Women rely on their obstetrician/gynecologist (OB-GYN) for a variety of medical needs – everything from delivering babies to regular checkups. The field of obstetrics and gynecology is a highly demanding and specialized field and, as a result, the physicians practicing in this specialty can be prone to error. They are often called upon to make split-second decisions during the birth of a child, and they don’t always make reasonably skillful medical decisions. In fact, the error rate amongst OB-GYNs is so high that the cost of malpractice insurance for New Jersey OB-GYNs increased by a rate of 128% over a four-year period ending in 2003. 

If you or your child has been injured by the actions of an OB-GYN, you may wonder if you can sue for your injuries. It’s important to keep in mind that just because your physician made a mistake or you are unhappy with your medical treatment does not mean that the OB-GYN committed malpractice.

In order to meet the legal definition of physician malpractice, the OB-GYN must have been negligent – not reasonably skillful and careful – in your diagnosis or treatment. The key in proving a medical malpractice case is comparing what your OB-GYN did (or failed to do) to how other competent OB-GYNs would have handled the case. If a reasonably skillful and competent OB-GYN under the same circumstances would not have made the diagnostic or treatment error, then your OB-GYN may be liable for malpractice.

To prove a case of medical malpractice, you will need to show:

• That a physician-patient relationship existed
• The physician was not reasonably skillful or careful in diagnosis or treatment of your condition
• The physician’s negligence caused your injury
• You suffered damages as a result

Some of the more common types of OB-GYN malpractice include:

• Negligent prenatal care to the fetus
• Birth injuries to either the mother or the child
• Misreading mammograms/failure to diagnose breast cancer
• Failure to diagnose cervical or ovarian cancer

If the negligent care of your OB-GYN contributed to injuries suffered by you or your child, working with our medical malpractice lawyers will help get you the compensation you deserve.