Indianapolis, IN asked in Medical Malpractice for Indiana

Q: Do I have a medical malpractice case?

I went in for my first ultrasound at 8 weeks and the ultrasound tech lead me to believe that everything was fine. I went in 2 weeks later to the emergency room because I had some spotting and cramps the emergency room did an external ultrasound and a fetal Doppler but told me that it was normal not to be able to hear or see anything Externally at 10 weeks then they did a pelvic exam and told me everything was fine and that my amnionic fluid level was perfect... well a week later I started bleeding even more I went into a different hospital who did all of the proper testing and told me my hCG level had dropped and that there was no heartbeat and I was only measuring 8 weeks when I was supposed to be 11+3 so according to that information I have been carrying my baby without a heartbeat for three weeks... then I was informed by my OB doctor after my D&C that it could’ve very well been possible for the ultrasound tech to mistake my own heart for my childs

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1 Lawyer Answer

A: First of all, it sounds that you been through some tough times. In order to have a malpractice case, you would need to show negligence. I am not sure you present enough facts to determine negligence. It doesn't make sense to me that they would confuse your heart beat with the fetus' heart beat. I remember when my wife was pregnant, we learned that the average heart rate for a fetus' in the first trimester is approximately 153 bpm (plus or minus 22.8 bpm). Your heart rate would be half that rate.

You might want to find a malpractice attorney in your local area, who will give you a free first consultation to discuss your case.

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