Proper medical care during pregnancy is essential. It ensures the mother and infant are healthy. But when a physician neglects to diagnose a particular medical condition in an expectant mother, both the mother and infant might face the risk of dangerous repercussions. One condition doctors commonly fail to diagnose in expectant women is anemia.

Failure to diagnose anemia means that either the baby or the mother showed signs of anemia, and the medical provider neglected to diagnose or misdiagnosed the condition. If your doctor failed to diagnose anemia during your pregnancy and you or the baby sustained an injury as a consequence, you may be entitled to damages. Contact a personal injury attorney immediately for a consultation. 

Understanding Anemia In Pregnancy

A lot of women at the childbearing stage suffer from anemia. Iron deficiency is, in fact, the main reason for anemia during pregnancy, but it is not the sole cause. Pregnant mothers are also susceptible to developing anemia due to deficient vitamin B-12 or folic acid intake, increased blood loss, and specific illnesses or genetic blood disorders.

Whereas pregnancy raises a woman’s possibilities of developing anemia, other essential indicators exist, like the following:

  • Short periods between pregnancies
  • Heavy menstruation
  • Abnormal blood loss in prior deliveries
  • Pregnancies occurring before age 20
  • Diets low in nutrients that are rich in iron
  • Diets low in nutrients that are rich in vitamin C (vitamin C helps absorb iron)
  • Diets rich in beverages or foods that prevent iron absorption. These include soy products, tea, coffee, and dairy products.
  • Use of drugs that impact iron absorption

Your Doctor Also Has a Legal Duty To Diagnose the Anemia Caused By Folic Acid Deficiency During Pregnancy

Folic acid deficiency anemia during pregnancy could lead to various congenital disabilities, such as spina bifida, anencephaly, and heart conditions. Folic acid is crucial for pregnant mothers since it assists red blood cells, which are critical to the baby's healthy development. Experts suggest pregnant women consume no less than 600 mg of folic acid daily, per MedlinePlus. Also, pregnant women should have their doctor check their blood count regularly since early detection of anemia may minimize complications and risks for the infant.

If you exhibited signs of anemia due to insufficient folic acid intake during pregnancy, your healthcare provider should have detected those symptoms and administered tests. Maternal signs of inadequate folic acid intake include headache, fatigue, sore tongue or mouth, and pale skin.

General Anemia Symptoms In Pregnancy

In mild anemia cases, you might not show any signs. In fact, weaknesses, and fatigue may be the only noticeable signs, and these two are standard problems in pregnancy. Therefore, a lot of pregnant women are not aware that they are anemic. Some might show additional signs of severe anemia, like the following:

  • Headaches
  • Shortness of breath
  • Heart palpitations
  • Dizziness
  • Poor concentration
  • Paleness
  • Chest pains
  • Irritability
  • Cracked lips
  • Leg cramps
  • Restless leg syndrome

During pregnancy, women are naturally concerned about their health. However, experiencing mild anemia is not uncommon during this period. If the anemia is treated early, it should not present significant health threats. However, it is highly concerning if the anemia is ongoing, severe, untreated, or not diagnosed.

Mild anemia when pregnant should not impact your fetus. However, research suggests that untreated anemia could become more serious and lead to low birth weight. Also, severe anemia could increase the risk of newborn death and stillbirth.

Failure to Diagnose Anemia During Pregnancy is Medical Malpractice

Certain health conditions during pregnancy could affect only the mother, while others impact both the baby and the mother. Anemia is one of the conditions that impacts both the mother and baby. A doctor can diagnose anemia through a CBC (complete blood count) test.

This test determines hemoglobin and red blood cell levels in the blood. Red blood cells carry oxygen through the body. Usually, this test is conducted during the initial prenatal visit and sometimes later in pregnancy. If a complete CBC count shows low red blood cells, the doctor may diagnose you with anemia.

Treatment for anemia during pregnancy entails folate and iron supplementation, usually via prenatal vitamins or additional iron pills a doctor prescribes. In particular cases, blood transfusions or intravenous iron might be necessary, particularly if the anemia is severe or the mother or baby cannot tolerate oral iron. Dietary adjustments can also contribute to managing anemia. For example, experts suggest eating iron-rich foods and foods that help absorb iron.

When anemia during pregnancy is not diagnosed and treated, it can result in both the baby and mother suffering severe, even life-threatening complications. Examples of these complications include the following:

  • Low birth weight
  • Preterm birth
  • Increased risk of requiring blood transfusion during labor
  • Possible developmental issues for the infant.

Severe anemia could also raise the likelihood of shock, maternal mortality, and admission to the intensive care unit.

A type of negligence on the medical provider's part could be:

  • Failure to test
  • Not administering or following up with proper treatment
  • Misinterpreting the results

Reasons for Failure to Diagnose Anemia During Pregnancy

There are different reasons why failure to diagnose anemia during pregnancy might occur. Whereas everyone can indeed make an honest mistake, the fact is that most diagnosis-related errors are avoidable. The following are some of the factors that might lead to failure to diagnose:

  • Failure to utilize imaging technology, such as ultrasound
  • Failure to correctly monitor the baby and the mother
  • Failure to draw urine and blood samples
  • Failure to detect and properly manage maternal infections
  • Failure to do a proper physical examination and review the mother’s medical history
  • Failure to order appropriate tests and screenings
  • Failure to detect fetal distress

Failure to diagnose anemia during pregnancy could also be due to human error, faulty equipment, or the doctor’s failure to take appropriate measures or means, resulting in no diagnosis or misdiagnosis.

Liability for Injury Caused Due to Failure to Diagnose

When a physician fails to diagnose anemia during pregnancy and the failure results in dangerous complications, they may be held responsible. If the physician neglected to conduct the necessary proper care, they may be deemed to have acted negligently and thus would be held liable. Alternatively, if a laboratory technician committed a mistake or a faulty piece of medical equipment caused the failure to diagnose, the equipment’s manufacturer and the laboratory technician may be liable.

If you can prove that failing to diagnose anemia led to a catastrophic injury or infection to you or your baby, you can bring a medical malpractice suit. Proving a medical malpractice suit involves demonstrating that the healthcare provider or other liable party was negligent. To prove negligence, you must establish four crucial elements. These are as follows:

  • The Doctor Owed You a Standard Duty of Care

The initial step is proving that the medical provider owed you a legal duty of care. That means that the healthcare provider has the legal responsibility to act reasonably and avoid inflicting harm on you and your baby. All healthcare providers owe their patients a standard duty of care. The duty of care also extends to anybody working for the medical provider in a medical care capacity, including physician assistants, lab technicians, or nurses.

  • They Breached that Duty

After proving that the doctor owed you a legal duty of care, you must prove that they breached that duty. This entails proving that the healthcare provider’s inactions or actions fell below the anticipated standard of care. In this case, you must prove that the medical provider breached their duty of care by failing to diagnose anemia during pregnancy. When a healthcare provider breaches the duty of care they owe you, they are deemed negligent.

Using evidence, you, with your lawyer's help, can prove that, considering the details your physician had, like your lab results, physical appearance, or symptoms, a reasonable doctor under the same circumstances would have correctly diagnosed anemia. They would have taken the necessary steps to address the condition.

  • You or Your Baby Suffered Injuries

With this element, you must prove that the healthcare provider’s violation of duty directly led to you or your child suffering injuries. Two forms of causation are considered in this case. They are proximate cause (legal causation) and factual (but for) causation. Factual causation means the injury would not have happened were it not for the doctor’s negligence.

On the other hand, legal causation means your injury was a foreseeable result of the healthcare provider’s actions. You must provide evidence showing your physician’s negligence led to you or your child's injury. Your lawyer may subpoena a medical expert to assist in establishing both the physician's failure to adhere to the standard of care and help connect the physician’s negligence to you or your baby's injury.

  • The Injuries You Suffered Caused You to Incur Damages

Lastly, you must demonstrate that you suffered non-economic and economic damages due to the injuries you or your child suffered. By proving this, your lawyer may be able to successfully pursue the responsible person for the compensation value you deserve.

Damages Recoverable in Your Personal Injury Case

If you or your baby suffered an injury due to the failure to diagnose anemia during pregnancy, you may qualify for compensation. Unluckily, injuries inflicted by the failure to diagnose anemia are usually severe and lifelong. Prevalent damages you may recover from the healthcare provider or any other liable party include the following:

  • Physical suffering and pain
  • Emotional suffering and pain
  • Therapies, for example, speech, physical, and occupational therapy
  • Assistive device coverage. Examples of these devices include a wheelchair, walker, et cetera.
  • Home and vehicle modifications
  • Emotional distress
  • Medical costs (future, present, and past)
  • Nursing care
  • Burial and funeral costs if the injuries resulted in death
  • Other damages associated with injuries resulting from the failure to diagnose

Statute of Limitations

Each state has its statute of limitations on failure to diagnose anemia during pregnancy, which defines the period within which you must pursue legal action. You might lose your legal right to pursue damages if you let the period expire. This is true even when your case is solid with substantial evidence.

In Florida, you have two years to file a lawsuit if your doctor failed to diagnose anemia during your pregnancy, and it led to your or your child's injury. The two years are counted from when you discovered or could have reasonably found out about the malpractice-related injury.

Only a few exceptions exist to this statute of limitations. One of the exceptions is when the injury is not immediately detected. In this case, the period you have to file a lawsuit may be extended to four years. Another exception is for cases involving concealment or fraud. In this case, you have an extra two years from when you discovered the concealment or fraud to bring a lawsuit.

It is essential to note that you may have no case if the medical malpractice incident happened more than seven years ago. Therefore, it may be too late to bring a lawsuit if you uncover the fraud or concealment eight years after being undiagnosed.

When it comes to minors, the statute of limitations follows different guidelines. Various laws protect children, since many injuries might not manifest until the minor matures. For example, failure to diagnose anemia during injury may lead to an injury that becomes apparent only after a child grows. In this case, you can bring your medical malpractice lawsuit within two years of discovering the injury, until the minor is eight. You should consult a lawyer immediately should you suspect you or your child suffered an injury because of your doctor’s negligence.

Find an Experienced Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

The possible repercussions of undiagnosed anemia during pregnancy are so life-changing. That said, you want to consider seeking legal expertise immediately if you believe you or your baby might have incurred an injury due to undiagnosed anemia.

At Jacksonville Personal Injury Attorney, we understand your situation may be challenging, but you want to act fast. Establishing who is liable in your case is intricate, and we can act quickly to interview your medical team, gather evidence, and determine liability in your case for you. Call us at 904-800-7557 for a consultation.