In legal terms, “negligence” usually means failing to exercise a level of care appropriate to the situation. When negligence is on the part of a healthcare provider, the results can be devastating. Medical negligence may play a role in all too many otherwise preventable maternal deaths – allowing women to be taken from their families when they might have had decades of love to give and laughter to enjoy. Cardiac complications, sadly, are among the most common causes of preventable maternal deaths, with healthcare professionals’ hesitation to diagnose heart conditions in women, especially younger women, often delaying care. Everyone makes mistakes, but when mistakes by a physician or other healthcare provider are negligent then they may rise to the level of medical malpractice. If your family has been among the many thousands impacted by one of these terrible tragedies, consider getting legal help to evaluate how state laws and the principle of medical negligence might apply to your situation. Call the compassionate medical malpractice team at Erin Marshall Law at 505-218-9949 today to schedule a consultation.
High Rates of Maternal Death
Americans have a reputation for wanting to be first. Sadly, not all of the areas in which we take the top spot are positive. The United States has the highest rate of maternal death among all wealthy nations, according to information collected by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In the period covered by the report, maternal deaths per 100,000 pregnancies in the United States were often more than twice those of the next-deadliest countries for pregnant and postpartum women.
Preventable Deaths
Even more tragic is the fact that many of these maternal deaths are preventable. The leading cause of death among pregnant women and new mothers is heart disease – often arising from serious, yet highly treatable, pregnancy-related conditions such as preeclampsia or (less commonly) certain types of cardiomyopathy that may arise from the stresses placed on the body during the final stages of pregnancy and childbirth. With appropriate care, many women who develop cardiac complications related to their pregnancies can go on to lead long, healthy lives and watch not only their children but also their grandchildren grow into healthy, happy adults.
Barriers to Care
Unfortunately, many women also face significant barriers to accessing competent medical care, both during their pregnancies and in the critical weeks following the arrival of a new baby. Maternal care in the United States is so universally recognized to be inadequate that from 2022 through 2024 it was the focus of a White House initiative to address the “maternal health crisis” – and despite some improvement during that two-year period, more remains to be done.
The statistics are especially grim when it comes to pregnant or postpartum women and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Even given the outsized role that cardiac issues play in maternal deaths, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute notes that younger women (i.e., the premenopausal women who would be in a position to develop pregnancy-related cardiac complications) are far more likely than men to be sent home from emergency departments without diagnosis or treatment after presenting with symptoms of an acute cardiac event (such as a heart attack).
Defining Medical Negligence
One lynchpin of efforts to improve maternal care and decrease the national rate of maternal death has been public health education, most often focused on outreach to women and communities. Such advocacy aims to empower women to recognize symptoms of serious pregnancy complications and seek care promptly. However, another critical approach must be holding negligent medical staff to account when their failures to treat patients in accordance with the recognized standard of care lead to poor patient outcomes – up to and including preventable deaths.
According to “An Introduction to Medical Malpractice in the United States,” published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research in 2008 and made available to the public through the National Library of Medicine (NLM), medical malpractice law in this country has its foundations in English common law. While the specific rules regarding malpractice suits will vary somewhat from state to state, generally speaking the plaintiff in a malpractice case will need to prove four elements:
- The defendant had a professional duty to the plaintiff (usually this is established through demonstrating that there was a doctor-patient relationship).
- That professional duty was breached (most often the allegation here is medical negligence).
- That breach caused the plaintiff to be injured (either by introducing harm through inappropriate treatment, or by allowing harm through failure to properly diagnose and treat).
- Damages, compensation for which the plaintiff is now seeking, resulted from that injury (”damages” can be medical bills and lost wages, but might also include such factors as diminished quality of life).
The relationship of medical negligence to medical malpractice is that the vast majority of malpractice cases are founded on the legal principle of negligence (rather than alleging intentional harm). A malpractice attorney with Erin Marshall Law may be able to explain more in a personalized consultation.
Medical Negligence in Preventable Maternal Deaths
In most cases, malpractice lawsuits arising from medical negligence are filed by the patients who received negligent medical care. When medical negligence results in preventable maternal deaths, however, the patient has no ability to file the complaint with a New Mexico court that would initiate the process of seeking compensation for damages. In these situations, the deceased woman’s surviving family members may wish to seek legal help to evaluate their options for pursuing compensation under N.M. 41-2-1, which contains provisions for a specific type of lawsuit known as a “wrongful death” case. Many states have special laws in place to cover both personal injury and wrongful death actions arising from medical malpractice, including instances of medical negligence, so if your family has suffered this extraordinary tragedy you may wish to reach out to an experienced New Mexico attorney to discuss the particulars of your situation.
Contact a Medical Negligence Attorney
Most patients survive instances of medical negligence. Unfortunately, however, cardiac complications arising from medical negligence can also result in preventable maternal deaths, leaving families blindsided by grief. As we continue to advocate for systemic change to improve maternity care for all our families, consider seeking legal help to evaluate your own family’s options for recovering compensation to mitigate the devastating impact on your home life and any surviving children. Reach out to the medical malpractice team at Erin Marshall Law today to schedule a consultation by calling 505-218-9949.
