbirth process. These injuries may be due to another's negligence, specifically, the actions of medical professionals during the birthing process. Determining who was at fault and who was responsible for the injuries is essential if a person chooses to move forward with a medical malpractice lawsuit in California.

Essentially, anyone providing health care services in some capacity may be able to be held responsible in a birth injury case. From a negligent nurse, to an inattentive anesthesiologist or doctor, as well as the health care facility itself or even a pharmaceutical company, the persons and entities involved in the act of bringing a child into the world are many. Therefore, when something goes wrong, there are often numerous persons or entities that a plaintiff may be able to hold accountable.

It may seem unusual to seek to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for a birth injury, but if a physician prescribed medication that resulted in injuries and the physician was not warned by the manufacturer of the possible dangers or side effects of the drug, then the pharmaceutical company may be held responsible.

More commonly, however, a member of the hospital staff may commit an error that leads to patient injury. It is also often that the employer, the hospital, may be found to be vicariously liable because an employee was acting within the scope of his or her employment when acting in a negligent manner. If a doctor or nurse was employed as an independent contractor, however, the hospital will likely not be found legally responsible for the injury.

Who may be held responsible for a birth-related injury involves a lot of moving parts. Due to the potentially complicated nature of liability in such a case, it may be beneficial to seek out legal counsel regarding a medical malpractice lawsuit regarding the legal rights and remedies involved in the situation.

Source: FindLaw, "Responsible Parties in Birth Injury Cases: Who Can Be Sued?", accessed May 1, 2015