Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical professionals and doctors will ensure a high standard of care. If they fail to do so birth injuries can be devastating for families.

If you suspect that your child suffered a birth injury as a result of medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer for help. A reputable lawyer will review your case without imposing any upfront fees. In order to prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few life events are more exciting and special than the birth of a child. However, the birth process can turn traumatic for some parents if medical mistakes cause serious injuries to the baby during labor or delivery. These mistakes can be irreparable and cause many challenges for a family.

Medical professionals and doctors have an obligation under law to treat their patients with the same attention and expertise that they expect from health professionals of similar professions in similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. If you want to prevail against an at-fault healthcare provider, you must prove that the medical professional breached this obligation. This usually involves demonstrating how the medical professional's actions or absence of actions, differed from what a competent and appropriately trained medical professional would do under the same circumstances.

The second aspect of a negligence claim is causation. You must establish, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare provider's negligence led to your child's injury. A doctor, for example might not have been able to monitor the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the final aspect in a successful negligence case. You must prove that either you or your child suffered real tangible, quantifiable losses as the result of the healthcare professional's incompetence in their duty to care. This includes past and future medical costs and lost wages and also non-economic damages such as discomfort and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals are bound to their patients to offer care that is consistent with the standards of their field. A doctor or nurse who fails to adhere to the standards of care could cause injuries to a patient and lead to a claim for damages. To prevail in a birth injury lawsuit the attorney must prove that the breach of duty directly caused your child's injuries. This must be proved using evidence like medical records and expert testimony.

It is also essential to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury even if the medical professional met the expected standard of treatment. Medical experts are required review the case in order to determine if a doctor or hospital acted in a manner not in accordance with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can cause a lot of trauma and require medical care for the rest of their lives. It is essential to hold at-fault doctors as well as hospitals accountable for their negligence and seek compensation that can help ensure your child's future requirements.

A lawyer experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process for you, from responding to insurer requests and bringing an action against the responsible parties. They can also construct an argument with the help of evidence, obtain expert testimony, obtain medical records and documents, and fight for fair settlements to pay for the family's life-long care costs and expenses.

Damages

Medical experts are needed to scrutinize medical records, the testimony of you and your family members and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will help you establish that the doctor or hospital involved in your case breached their duty of care and caused your child to suffer injuries. Then, they'll determine the amount of damage you have suffered as a result of those injuries. Included are your present and future medical expenses, lost wages, diminished quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

If nurses, doctors and other medical personnel make mistakes that could be avoided prior to or during the birth of your child, it can result in devastating consequences for your family. It can also be difficult to initiate legal action against hospitals and doctors who could have committed negligence or malpractice. They usually have their own legal teams working full-time to protect clients and to deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

If you hire an New York birth injury lawyer who can hold the at-fault medical professionals accountable. Your lawyer will handle communication with insurance companies and then file your claim in court, and create a strong evidence-based case to establish responsibility. They will also fight to secure you a fair settlement or jury verdict for your losses and lifetime care costs. They will also submit your lawsuit on time to satisfy any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock begins ticking off from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case involves four elements. Your lawyer can explain each one and formulate a convincing legal argument in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require that you demonstrate that the defendant was under the duty of care towards your child, that he breached that duty, and that the breach caused the injuries to your child. It is essential to prove causation in order to prevail in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or failure to act caused your child's injuries.

The defendants can challenge any of these elements. They can argue that they don't have a doctor-patient relationship or that the standard of care is different from what you believe it to be. They can also contest your evidence and expert witnesses opinion.

To prove a breach of obligation, you'll need submit medical records and other documentation, and provide a statement that explains what went wrong with your child's birth. Additionally, you'll need to file an application package that includes the names of all parties you think should be named as defendants. A knowledgeable lawyer can help you establish the appropriate defendants and ensure you have adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist you in advancing costs associated with litigation, like the expenses of highly qualified medical experts. This could help ease some of the financial stress associated with pursuing claims for birth injuries.