Can I File a Lawsuit for Postpartum Hemorrhaging?

 Posted on June 04, 2026 in Birth Injury

Pregnancy, birth, and the first weeks with her newborn baby are some of the most poignant, cherished moments in a mother’s life. Tragically, some new mothers will never experience them due to maternal injury. Maternal injuries occur prior to, during, or immediately after childbirth, often causing significant bodily harm to the mother. Some injuries are treatable, while others can result in permanent disability and even death.

Maternal injuries may be the result of infections, obscure disorders, and surgical mistakes, but one of the most common causes is excessive bleeding. Every single year, mothers suffer injury and death because of blood loss, known as postpartum hemorrhaging, during and after labor. At Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd., our Chicago, IL birth injury lawyers are here to provide you with legal advice and guidance. We have secured six-figure settlements and verdicts in past cases, as we investigate each claim carefully.

Causes of Postpartum Hemorrhaging

Postpartum hemorrhaging has many different causes. In most cases, it is related to an issue with the placenta. After birth, the placenta must detach and pass through the birth canal along with the afterbirth. If the placenta fails to detach properly, severe bleeding could result. Hemorrhaging is also frequently caused by:

• A large for gestational age (LGA) baby

• Pitocin or oxytocin induced labor

• Delivery problems

• C-sections

• Blood clotting disorders

Other risk factors include multiple pregnancies, previous C-sections, and giving birth to multiple babies. If hemorrhaging occurs for too long, a variety of health complications can ensue. The mother could experience shock, stroke, or death.

When Can You File a Lawsuit for Postpartum Hemorrhaging? 

Like many other health complications, postpartum hemorrhaging is sometimes unavoidable. However, in many instances, it could have been prevented.

Doctors are required to monitor blood loss during and after labor. If the mother begins hemorrhaging blood, they have a series of techniques at their disposal to get the bleeding under control. A host of different physician errors can cause postpartum hemorrhaging, including:

• Failure to monitor the mother’s blood pressure

• Failure to monitor the mother’s red blood cell count

• Failure to recognize a condition or risk factor that makes the mother vulnerable to excessive blood loss.

• Surgical error

Unfortunately, even competent, experienced doctors fail to follow established standards of care, often to catastrophic results.

Damages Associated With Postpartum Hemorrhaging

A postpartum hemorrhage caused by medical negligence can lead to serious, lasting harm. Some women require emergency blood transfusions, surgical procedures, or the removal of the uterus to stop the bleeding. These interventions can have permanent consequences. Illinois law allows an injured patient to seek compensation for those losses when negligence played a role (735 ILCS 5/2-622).

Medical expenses are often a significant part of a birth injury claim. These can include intensive care, surgical costs, follow-up treatment, fertility-related care, and any long-term physical therapy or treatment tied to complications from the hemorrhage.

Lost income can also be part of the claim. A serious hemorrhage can keep a mother from returning to work for weeks or months. If her ability to earn a living is permanently affected, reduced earning capacity can be factored into the case.

Non-economic damages matter as well. Pain, emotional suffering, physical impairment, and the loss of the ability to carry future pregnancies are real harms that have lasting effects on a person's life. These losses are harder to put a number on, but they are just as real as any medical bill.

How Do You Prove a Hospital Was Responsible for Postpartum Hemorrhaging?

To hold a hospital responsible for your damages, you need to show that the medical staff failed to meet the accepted standard of care. Not only that, but you must also show that this failure caused the hemorrhage or made it significantly worse. This is not always straightforward. Hospitals and their insurers often argue that the bleeding was unavoidable or that the care provided was appropriate given the circumstances.

Medical records are central to building these cases. Nursing notes, delivery records, anesthesia logs, and documentation of how and when interventions were made can all help show what happened and when. Expert testimony is typically required. A qualified medical expert can review the records and explain where the care fell below what a reasonably skilled provider would have done.

Evidence that warning signs were ignored or that staff delayed action is particularly important. A preventable hemorrhage often involves a failure to monitor bleeding, a slow response to falling blood pressure, or a failure to administer medication in time. Identifying those failures early allows an attorney to build a case that is grounded in facts and supported by documentation.

The Importance of Acting Early After a Preventable Postpartum Hemorrhaging

Illinois law sets strict deadlines for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. In most cases, a claim must be filed within two years of the date the injured person knew or should have known that the injury was connected to a medical error. There is also a four-year outer limit from the date the negligent act occurred, regardless of when it was discovered. 

There is also a practical reason to act early aside from deadlines. Medical records can be incomplete, altered, or harder to obtain as time passes. Hospital staff who were present during the delivery may no longer work at the same facility.

Starting the process early gives an attorney time to request records, consult medical experts, and identify all parties who may share responsibility. Hospitals, individual physicians, nursing staff, and other care providers can all potentially be held accountable depending on what the evidence shows.

Contact a Cook County, IL Maternal Injury Lawyer

Serious maternal injury, such as postpartum hemorrhaging, can turn what should be a joyous occasion into a heart-wrenching event. Even if the mother and baby survive, they may be left with permanent disabilities, medical debt, and lost wages. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the injury could have been avoided if a medical professional had simply established standards of care.

The first step is to contact an experienced Chicago, IL birth injury attorney. An experienced attorney can evaluate your case and provide you with options. If litigation is pursued, your attorney can launch a thorough investigation to uncover the truth. Call Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd. at 312-462-4200 and a member of our helpful staff will help you set up a free initial consultation.