This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Terry Crouppen who has more than 40 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Terry Crouppen who has more than 40 years of legal experience as a personal injury attorney. Our last modified date shows when this page was last reviewed.
- Last Modified:
- November 13, 2024
If a medical provider doesn’t properly address fetal macrosomia, the baby may sustain devastating injuries. When this happens, you have the right to pursue a case for just compensation due to a preventable birth injury. A macrosomia lawyer at Brown & Crouppen Law Firm can help determine whether you have a viable claim and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
For more than 40 years, our legal team has focused on giving injury victims and parents a voice. We have a team of seasoned litigators who bring determination and passion to each time we file a birth injury lawsuit in Missouri. We have secured over $1 billion in compensation earned for our clients. Call 800-536-4357 or fill out our online contact form today to schedule a free consultation with our St. Louis and Kansas City birth injury lawyers.
- What Is Fetal Macrosomia?
- How Fetal Macrosomia Is Diagnosed
- Fetal Macrosomia Increases the Risk of Birth Injuries
- Available Damages for Infant Macrosomia Cases in St. Louis
- How Long Do I Have to File My Macrosomia Birth Injury Complaint in Missouri?
- Macrosomia Birth Injury Settlements & Verdicts
- Why Hire Our Experienced Macrosomia Lawyers in St. Louis
- Contact Our Missouri Macrosomia Lawyers for a Free Consultation
What Is Fetal Macrosomia?
Fetal macrosomia occurs when infants weigh more than 8 pounds and 13 ounces at birth, approximately 4,000 grams. Babies weighing more than this suffer many severe complications during a vaginal delivery. They may become stuck in the birth canal, which would require the use of a vacuum extractor, forceps, or an emergency C-section for delivery.
Macrosomia complications can also occur for the mother due to the newborn’s large birth size. These include serious hemorrhaging caused by insufficient uterine contraction and tearing of vaginal tissues and muscles.
Macrosomia is often caused by maternal diabetes, weight gain during pregnancy, or an elevated BMI. If fetal macrosomia is present absent these factors, the fetus could have some other condition that affects growth. According to the CDC, 7.44 percent of babies born in 2021 weighed over 8 pounds and 13 ounces, equivalent to roughly 272,600 infants.
How Fetal Macrosomia Is Diagnosed
Diagnosing macrosomia in pregnancy might seem simple. OB/GYNs need to check the baby’s size before delivery. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to weigh a fetus inside the womb. Doctors use a combination of fundal height measurements, ultrasound imaging, and amniotic fluid levels to diagnose macrosomia.
Fundal height is the distance from the top of the mother’s pelvic bone to the uterus. As this distance gets shorter, it’s an indicator of large fetal weight and size. Sonograms and ultrasounds can provide fetal images but not precise weights. Doctors can estimate these weights in the third trimester using an ultrasound, but these figures are sometimes inaccurate. Excessive levels of amniotic fluid combined with other factors are another way to measure macrosomia.
In addition to estimating the baby’s weight, physicians should consider certain maternal risk factors associated with macrosomia, which include:
- Prior pregnancies involving fetal macrosomia
- Maternal diabetes, including type I or II or gestational diabetes
- High maternal BMIs
- Weight gain during pregnancy
- If the mother herself had fetal macrosomia as a baby
- Mothers over the age of 35
- Delivery more than two weeks after the anticipated date
Limitations in diagnostic tools or the failure to use them could lead to macrosomia misdiagnosis. If a medical provider diagnoses the incorrect condition or doesn’t take proper precautions during birth, it can lead to serious consequences for the newborn.
Get started with a free consultation with one of our skilled Personal Injury Lawyers today.
Fetal Macrosomia Increases the Risk of Birth Injuries
While not all birth complications or birth defects are a medical professional’s fault, it might amount to medical malpractice if there was a medical condition your provider failed to diagnose.
When you become pregnant, you expect doctors to monitor your progress and warn you of any existing problems. Infant macrosomia would qualify because it increases the risk of a birth injury. A fetus larger than about 8 pounds 13 ounces is considered macrosomic. A fetus this size or larger makes it difficult for the mother to deliver the baby vaginally. A C-section is preferable in this situation, but this is a safer procedure when planned instead of performed in an emergency.
Without a proper diagnosis, macrosomia complications during birth can endanger the fetus and mother. The most serious of these is shoulder dystocia, which can prevent a baby from moving through the birth canal and even lead to death.
Physicians who are unprepared for these complications may attempt to use forceps or vacuum pumps to force a large baby that becomes stuck. This can injure the infant even further, with some complications even causing permanent injuries or birth defects.
Available Damages for Infant Macrosomia Cases in St. Louis
You may have grounds to pursue a macrosomia medical malpractice claim if a physician or other medical provider fails to diagnose your baby’s macrosomia and take proper precautions to reduce the risk of a birth injury. Our macrosomia lawyers in Missouri can explain your rights and give you more information about your legal options. If you have a case, you can pursue several different types of compensation related to your child’s injuries.
Economic Damages
These damages refer to the monetary losses incurred as a result of the birth injury, including:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Lost earning potential
- Funeral and burial expenses in wrongful death cases
Non-Economic Damages
This refers to the intangible losses incurred as a result of fetal macrosomia, which may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship
Importantly, Missouri law caps non-economic damages you may pursue in these lawsuits at $400,000 for non-catastrophic injuries and $700,000 for catastrophic injuries. These values are adjusted annually.
Punitive Damages
Further, you may also be eligible for punitive damages, which are designed to punish the defendant. The maximum is $500,000 or five times the net judgment awarded, whichever is greater. Though rarely awarded, punitive damages may be available in cases in which the defendant’s conduct was outrageous or intentional.
How Long Do I Have to File My Macrosomia Birth Injury Complaint in Missouri?
The medical malpractice statute of limitations in Missouri gives two years from the date of the malpractice to file a complaint. Subject to very few exceptions, failure to file before the deadline passes normally results in your case being dismissed in court. You can trust our fetal macrosomia attorneys in St. Louis and Kansas City to advocate for your rights and ensure your case is filed before the all-important deadline.
Macrosomia Birth Injury Settlements & Verdicts
When doctors diagnose fetal macrosomia quickly, they can usually address it safely through an early C-section delivery. This is often the approach preferred by providers because it reduces the risk of birth injuries sustained when these infants pass through the birth canal.
However, if fetal macrosomia isn’t diagnosed quickly or the medical team ignores a diagnosis and proceeds with a vaginal birth, the baby could get stuck in the birth canal. This can lead to multiple complications, such as damage to the baby’s brachial plexus, partial or total paralysis of the baby’s upper extremity, brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, and damage due to the use of vacuum devices.
The following are examples of settlements and verdicts secured in macrosomia medical malpractice cases:
- Manning v. Pecos Valley – A jury awarded a massive $73 million verdict in this case. The family’s baby was born with severe brain damage after doctors ignored a previous diagnosis of macrosomia, went ahead with regular delivery, and the macrosomic infant became stuck in the birth canal.
- G.L. v. United States – The plaintiff received $1 million when their infant suffered a birth-related injury to their right shoulder after the defendants failed to consider the risk factors of the baby’s macrosomia.
- Bergman v. Kelsey – A jury awarded the plaintiffs $1.75 million following the death of the plaintiff’s newborn infant after the medical providers failed to appropriately diagnose and respond to macrosomia and signs of fetal distress during labor.
Why Hire Our Experienced Macrosomia Lawyers in St. Louis
You might think you don’t need a St. Louis macrosomia attorney if a medical professional was clearly at fault in causing your infant’s injury. But the reality is that birth injury claims can be emotionally charged and legally complex. The at-fault physician or other medical professional who caused the injury will deny any wrongdoing. They and their insurers will then hire lawyers to defend them.
When you work with the seasoned legal team at Brown & Crouppen, we will guide you through the macrosomia claims process from start to finish. We are a full-service personal injury law firm in Missouri, and our award-winning attorneys are dedicated to helping injury victims obtain the compensation they deserve.
Our macrosomia law firm in Missouri has extensive experience pursuing cases where medical professionals failed to deliver the proper standard of care. When we take your macrosomia medical malpractice case, our legal team will get to work gathering evidence supporting your injury claim. We will also consult with medical experts and other professionals in our pursuit of justice for you and your family.
Recognized as the Best Law Firm in St. Louis by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Brown & Crouppen believes everyone deserves the best representation possible. When you work with us, you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Contact Our Missouri Macrosomia Lawyers for a Free Consultation
If a doctor failed to diagnose your baby’s macrosomia and they suffered a birth injury as a result, the macrosomia lawyers at Brown & Crouppen can help you pursue full and fair compensation through a medical malpractice claim. For more than four decades, our skilled team of attorneys has helped victims of medical malpractice secure justice and accountability. We have secured more than $1 billion in settlements and verdicts for our clients.
We believe in serving our St. Louis and Kansas City communities by providing excellent legal representation to injury victims throughout Missouri no matter their financial circumstances. That is why we offer free consultations and guarantee that you pay nothing unless we win your case. To schedule your consultation today, call 800-536-4357 or fill out our online case form.
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- November 13, 2024
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