An epidural is a form of regional anesthesia injected into the lower back that numbs sensations in the lower half of the body. It is very commonly used for pain relief during labor and childbirth. However, if errors occur during the administration of an epidural, its commonly referred to as a "botched epidural," which can potentially lead to serious short and long-term consequences.
Injured by a Botched Epidural?
CONTACT USOur Recent Case Results
Settlement
Jury Verdict
Settlement
Settlement
Many wonder if you experience a botched epidural in New York, can you sue for malpractice? Yes, you may have an eligible case to sue for epidural errors in New York State. New York recognizes medical malpractice lawsuits when a healthcare provider fails to exercise reasonable care and skill in providing treatment. To successfully bring an epidural error lawsuit, you generally need to show that the anesthesiologist who administered your epidural breached the standard of care and directly caused injury as a result of that breach.
Understanding the Difference: Epidural Errors vs. Epidural Injuries
It's important to distinguish between epidural errors and epidural injuries. Epidural errors refer to preventable deviations from accepted medical standards, such as incorrect needle placement, improper dosing, or failure to recognize warning signs. These errors represent a breach of professional standards. Epidural injuries, on the other hand, are the actual harms suffered by the patient, such as nerve damage, infection, or severe headaches. While some injuries can occur even with proper care, a malpractice case focuses on situations where a preventable error led to the injury. For more detailed information about specific epidural injuries, visit our page on epidural injuries.
Eligibility to Sue
To bring a successful medical malpractice lawsuit for an epidural error in New York, you must establish four key legal elements:
The Four Elements of Medical Malpractice:
- Duty of Care: A physician-patient relationship existed, creating a legal duty for the healthcare provider to meet the applicable standard of care. In epidural cases, this includes proper pre-anesthesia assessment, informed consent, and safe performance and monitoring of neuraxial anesthesia.
- Breach of Duty: The healthcare provider departed from that standard of care. Examples include performing an epidural without appropriate evaluation, ignoring red-flag neurologic symptoms, or mismanaging complications like suspected hematoma or infection.
- Causation: The breach of duty actually and proximately caused your harm. You must show that the error led to your injury, distinguishing avoidable mistakes from recognized, non-negligent risks of epidural anesthesia.
- Damages: You suffered measurable physical, emotional, or financial harm as a result. Compensable damages can include physical injury (such as neurologic deficits or chronic pain), additional medical care costs, lost income, and in severe cases, disability or death.
Quick Eligibility Checklist:
- ☐ Did a qualified provider owe you a professional duty during your labor and epidural?
- ☐ Is there evidence that the care fell below accepted obstetric or anesthesia standards?
- ☐ Do medical records and expert opinions link that departure to your specific complications?
- ☐ Have you experienced measurable physical, emotional, or financial harm as a result?
What Constitutes an Epidural Error?
Not all unsatisfactory outcomes after receiving an epidural are considered "botched." True negligence must be demonstrated. There are not enough studies that can define the exact rate of epidural failures. However, a study from the Journal of Anaesthesiology and Clinical Pharmacology states that the failure rate is around 8% to 23%.
An epidural error generally falls into one of these categories:
Needle Placement Errors
Incorrect needle placement accounts for some of the serious epidural complications. Potential errors include shallow placement, deep placement, or medially deviated placement. Even expert anesthesiologists rely on "loss of resistance" as guidance, so placement mistakes can occur.
Medication Errors
A certain amount of bad epidural outcomes result from using the incorrect drug or dose. For example, accidentally injecting a numbing agent intended for local anesthesia can lead to dangerously high levels of numbness.
Failure to Treat Complications
If anesthesia staff fail to notice or properly treat an unexpected complication like a dural puncture, nerve damage can occur over time. This qualifies as negligence.
Infection
Though rare, epidural-related infections like meningitis and abscesses can develop from improperly sterilized equipment.
In the majority of cases, minor epidural complications like partial numbness or negligible injury do not constitute negligence. A demonstrable, preventable error leading to major injury is necessary.
What are the Potential Consequences of an Epidural Error?
The range of physical injuries stemming from an epidural error depends largely on the type and magnitude of the mistake. Some potential consequences include:
Nerve Damage and Paralysis
Incorrect needle placement or delivery of anesthetics into the spinal fluid can chemically or physically damage nerves. Injury to the spinal cord or nerve roots may result in temporary or permanent motor weakness and paralysis in parts of the legs/torso. Recovery varies significantly by case.
Brain Damage
Rarely, severe complications can arise, leading to brain injury due to a temporary lack of oxygen. Permanent cognitive disability is possible.
Chronic Pain Disorders
Nerve trauma can trigger complex regional pain syndrome, leading to severe, disabling pain that persists for months or years. Treatment is very difficult.
Infection and Abscess
Epidural abscesses require surgical drainage and long term antibiotic therapy. Meningitis involves hospitalization and IV treatment. In rare cases, infection can spread systemically or to the brain.
Death
Estimates indicate maternal deaths attributable to anesthetic complications accounted for around 0.03% of pregnancy-related deaths between 2011 and 2014. Relative risk is higher for epidurals compared to other anesthesia. The most common causes are anesthesia-related cardiac/respiratory arrest and severe systemic infection.
In addition to physical harm, PTSD and other emotional/psychological issues stemming from a traumatic birthing experience are a real possibility after a major epidural complication. Effects may also impact family members and newborns.
Epidural Errors vs Epidural Injuries
Understanding the distinction between epidural errors and epidural injuries is crucial when evaluating a potential malpractice claim.
Major neurologic complications associated with neuraxial (epidural and spinal) anesthesia include spinal or epidural hematoma, abscess or infection, direct nerve trauma, and persistent sensory or motor deficits. While all of these complications are rare, they are serious. Some complications can arise even with appropriate care, but delays in recognizing or treating symptoms of cord compression or infection may support a negligence theory.
Unintentional dural puncture occurs in roughly 0.5-1.5% of labor epidurals and can lead to post-dural puncture headache, subdural hematoma, or other neurologic issues. Documentation of the timing and response to symptoms becomes crucial evidence in these cases. An epidural injury claim focuses on whether an error or a delay in response turned a known risk into an avoidable tragedy.
The key question in any malpractice case is not simply whether an injury occurred, but whether a preventable error or deviation from the standard of care caused or worsened that injury.
How is Medical Negligence Determined in New York?
The core legal basis for a lawsuit after a botched epidural rests on the concept of medical malpractice committed through provider negligence. New York statutes establish professional conduct duties and standards that all healthcare facilities must legally adhere to. If healthcare providers deviate from the expected professional standard of care, resulting in injury to the patient, they could be guilty of medical negligence and be charged with medical malpractice.
Crucially, undesired outcomes alone following an epidural do not intrinsically constitute negligence. Within healthcare, serious complications sometimes unpredictably occur despite perfectly reasonable care.
The essence of a valid claim relies on factually proving through expertise that substandard practices breached duty of care in a way that unavoidably precipitated what would have otherwise been a preventable, or at least mitigable, injury. This is why it's extremely important to contact a legal expert well-versed in the laws of medical malpractice.
Why Do You Need Medical & Legal Experts for an Epidural Injury Case?
Because clinical standards, biological mechanisms, and legal doctrines related to epidurals can be highly technical, cases essentially boil down to a "battle of the experts." Skilled New York medical malpractice lawyers know how to present sympathetic victims, interrogate defendant physicians, and leverage convincing specialist testimony to establish negligence and causation arguments.
They also assist in collecting documentation, estimating total damages, negotiating settlements, and, when necessary, litigating before jury trials if extra-judicial resolution proves impossible.
Medical Records to Request
Gathering comprehensive medical documentation is essential for building a strong epidural error case. The following records help experts reconstruct whether the epidural was performed according to guidelines, how quickly complications were recognized, and whether earlier intervention could have prevented permanent harm.
Essential Medical Records Checklist:
- Anesthesia Record: Pre-procedure assessment, informed consent, time and level of needle placement, test doses, medications given, and intra- and post-procedure monitoring notes, including any reports of paresthesia, motor block, or neurologic symptoms.
- Medication Administration Record (MAR): Timing and dosage of local anesthetics, opioids, anticoagulants, antibiotics, and other drugs that may affect bleeding risk, infection risk, or neurologic status.
- Labor and Delivery Notes / Incident Reports: Nursing and physician progress notes showing vital signs, fetal monitoring, positioning, complaints of severe headache or back pain, and documentation of any difficult placement, suspected dural puncture, or "bloody tap."
- Imaging and Neurology Records: MRI or CT scans of the spine or brain to evaluate for epidural hematoma, abscess, or subdural bleeding, plus neurology consult notes and follow-up assessments of strength, sensation, and gait.
While in principle justice appears straightforward, in practice legal intricacies make lawsuits extremely challenging. Thus, those considering pursuing action are advised to temper expectations, remain realistic regarding the probability of success, and seriously consider mediation. Consultation with medical malpractice attorneys at the Porter Law Group who are well-versed in NY malpractice law is vital.
FAQ
What medical records prove an epidural error?
The most important records include the anesthesia record for the epidural, the medication administration record, and the labor and delivery chart, which together show what was done, when, and how the team responded to warning signs. Imaging and neurology consult notes then help link those actions or delays to concrete injuries such as hematoma, nerve damage, or persistent neurologic deficits.
Expert reviewers use these documents to compare care to published standards and guidelines in obstetric anesthesia and neuraxial neurologic complication management. If records show that accepted monitoring or treatment steps were omitted or delayed, that pattern can strongly support a breach-of-standard opinion.
What complications after an epidural may indicate negligence?
Red-flag complications include severe or atypical back pain, new or progressive weakness, numbness, loss of bladder or bowel control, or motor block that does not resolve within the expected timeframe. All of these warrant urgent evaluation for hematoma or other neurologic injury. Persistent or worsening symptoms after neuraxial anesthesia, especially when they are not promptly investigated, may suggest negligent monitoring or delayed treatment.
Severe headache after an apparent dural puncture, seizures, or signs of infection (fever, spinal tenderness, neurologic decline) can reflect known risks of dural puncture, subdural bleeding, or epidural abscess. Delays in diagnosis or failure to order appropriate imaging or neurosurgical consultation may constitute a departure from accepted practice.
Suffering Because of Medical Errors During Delivery?
Request a free medical malpractice case review.
Pursuing Legal Action After An Epidural Error
Suing for medical malpractice is rarely straightforward; however, many legal options may exist if you or a loved one experienced a preventable epidural error resulting in a major injury.
As a first step, seek prompt care to address the health impacts if complications develop after an epidural. Save all medical records and document events in detail. Contact a qualified medical malpractice or birth injury lawyer for guidance.
A lawyer can help investigate, ascertain if negligence occurred, and handle your claim appropriately. Get in touch with the Porter Law Group today. Send us a message at info@porterlawteam.com or call us at 833-PORTER9 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.
