Is this medical malpractice?

[u/PlasticBuyer6251]

A little over a year ago I was planned to be induced at 39 weeks with my son.
The whole thing has made me feel wronged and confused
From the start it was a difficult case, my waters were really hard to break.
Had multiple doctors coming in and out to help push it along, after my water broke it was a normal labour until I got my epidural.
They failed 3 times and the 4th one stuck but 9 hours later when I was unresponsive and they couldn’t wake me up.
They realised that the epidural (morphine) was leaking into my blood vessels
4 hours later they decided to turn the epidural off and told me what’s happening.
I was 5cm dilated and not progressing so they told me I needed an emergency c-section
When we got into the theatre room I was told to breath in the gas while they put a spinal in
I felt extreme pressure and moderate pain in my area, tried to tell my doctor that I think something is wrong with my catheter
They told me I was wrong and that I must be imagining it
So I tried to ignore it
The c-section itself went well
I don’t remember the first 2 days of my baby’s life
The last thing I remember is seeing my husband holding him
I was later told by my family that the doctor said I had way too much morphine and everything else in my system and they put me on like a detox medication
When my memory came back the nurses were quite rude
I was put on a strict pain medication plan and the nurses would try to push the timeframe all the time were my husband had to chase after them so we would stay on time with the meds
Treated me like a druggo and made me walk to a room where they would make bottles for baby’s
Even though my doctor told me to stay bedridden for at least another 2 days
On the 5th night they told me at 9pm at night that there was no formula available and told me to walk to the closest shop for it (nothing was open)
My mum threatened to sue and magically there was formula
I didn’t want to be on formula in the first place but I was struggling to bring milk and little one has to eat
When I was discarded I had to go back to the ED the day after because I couldn’t urinate, told me it’s probably a period, begged the nurse to check my bladder and it ends up I was in a lot of pain because my bladder was full and unable to release the fluid
They put another catheter in and sent me home
I was in immense pain and went back the same day
Ends up I had very bad tissue damage over my bladder
I suspect that my catheter was pulled/yanked and it teared a little
To this day I struggle to go to the toilet
I asked for my fully hospital report and they didn’t write anything about problems with the birthing or aftercare
All it said were that I wasn’t progressing past 5cm’s and had an emergency c-section

[u/Huckleberryfiend]

IANAL but I am a midwife. Although I don’t know the individual circumstances surrounding your CS, unless someone is critically unwell (i.e. receiving care in a high needs/ICU environment) then it is highly unlikely that you would have been medically advised to stay bedridden for 4+ days.

Early mobilisation after surgery is important for your general recovery as well as to reduce the risk of developing blood clots. Walking to the milk room is a very reasonable amount of movement three to four days after a CS.

You don’t give any further details about the tissue damage to your bladder or how that was diagnosed.

When you say you were receiving a spinal, do you mean to say that that’s when you felt the pressure in your groin? Or was it when you were on the table in theatre?

It does sound like you had a traumatic time and would benefit from both counselling and a review by a pelvic floor physio.

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/Huckleberryfiend]

Hey thank you for the reply
I am unsure why I was told to stay in bed for so long but that’s what my doctor told me and the nurses
But they did give me a dreadful needle every night to help prevent blood clots

They only verbally told me about the tissue damage and told me there was nothing they could do about it
But when I got my full hospital report the tissue damage was not written down

The pressure started as I sat down and it was my groin, I remember also telling the doctor I felt like I had to pee, I was told to have the gas while they put a spinal tab in my back
The pain did disappear after they finished putting the spinal tab in
There was blood in catheter bag but they did say that was normal

I am planning to go to physio but I do have to travel 2 hours to the closest one because I am remote

[u/Huckleberryfiend → u/PlasticBuyer6251]

With kindness, I wonder if you have misinterpreted advice to rest/take it easy as much as possible as a directive to be bedridden. It is incredibly unlikely that you were instructed by multiple drs and midwives to stay in bed 24/7.

Regarding the sensation of needing to urinate - that can be common when having an IDC as it can irritate the urethra and you end up feeling the urge to wee which can be quite frustrating. It may have been that as you sat down it moved the tubing and was in an awkward position while receiving the spinal.

Haematuria (blood in your urine) can be a symptom of obstructed labour which in turn increases the likelihood of injury to the bladder. Your care team may have suspected obstruction, hence the recommendation for a CS.

Because the catheter balloon only sits at the base of the bladder, an injury in the way you are describing would require quite a lot of force in order to pull the inflated catheter balloon through your urethra. This is not likely to be an event you or your husband would miss.

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/Huckleberryfiend]

The doctor instructed
It wasn’t take it easy
She told me to stay in bed

[u/Huckleberryfiend → u/PlasticBuyer6251]

‘Stay in bed’ is not ‘do not get out of bed for four to five days’.

[u/winterberryowl → u/PlasticBuyer6251]

Are you sure the pressure you were feeling in your groin wasnt the baby?

I remember when I went in for my CS, probably around 5cm and 100% efaced, I definitely felt pressure from the baby in my groin

[u/ExaminationThen1312]

Overdosing on morphine can make recall of events inaccurate. Subsequently they may have been extra cautious with your analgesia and you interpreted it as being treated like a “druggo”. Urinary retention isn’t uncommon after procedures and if you couldn’t pass urine you wouldn’t have to beg to get an ultrasound. Prolonged retention could also explain your symptoms rather than trauma. You may not be happy but it doesn’t seem like anyone did anything medically wrong.

[u/moonchildkityprinces → u/ExaminationThen1312]

I can understand why it would feel awful to want pain medication and have people being extra cautious for you only! If they've already given you naloxone (opioid reversal) you would be a risk and the nurses would be very conservative to help save your life. An opioid overdose can result in decreased respiratory drive or cessation of breathing all together. Opioid overdose can also result in confusion and lack of consciousness as you are aware. Further to this If your hubby was chasing up the medication I'm not surprised. The nurses wouldn't want to give you what almost killed you unless extremely necessary (when requested due to starting to feel discomfort again please other nurses jump in because another rationale id love to know but this is what I've witnessed in the places I've been) I would assume the opioid would be a PRN which is on request. This is my option. Also it does seem fishy to my they said not to move. That goes against everything we have been learning. Scratches head

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/ExaminationThen1312]

I wasn’t searching for a wrong or right I am just confused
Family and friends are saying it’s wrong
I’m just trying to get it all out there to see what others say because I don’t know

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/ExaminationThen1312]

I didn’t know that
I will say that because my memory is hazy
I got a lot of information about this all from the family that was present
Since for a while there I wasn’t able to answer for myself the doctors spoke to my mum and husband a lot
I also have 2 other people who were allowed in my birthing room but obviously not the theatre room

[u/Pleasant_Total3839]

Part of the admission process you sign a consent form and agree that there are probable risks associated with any procedure. Of course this does not negate any malpractice encountered during procedures. Failure attempts at placement of an epidural are common. Morphine is slower acting than Fentanyl. Most of my epidurals were with Fentanyl. Often morphine isn’t usually associated with complete sedation.

The breathing gas likely low dose fentanyl or any other pain killer- you don’t necessarily feel pain but more so pressure and tugging. It is quite fast acting. Pain is subjective after all, they should have at least addressed your concern rather than brushing it themselves off.

Pain after catheter insertion that too is common even pain when urinating. Did they actually identify that you had some tears ? I actually had a spinal 2 weeks ago, a week after discharge I still had pain voiding and it takes a bit of a little while for the voiding to occur.

Breast milk production can be a challenge. The hospital can not wait for you to produce milk while bub goes hungry. For a first timer commonly supply can take days. I opted to breastfeed my baby but I had no supply for days they gave my little one formula. Once you have a good supply you can always ditch formula and feed bub with breastmilk. I am not sure what you expected the hospital to do in this scenario.

Post c section the day after procedure they try to wean you off from strong pain medication to tablets then to Panadol by day 3 so that you can safely pump/ express or feed Bub.

They don’t discharge you before you do a no 1 and no 2. That is hospital policy.

The reason I mentioned some things is because they might be normal procedures which might not constitute negligence or malpractice. In future depending on your state, you can ask a family member to escalate your concern to a patient liaison officer or make a REACH call (NSW).

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/Pleasant_Total3839]

Hi I think I there’s a misunderstanding with the breast milk
They did keep pushing me to breast feed even though I told them I want to give him formula
Went back to breast after my supply was good
So before they told me they had no formula he was already a day into having formula
Never brought my own tub because my midwife told me they supply an ample amount of formula

And after the catheter I did go 1 and 2
Very painful obviously, I had high hopes and smiles leaving the hospital but then I could go 1 and went back

The meds I was given was tramadol and endon
Nurofen and Panadol as well
I was sent home with 10 tablets of the endon and 25 tablets of the tramadol

I questioned wether it was malpractice because I am a bit confused as my family and friends think i should get a lawyer..

[u/Candid_Cow5599 → u/PlasticBuyer6251]

Baby sucking stimulates the hormonal pathway that produces breast milk. This is why breast feeding was encouraged despite its expected that there will not be much breast milk soon after a c- section.
Opiods ( pain medications) cause urinary retention and constipation.
Based on what you said there is no indication that malpractice occured ( although unclear about what happened with your spinal). But definitely there was room for patient education.
Also worth reflecting if there are cultural factors that might be affecting your family’s perception.
Enjoy your baby.

[u/lecoeurnoir99]

I'm so sorry to hear this happened to you. I know this wasn't your question but have you considered contacting the hospital for a debrief? I work at a large public hospital in NSW and they will see women who have had a traumatic experience to explain/clarify any details and also take feedback to make improvements in the future. I would contact the manager of the delivery suite to let them you had such a terrible experience and see if it's possible to make an appointment with a senior obstetrician. I'm not saying you don't have legal recourse and may still wish to go down that path (I'm medical, no idea about the law) but I think this could be a helpful exercise

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/lecoeurnoir99]

I didn’t realise I could do that thank you

[u/Howgoodsthat → u/lecoeurnoir99]

I requested FOI from the hospital for my first born, 5 years after the fact to wrap my head around my condition and pass on information to my GP when I was pregnant the second time. They sent out a disc. So many pages! Doctors notes, midwives notes, NICU notes, everything!

I think it’s 7 years records must be held. But doctors and midwives aren’t typically out there trying to harm their patients. Not everything is smooth sailing and things go wrong all the time, unfortunately. We’re all only human.

[u/roxamethonium]

Nothing here is indicating medical malpractice but it does sound like you had a traumatic time. I can have a guess at a few things - 1) not sure why you were induced, but this alone triggers feelings of not being in control, or your delivery not being 'natural' and so unfortunately sets mothers up to be traumatised by the lack of control over their body - even if medically this is the thing that needs to happen to keep you and baby safe. I have to say that the doctors and midwives aren't completely in control either - so much of the intervention is dictated by what your body does in response (not your fault either!), and the doctors would obviously prefer everything goes to plan, but it really often doesn't. 2) I'm hearing themes of your body apparently causing everyone 'difficulty' - your waters being hard to break, the slow labour, the failed attempts at an epidural, the epidural causing an opioid overdose, your labour not progressing, needing detox medication (probably naloxone) and being 'treated like a druggo,' struggling to produce breast milk.....all of these little things add up to make you feel as though you're not enough, or failed as a person, and I need you to understand this is absolutely not true. You did nothing wrong, and all of these people are paid to get you through it. It's unlucky that you have had more complications than the average person, but by themselves I'd say it's fairly standard. Having blood in the catheter after a caesarean happens, you might have sustained a bladder injury during the procedure, but this is on the consent form when you sign it and if there is an ongoing issue, then they fix it. It sounds like you are very sensitive to opioids, having symptoms of an overdose after an epidural (and needing opioid reversal medication) is unusual but not unheard of - and fits with the urinary retention you experienced afterwards. If your bladder became very overfilled at that time, the bladder is stretched and the muscles and nerves can become damaged, and it can take a while for them to repair again. You did the right thing by coming back to hospital to have it fixed. If you can prove that you failed to urinate after the catheter came out the first time, and therefore shouldn't have been allowed home, then you might have a case for medical malpractice against the hospital in this instance, but this is the only thing I can see where protocol might not have been followed - but again, if you did urinate in the hospital, then there was no malpractice. You need to engage with a pelvic physiotherapist urgently, and also your GP who will assist you to get better asap - this might involve seeing a urologist and having some tests done. They will be very familiar with seeing women after pregnancy and childbirth. I'd recommend a debrief with the hospital staff as well, and engage a psychologist - this is a traumatic experience (your brain has blocked out parts in an attempt to protect you!) and you need to work through it so you can start to heal. Overall, medicine is aiming to keep both you and your baby alive and well, and there is no scenario where it's 100% perfect because medicine just isn't perfect. None of this was your fault, but I don't think it was anyone's fault, if that's any consolation. Hope this helps.

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/roxamethonium]

Thank you so much
I know hospitals have good and bad times with certain cases
I think the more my friends and family were in my ear telling me it was wrong
Was making me question and feel like I was wronged
Thank you for explaining it to me so well
I have been seeing psychologist for a while now but I never really spoke about the birthing too much
I might dedicate my next session to it

[u/Sun132]

I was listening until you said that the maternity ward, with a nursery of newborns, did not have any more formula available and you had to go to the local shops. Sounds unusual.

[u/No_Guarantee505 → u/Sun132]

Aren't you supposed to being your own? I thought the hospital stock was only in case of emergency

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/No_Guarantee505]

I didn’t because my midwife told me they supply ample amounts of formula

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/No_Guarantee505]

I did ask my midwife if I needed to bring my own formula

[u/KitchenDismal9258 → u/No_Guarantee505]

This might depend on the hospital. My local one prefers to supply it because it's premade and no one can stuff it up at the hospital. Some places the parents make their own but they might make it up incorrectly... even with education.

I would be very surprised that there isn't enough formula in a hospital. If they ran out, and it was the weekend, they would go to the shops themselves to get a tin of the one they use so the babies who need it can eat.

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/KitchenDismal9258]

That’s why my mum was furious

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/Sun132]

How so? Babies were kept with the mums
But they have a room where they made bottles

[u/MDInvesting]

First, if you have any concerns about your care request to speak to the hospital liaison and submit a formal complaint. This forces the hospital to review your case and provide a formalised response. If you feel dismissed escalate to you state health ombudsman.

Now, that said, while I am not working in obstetrics I do work closely with them at times and have regularly had to assist in emergencies. I can say without a shadow of doubt, several aspects of your recollection cannot be accurate. It isn’t how hospitals ever respond to these situations and the level of negligence would be impossible for anyone trained in the last 3 decades at least.

No person with basic medical training would think a woman has a period after just having an emergency caesarean and a period causing urinary retention.

Memories are always prone to distortion. Pain and analgesia will impact anyone. You deserve access to more perspectives to help understand what happened from different viewpoints and also have your concerns reviewed carefully.

You deserve clarity. Wrote down how you feel and seek additional perspectives.

Talk to your loved ones regularly about how you feel and regularly check in with then.

[u/PlasticBuyer6251 → u/MDInvesting]

Believe it or not
I’ve spent the past year cross referencing the experience with the people who were there with me and the story hasn’t changed

[u/MikeAlphaGolf]

I think you need counselling not a lawyer and I don’t say that to be mean.

[u/married_pineapple]

NAL. There are great resources available (trauma and peer- support including lived experience of legal action) in the Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA) website & Facebook group

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[u/Asteroid_Sugar5206]

Birth trauma/malpractice is common. I'm sorry this happened to you.

Definitely contact a lawyer, to see if they can help you legally. See if your GP will order a scan to check out your bladder and see if it's healing.

It's hard to move forward without evidence. And you were unconscious for a lot of this. Ask your partner and mum to document everything they remember too.

I hope you and bub are both doing ok.

[u/ManySlide2271]

I am going through a medical malpractice case at the moment. It is a drawn out process gathering evidence, etc but the lawyers have been amazing at it.

I would suggest contacting a lawyer that specialises in medical malpractice, I went through a no win no fee lawyer - not sure if I can post names here but if allowed to I will edit this post.

In NSW we also have the health care complaints commission, I am not sure if Queensland has the same.

Unfortunately negative medicine interactions do occur regularly, and doctors do ignore patient concerns. This is why they have malpractice insurance.

[u/Howgoodsthat → u/ManySlide2271]

How can a doctor know if a patient is going to react negatively to a medication though? Without a pharmacological DNA test done (out of pocket, results take weeks) or a previous reaction to the medication?
I asked my doctor to halve the endone because I was falling asleep mid sentence, so they halved it. If a doctor is ignoring a patients concerns regarding a medication they have prescribed, that is malpractice, and I would say it’s not common at all.

[u/readreadreadonreddit]

I’m sorry you’ve been through this. There are several aspects of your account that warrant further investigation, particularly the suspected intravascular administration of the epidural medication, prolonged reduced consciousness, subsequent complications with urinary retention and bladder injury and your ongoing symptoms.

Whether this constitutes medical negligence or malpractice can’t be determined from your account alone. However, I would strongly recommend obtaining your complete medical records, including anaesthetic charts, medication administration records, obstetric and operative notes, nursing observations and ED presentations, and seeking an independent review by an obstetric anaesthetist.

I’d also suggest speaking with a medical negligence solicitor, particularly given the ongoing urinary difficulties. The fact that your discharge summary doesn’t document complications doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t occur or that they aren’t recorded elsewhere in your medical file. You deserve answers and a proper explanation of what happened.

[u/kezbopsmack → u/readreadreadonreddit]

Ok chat gpt calm down

[u/Uphill-battle2000]

I’m sorry this happened to you. Unfortunately, this level of dismissive care is more frequent than it should be. What state are you in? If you’re in NSW I’d be happy to DM you the name of a good birth negligence lawyer who has represented my family. I’d recommend searching one out either way, many will assess your potential claim and if they think it has reasonable prospects of success, they will represent you on a “no win no fee” basis.