Violations of Civil Rights and Paths to Justice
We live in an unfortunate reality in which black, pregnant mothers deal with medical discrimination and because of this, they face life-endangering risks. A recent civil rights investigation against Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles shined a light on this issue. Kira Dixon Johnson was a black mother who had just given birth to her second son and due to systemic biases and mistreatment, she lost her life. We’re going to dive into the civil rights violations committed by medical professionals, the course of action to take if you ever find yourself in this situation, the options that you have if you ever face medical discrimination, and how we can help you.
Civil Rights Violations Committed
The fact that people are being mistreated because of racial profiling can immediately infringe on their civil rights. These violations can include:
a) Right to equal treatment: Our fourteenth amendment right strictly prohibits racial profiling and discrimination when receiving healthcare. So when black, pregnant mothers suffer inferior care compared with women of other races, their right to equal treatment is automatically violated.
b) Right to Life and Safety: As mentioned, if a person receives subpar healthcare, they face life-endangering risks. This isn’t only a civil right, it’s a human right as well and medical professionals have the obligation of prioritizing the health and lives of all expectant mothers, regardless of their race.
c) Right to Dignity and Respect: When suffering discrimination, black mothers are ignored, mistreated and subjected to negligent care by their doctors. By doing so, they are denying them their right to respectful and dignified healthcare.
The Course of Action to Take
If you ever find yourself in these types of situations of medical malpractice or know someone who does, consider taking action in the following ways:
a) Document the incidents: Record and document any incident that might occur including the time, date and individual involved. This will help immensely if you decide to proceed legally against the institution or medical professional because you will have a strong case that can provide evidence of a pattern of discrimination.
b) Seek legal advice: Consult with civil rights attorneys, like ourselves, who have extensive experience in the field of medical malpractice or discrimination cases. We will gladly assess the situation to be able to guide you through the process. We will advocate for you and your rights and will fight for justice to be made.
c) File complaints: Don’t be afraid to hold people accountable, report the acts of discrimination to the appropriate authorities. This will help get medical boards and regulatory agencies involved which will bring attention to the issue at hand and will make a difference to reduce racial profiling and discrimination in the healthcare system.
Other Options You Have
These are some of the options that you have if you were ever to experience racial profiling during healthcare:
a) Legal remedies: In cases like these accountability, compensation, and justice are a few things that can help remedy the harm caused. To obtain that, you’d need to pursue legal action with the help of lawyers, such as ourselves, that can help you navigate your way to that goal. Medical malpractice lawsuits, civil rights lawsuits, wrongful death compensation and emotional distress damage compensation are a few of the legal remedies that you can seek.
b) Raise Awareness: It is very important that you shine a light on your situation through mass outlets, such as social media or news channels so that institutions are pressured to address systemic discrimination. By sharing your personal experience, you can contribute to a larger movement for change.
c) Support Policy Changes: Get yourself and others involved in advocating for reforming policies and legislation that addresses racial disparities in maternal healthcare. By working with organizations you can largely contribute to substantial systemic change that protects the rights of black mothers. Every voice matters.
Our Role as Your Lawyers for Healthcare Discrimination
As legal professionals with experience in civil rights issues and medical discrimination cases, we will help you obtain the compensation you deserve after suffering medical malpractice due to racial discrimination. We will fight to reach equality for all mothers, regardless of their differences, and will pressure the responsible authorities to reform the law in such a way that we can diminish these issues in the healthcare system.
Change in Healthcare Civil Rights
Unfortunately, the Kira Dixon Johnson case is only one of countless discriminatory cases against black, pregnant mothers. This proves that there is a constant violation of civil and human rights in everyday healthcare and highlights the urgent need for drastic systemic change. To make a substantial difference there needs to be exhaustive efforts that include pursuing legal action, raising awareness, and advocating for policy changes.
We want to help you make this change happen by obtaining justice in each case and holding the institutions and medical professionals accountable for their actions. If we work together, we can secure a future for pregnant women in which they can receive safe, dignified and respectful healthcare, regardless of their race.