Yes. A failure to properly monitor a high-risk pregnancy can support a Florida birth injury claim when a health care provider fails to meet the prevailing professional standard of care and that failure causes injury to the mother, baby, or both. High-risk pregnancies may call for closer observation, targeted testing, specialist involvement, or a delivery plan that addresses known maternal or fetal risks.
A poor outcome does not prove medical malpractice. The key questions are what risks the medical team knew or should have recognized, what reasonably prudent similar providers would have done under the circumstances, and whether a delay or omission caused preventable harm.
Faiella & Gulden, P.A. represents patients and families in medical malpractice matters from its Winter Park office and serves clients in Orlando and throughout Florida. If you have questions about a possible birth injury, you can learn more here:
https://faiellagulden.com/orlando-birth-injury-lawyers/
A high-risk label does not decide the case. The focus is whether the care team responded reasonably to the risks that were known or should have been recognized.
What Makes a Pregnancy High Risk? 
A pregnancy may be considered high risk when a maternal medical condition, pregnancy complication, fetal concern, or prior obstetric history increases the chance of complications. The monitoring plan should reflect the specific risks present in that pregnancy.
Conditions and circumstances that may call for closer observation can include:
- Chronic or pregnancy-related hypertension
• Preeclampsia
• Gestational or preexisting diabetes
• Placental complications
• Fetal growth concerns
• Multiple gestation
• A history of preterm birth
• Maternal medical conditions that can affect pregnancy
• Abnormal test results or other concerns identified during prenatal care
A patient may also be referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist when the pregnancy involves risks that require added expertise. The exact type and frequency of monitoring will depend on the patient, gestational age, medical history, test results, symptoms, and other clinical factors.
What Can Proper High-Risk Pregnancy Monitoring Include?
Monitoring is not a single test. Depending on the circumstances, prenatal monitoring may involve office visits, maternal testing, imaging, fetal surveillance, specialist consultation, and communication among providers.
Examples can include:
- Tracking maternal blood pressure and symptoms associated with hypertensive disorders
• Reviewing blood or urine testing when clinically indicated
• Ordering ultrasounds to evaluate fetal growth, amniotic fluid, placental concerns, or other findings
• Using nonstress tests or biophysical profiles when fetal well-being requires closer assessment
• Evaluating reports of decreased fetal movement
• Scheduling follow-up testing after abnormal or concerning results
• Referring the patient to a specialist when the risks exceed routine prenatal care
• Developing a delivery plan that accounts for known maternal or fetal complications
The legal question is not whether every possible test was ordered. A claim usually turns on whether reasonably prudent similar health care providers would have taken additional or different steps under the same circumstances.
Elizabeth has represented plaintiffs in numerous jury trials since 1976. A member of the exclusive Inner Circle of Advocates, Elizabeth is a legal powerhouse who has been given numerous awards and honors--and she's not done yet. The son of a doctor and an attorney, Peter has a unique and in-depth understanding of all the complicated medical and legal issues involved in a malpractice claim. He has won many 7-figure verdicts for clients since joining his mother's firm in 2004. Allison C. McMillen is proud to be a second-generation plaintiffs’ attorney representing victims of medical malpractice, having practiced with her father, attorney Scott R. McMillen, for over a decade before joining the team at Faiella & Gulden, P.A.
Elizabeth H. Faiella
Peter J. "Tres" Gulden, III
Allison C. McMillen
When Can a Failure to Monitor Become Medical Negligence?
Florida medical malpractice law requires a claimant to prove that a health care provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care. Section 766.102 of the Florida Statutes defines that standard by reference to the level of care, skill, and treatment recognized as acceptable and appropriate by reasonably prudent similar health care providers under the surrounding circumstances.
A monitoring failure can involve more than a missed test. Possible issues can include:
- Failing to order indicated follow-up testing
• Ordering a test but failing to review the result
• Failing to communicate an abnormal result
• Failing to schedule a needed reassessment
• Dismissing worsening maternal symptoms
• Failing to respond to decreased fetal movement or other warning signs
• Delaying specialist consultation
• Delaying delivery or another intervention after a serious change in condition
Consider a patient in Orlando who has repeated findings suggesting worsening hypertension and reports severe symptoms. If the medical team does not reassess the patient or respond to a deteriorating condition, and the delay causes an avoidable injury, the facts may justify a medical negligence investigation. Whether a claim is supported will depend on the records, expert review, timing, standard of care, and causation.
Shannon McLin
Connie Ashley
How Can Inadequate Monitoring Lead to a Birth Injury?
Some pregnancy complications can affect oxygen delivery, blood flow, fetal growth, or the timing of delivery. When a developing problem is not recognized or addressed, a baby may face a greater risk of neurological injury, organ injury, or complications associated with premature birth.
Inadequate monitoring can also harm the mother. Severe hypertension, placental complications, infection, hemorrhage, and other conditions can require prompt evaluation and treatment. A medical malpractice claim may involve injuries to the mother, the child, or both.
Related information is available at:
https://faiellagulden.com/orlando-birth-injury-lawyers/
What Evidence Can Help Prove a Monitoring Claim?
Birth injury cases often depend on a detailed timeline. The records may show when a risk first appeared, who received the information, what action followed, whether additional testing or treatment was indicated, and whether earlier intervention likely would have changed the outcome.
Evidence may include:
- Prenatal office records
• Maternal blood pressure records
• Laboratory results
• Ultrasound reports
• Nonstress test or biophysical profile results
• Referral notes
• Patient portal messages and telephone records
• Hospital triage records
• Labor and delivery records
• Fetal heart rate monitoring strips
• Operative records
• Neonatal intensive care records
• Placental pathology or other diagnostic findings when available
Medical expert review is a central part of most Florida medical malpractice claims. Before filing a medical negligence lawsuit, Florida law requires a presuit investigation. When the notice of intent is mailed, the claimant generally must provide a verified written medical expert opinion that supports reasonable grounds for the claim.
The medical and legal review usually addresses two separate issues: whether the care fell below the prevailing professional standard and whether that failure caused or contributed to the injury. A mistake alone does not establish causation, and a serious injury can occur even when the care met the required standard.
Can Fetal Monitoring During Labor Create a Related Claim?
High-risk pregnancy monitoring can remain relevant when labor begins. A known prenatal complication may affect the need for maternal monitoring, fetal heart rate surveillance, specialist involvement, or decisions about the timing and method of delivery.
A claim may involve both prenatal care and labor management when warning signs develop across that timeline. For example, if fetal intolerance to labor develops and the care team does not recognize or respond to concerning findings, the records may need to be reviewed for both prenatal and intrapartum issues.
Learn more here:
https://faiellagulden.com/orlando-fetal-intolerance-to-labor-attorneys/
Could Florida NICA Affect a Birth Injury Case?
Some severe neurological birth injuries may fall within Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan, commonly called NICA. Florida law limits the plan to a defined category of qualifying brain or spinal cord injuries caused by oxygen deprivation or mechanical injury during labor, delivery, or immediate postdelivery resuscitation in a hospital. The statute also includes birth-weight and impairment requirements.
For a qualifying birth-related neurological injury, NICA can provide an exclusive remedy against people or entities directly involved in the labor, delivery, or immediate postdelivery resuscitation, subject to statutory exceptions. Provider participation, statutory notice, the nature and timing of the injury, the child’s condition, and other requirements can affect whether the plan applies.
NICA does not apply to every birth injury. Families should not assume that a standard malpractice lawsuit or a NICA claim is the correct path without a review of the medical records and the applicable statutory requirements.
How Long Do Families Have to Act in Florida?
Florida law sets strict deadlines for medical malpractice claims. Under section 95.11(5)(c) of the Florida Statutes, a medical malpractice action generally must be started within two years from the incident or from when the incident was discovered, or should have been discovered with due diligence. The statute also contains a four-year period of repose, with a specific provision that prevents that four-year period from barring an action brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child’s eighth birthday.
Other rules can affect the deadline, including fraud or concealment provisions, presuit procedures, and claim-specific circumstances. NICA claims are governed by separate rules, including a statutory five-year filing limit for claims under the plan.
Because deadline calculations can be fact-sensitive, families should not rely on a general online calculation to decide when their time expires.
Learn more about Florida medical malpractice claims here:
https://faiellagulden.com/orlando-medical-malpractice-lawyers/
What Compensation May Be Available?
When medical negligence causes a birth injury outside the NICA framework, recoverable damages can depend on the injury, the child’s future needs, the mother’s injuries, and the evidence connecting the negligent care to those losses.
Depending on the claim, damages may include costs associated with:
- Past and future medical treatment
• Therapy and rehabilitation
• Assistive devices and medical equipment
• Home or vehicle modifications
• In-home care or other caregiving needs
• Lost earnings or earning capacity when legally recoverable
• Other economic and noneconomic losses recognized by Florida law
NICA claims use a different compensation structure. The available benefits and legal remedies should be evaluated under the framework that applies to the child’s injury.
No responsible case valuation can be based on a diagnosis alone. Medical evidence, future care needs, causation, available defendants, insurance, and the governing legal process can all affect the value and type of recovery.
What Should Parents Do if They Suspect Inadequate Monitoring?
Parents do not need to identify every possible medical error before requesting a legal review. The records may reveal a sequence of decisions involving obstetricians, nurses, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, hospitals, laboratories, and other providers.
Useful steps can include:
- Requesting copies of prenatal, hospital, labor, delivery, and neonatal records
• Keeping test results, discharge papers, and patient portal messages
• Writing down a timeline of symptoms, appointments, calls, admissions, and major events
• Preserving photographs, bills, and other records related to the injury
• Avoiding changes to original medical documents
• Speaking with a birth injury attorney before a filing deadline becomes an issue
A lawyer can review the timeline, identify the providers involved, consult qualified medical experts, evaluate causation, and determine whether Florida’s medical malpractice presuit process, NICA, or another legal framework may apply.
Speak With an Orlando Birth Injury Attorney
If your child suffered a serious injury after a high-risk pregnancy and you have questions about whether prenatal or labor monitoring was adequate, Faiella & Gulden, P.A. can review the circumstances and explain the legal options that may apply.
The firm focuses on medical malpractice matters and represents patients and families in Orlando, Winter Park, and throughout Florida. Faiella & Gulden, P.A. offers a free consultation.
Call (407) 470-1225
Contact the firm:
https://faiellagulden.com/contact/
This article is for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult an attorney about your specific situation.
