Group B streptococcus (GBS) & Michigan Medical Malpractice Lawsuits
Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases involving Group B streptococcus. This is a bacterial infection that can cause significant injury and damage to a newborn. There are occasions in which this infection should have diagnosed and treated earlier and harm to the newborn could have been prevented. In those circumstances, there may be a child birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit.
Group B streptococcus (GBS) - Fact File
Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a kind of bacterial infection found in pregnant woman’s rectum or vagina. The bacteria commonly occurs in the lower intestine or vagina of 15-40% of all healthy women.
Women who are tested positive for Group B streptococcus (GBS) are called colonized. During delivery, GBS can be passed to the newborn. In the United States, GBS affects 1 in every 2,000 newborns. However, it is not necessary for every baby born to a mother who is GBS positive to become ill.
While Group B streptococcus (GBS) is quite rare in pregnant women, it can have severe consequences. For this reason, physicians commonly test pregnant women for GBS as a routine part of the prenatal care.
Diagnosis of Group B streptococcus
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine screening for vaginal strep B for every pregnant woman. The screening is commonly performed between the thirty-fifth and thirty-seventh week of pregnancy as this is the most significant time to see if the woman carries GBS at the time of delivery.
In order to perform the test, a swab of vagina and rectum is taken to the lab where it is analyzed for GBS presence. Results are normally handed over in 1-2 days.
Positive results of Group B streptococcus
Anyone who tests positive for Group B streptococcus (GBS) is a carrier. It is not necessary for a child to become ill if the mother carries GBS. According to estimates, one of every 100-200 babies will develop symptoms of GBS disease if all their mothers carry GBS. Some symptoms, however, do indicate that you run a greater risk of passing GBS to your baby.
These include:
- Rupture of membrane or labor before 37 weeks
- Rupture of membrane 18 hours prior to delivery
- Fever during labor
- Urinary tract infection during pregnancy due to GBS
- Previous delivery wherein GBS was passed to baby
In any of these cases, your physician would prescribe antibiotics for prevention of passing GBS.
According to CDC estimates, if you carry Group B streptococcus (GBS), but are not at high risk of passing it on, then the chances of having GBS delivered to the baby are:
- 1 in 200 if antibiotics are not consumed
- 1 in 4,000 if antibiotics are consumed
It may affect a child socially, academically, and vocationally throughout childhood and even into adulthood. The child may require physical therapy, medical procedures, and other services that can be a significant expense over the course of his or her lifetime. These types of damage requests are included in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed for the condition.
Contact a Michigan Group B streptococcus Malpractice Lawyer
If an infant suffers injuries because a medical condition was not timely diagnosed and treated, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit. Birth injuries can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment. There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.
If you would like more information about your rights after a Michigan birth injury, you can order our FREE book, “The Ultimate Michigan Medical Malpractice Handbook” by clicking on the book link. We will send it out immediately along with other important information.
For more information about Michigan birth injury cases, visit our Michigan personal injury, car accident, and malpractice law website. If you would like to speak with one of our Michigan birth injury attorneys about your case, feel free to call us anytime at (800) 606-1717 or simply submit this contact form and we will get back to you quickly.
BUCKFIRE & BUCKFIRE, P.C. is a Michigan personal injury law firm and is not representing any of the parties mentioned in this article at the time of the posting of the article. The information contained in this article is from online news sources and any perceived misstatements should be attributed to those sources as we did not complete any investigation of the accident. If you believe that the information is inaccurate and would like it changed or would like this post completely removed from the site, please let us know and we will do our best to promptly accommodate your request. We are very sensitive to these requests.
If you were involved in this accident or a similar accident and have questions about your legal rights and options, it is important that you contact a reputable law firm. Please make sure that any Michigan law firm that you contact has significant experience in handling these types of accident and injury cases and has an excellent track record of successful settlements and jury verdicts. We also suggest that the attorney you contact provides you with a free initial consultation.
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