While using a midwife to deliver a baby used to be the norm, many women have relied upon the modern conveniences that a hospital offers to have their babies during the last few decades. Using midwives to deliver newborns has experienced a resurgence in popularity in recent years, though. This has led many women to wonder, what recourse that they have if the labor and delivery process goes wrong at their hands.
Most jurisdictions require that a midwife completes certain educational requirements, including serving as an apprentice to a seasoned professional, before they can become licensed to practice their profession in that state. Many jurisdictions require the midwives to carry malpractice insurance in order to remain in compliance with licensing authorities.
It’s because of this that doctors aren’t the only ones who can be sued for malpractice. Instead, nurses and their employing hospitals and midwives can be held financially accountable for injuries that patients in their care receive. That being said, proving negligence isn’t easy.
All medical providers are held to a certain standard of care. Midwives are no different. They can be sued for causing an injury because they fail to meet that standard. Cases filed against midwives are subject to statute of limitations just as those filed against doctors are.
How much in malpractice insurance that a midwife is covered by depends on the risk and the size of the practice. If a provider doesn’t have or has too little coverage, then they can be held personally liable for a patient’s injuries.
Taking care of yourself or a child who was injured during the birthing process can be both time consuming and costly. It can help to have a Chicago medical malpractice attorney advocating for you in your birth injury case.