The birth of a child should be a joyous and happy occasion. For one woman who received a routine epidural to deliver her youngest son via cesarean section, it was the beginning of a long battle with constant pain. Now, fourteen years later, the woman has filed a medical malpractice claim against the hospital where she gave birth. In New York and other states, no one expects to have complications during an epidural procedure.
A woman has been suffering for years with a constant burning pain in her lower back that sometimes radiates down her leg and into her foot. A CT scan in 2017 revealed a broken needle from a routine epidural when her son was born in 2003. The needle that had been left in her spine was the source of her debilitating back pain for all these years.
The woman has filed a suit claiming negligent concealment, fraud and medical malpractice. She claims that a large portion of the needle broke off while they were administering an epidural prior to her cesarean. The woman also claims that the staff and hospital knew that the needle had broken off in her back and they failed to disclose that information to her.
No one expects to have problems during a routine procedure like this. Studies show that there are risks involved, but about 66 percent of women request epidural anesthesia during childbirth, and most are successful. In New York, women and their families who have questions or concerns about procedures that may have injured them or a loved one may contact a medical malpractice attorney to determine if negligence is a factor in their case.
Source: simplemost.com, “Epidural Needle Found In Woman???s Spine 15 Years After She Gave Birth“, Kate Streit, March 31, 2018