USA Today Report: United States Most Dangerous Place in Developed World to Give Birth
Protect New Mothers
USA TODAY reports that the United States is the most dangerous place in the developed world to give birth due to a stunning lack of attention to safety recommendations and widespread failure to protect new mothers.
According to the study, a comparison of maternal deaths in most developed nations including Germany, France, Japan, and England from 1990-2015 show a decrease in the death rate. However, in the United States, the number has increased dramatically and continues to trend upward.
The article highlights the sad reality of our healthcare system where profits are weighed over patient’s safety and fatalities due to negligence, wrongdoing or misconduct are passed off as the cost of doing business. Misdiagnosis and medical negligence are often a product of favoring cost saving measures over lifesaving measures. The healthcare industry focuses on the bottom line and taking the extra steps to ensure patient safety comes with added costs that don’t make the cut. This glaring analysis of the maternal death rate identifies the simple steps that hospitals are failing to require or implement despite a proven record of life saving results.
A state by state analysis breaks down how 50,000 mothers are severely injured during childbirth each year with approximately 700 resulting in deaths. It is estimated that approximately half the injuries and deaths could be prevented, reduced or eliminated with better care. California is the one state where the death rate in the U.S. is declining. They have implemented practices that has cut their death rate of new mothers in half. Yet other states are not following their lead.
Florida is ranked amongst the worst states in the nation. The death rate for mothers in delivery from 2012-2016 is 22.3 per 100,000 births which ranks 15 out of 47 nationwide. In 1996, the Florida Department of Health initiated the Pregnancy-Associated Mortality Review (PAMR) with the intent of studying pregnancy related deaths. According to the 2017 report, there was a “strong chance to alter outcome” in more than half of the 38 deaths directly related to pregnancy in 2015, including 92 percent of the deaths from hemorrhage, half of the deaths from infection and two-thirds of deaths linked to high blood pressure.
Sean Domnick, a Shareholder at Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa with over 20 years of experience litigating cases of medical malpractice stated, “The healthcare industry has a long sordid history of devaluing the standard of care for women. In the 1920’s bleach and Lysol based products were prescribed for feminine hygiene, today 4000 women die from cervical cancer, many as a result of misdiagnosis. To date, FDA trials do not compare dose efficacy between men and women, and women continue to be underrepresented or excluded in trials even though their bodies metabolize drugs differently. We have done a disservice women and mothers for generations and it’s time for the medical community to make women’s health a priority and focus on saving lives not money.”
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NOTABLE RESULTS
Selected medical malpractice and broader catastrophic injury results reported by RDCY: These are not identified by the sources as birth injury outcomes.
$31,000,000 catastrophic injury result · $2,500,000 medical malpractice settlement
Read more about these results
RDCY’s notable-cases page lists a $31,000,000 catastrophic injury result in Fort Lauderdale. This is a broader firm result; the source does not identify it as a settlement or verdict or specify the type of accident. Read the published result.
RDCY’s January 25, 2023 announcement identifies a $2,500,000 medical malpractice settlement among Nicole Kruegel’s recent resolutions. It does not identify the medical error or case location. Read the published result.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Each case is different and must be evaluated on its own facts.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY
General feedback about working with Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, excerpted from five-star Google reviews with written comments. Reviews reflect individual experiences.
“She was extremely professional very understanding and allowed me to be heard”
— Loretta
Read Loretta’s review on Google
“I reached out to a childhood friend who is a highly respected attorney and he immediately suggested Rafferty, Dominick, Cunningham, and Yaffa.”
— Jimmy
Read Jimmy’s review on Google
Professional Recognition
Selected credentials, honors and professional service of RDCY attorneys:
- Sean Domnick — Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar; also certified in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Source
- Sean Domnick — Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, West Palm Beach, 2024. Source
- Nicole Kruegel — Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Medical Malpractice Law – Plaintiffs, 2024–2027. Source
- Nicole Kruegel — Lawdragon X – Next Generation, Plaintiff Medical Malpractice and Birth Injury, 2026. Source
- Nicole Kruegel — selected to Florida Super Lawyers, 2025–2026. Source
- Sean Domnick, Nicole Kruegel, Fred Cunningham, Troy Rafferty and Gregory Yaffa — selected to the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers. Source
- Sean Domnick — President of the American Association for Justice, 2023–2024. Source
- Sean Domnick — Florida Justice Association Al J. Cone Lifetime Achievement award, 2026. Source
Recognition applies to the named attorney and the stated year or period.
Published Articles by RDCY Attorneys
Articles on this practice and broader issues in injury litigation, access to the courts and legal representation, written by RDCY attorneys.
- Can a woman in labor be forced to have a C-section she doesn’t want? — Sean C. Domnick, The Hill, June 5, 2026. Broader birth-care and patient-autonomy issues.
- Tossing Damages in Florida Hospital Case Shakes Faith in Justice — Sean Domnick, Bloomberg Law, November 21, 2025. Broader hospital accountability.
- Can independent medical judgment survive AI in medicine? — Sean C. Domnick, JD, KevinMD, October 8, 2026. Medical judgment, diagnosis and patient safety.
- Banning Litigation Funding Doesn't Solve the Problem; It Just Makes Justice More Expensive — Fred A. Cunningham, Daily Report / Law.com, July 9, 2026. Broader injury litigation and access to the courts.
- The Strength to Share the Case — Gregory M. Yaffa, Daily Business Review / Law.com, October 8, 2026. Broader representation and collaborative handling of complex injury litigation.
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YouTube: How do birth injury tort laws work in Florida and other states? — related parent-practice resource
Facebook: Sean Domnick on AI and independent medical judgment
Instagram: PEOPIL session on baby-loss and neuroscience damages — related parent-practice resource
LinkedIn: Birth-injury leadership and baby-loss damages session — related parent-practice resource
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