Birth Injury Compensation

If your child suffers a birth injury as a result of the negligence of a doctor or wrongful decision, it could be devastating. These injuries usually require lifelong treatment and treatment, which can result in enormous financial costs.

In addition, many birth injury cases have a complicated argument about medical errors versus malpractice. Our lawyers can help you understand the differences.

Costs of Treatment

In determining the amount to pay for a birth injury the attorneys of insurance companies and judges consider the extent of the injury and the impact it has on the child's quality of life. If a child requires extensive medical treatment that lasts for a long time the value of the claim will rise.

Medical treatment for birth injury can be expensive. The compensation for a birth injury can help families cover these costs. Lawyers and experts frequently collaborate to develop an "Life Care Plan" which estimates the costs of a child's injuries over the course of his or her life. These expenses include hospitalization, surgery, medical treatments, prescriptions, home improvements and equipment, etc.

Your legal team will collect medical documents from your child's pregnancy and birth as well as personal reports from family members. These documents will be used to show that your child was injured due to medical malpractice and to demonstrate the extent to which the injury occurred.

Many states have medical indemnity funds that provide financial assistance to families with children who suffer birth injuries. These funds either collect part of malpractice insurance premiums or require doctors and hospital to contribute to a resource pool. In addition to providing financial assistance, these programs could also help reduce the necessity for families to pursue a lawsuit. JLARC staff however found that these programs did not always achieve their goals and could be improved.

Life Care Planning

Children with disorders such as hypoxic or cerebral palsy will require medical treatment for the rest of their lives. This includes physical therapies as well as specialized equipment and home health care. These expenses can be substantial.

A life-care planning document is one that lists the future medical, educational home, and other expenses that a child who has disabilities will endure throughout their life. These plans are typically used to calculate the economic portion of the damages awarded in a birth injury lawsuit. They must be thorough and meticulously drafted to meet the strict requirements of evidentiary for legal admissibility in the court.

Experts in life-care planning can help develop these documents using input and the formal opinions of a disabled child’s doctors or therapists, as well as the caregivers. The plans also include an in-depth description of the injury's initial diagnosis. They also explain the root cause of the disability and their long-term effects.

A medical malpractice lawyer should collaborate with a life-care planner to develop the most suitable plan for their clients' situation. The goal of the plan is to ensure your child receives sufficient compensation to cover all of their future expenses and health care. The funds are usually put into a trust for special needs, which is administered by an administrator approved by the trustee. Typically, the amount of funds granted will be adjusted over time to adjust to the changing needs of your child's requirements.

Pain and Suffering

In a birth injury lawsuit, damages are awarded for the plaintiff's past as well as future pain and suffering. This includes physical and mental suffering caused by the injury, as well as the inability to take part in activities that others could be able to do.

It is also possible to claim the loss of income if the victim's condition limits their options for employment or stops them from working at all. Families can also be compensated for the care of an injured child.

Medical malpractice cases often receive very high verdicts because juries tend to show empathy for the victims and hold doctors accountable for errors. Many hospitals and doctors opt to settle rather than risk an expensive trial and stressful for all parties involved.

During the lawsuit attorneys from both sides will gather evidence to back their arguments. They will also exchange documents during a process called discovery, which entails deposing witnesses to obtain their statements under the oath. The defendants may also request to look over the medical records of the plaintiff as it is legal in many states.

An experienced lawyer who has handled this type of case is required to file an effective claim for birth injuries. An experienced lawyer will evaluate your case to determine whether you are entitled to a lawsuit and will help obtain the most favorable settlement.

Punitive Damages

Certain medical malpractice lawsuits include punitive damages, which are meant to convey a message and prevent future negligence. The award of these damages is made when there is a high level of negligence or malice on the part of the doctor. However, they are extremely rare in cases of birth injuries.

After identifying the defendants the attorney must collect and analyze the evidence to support the claim. They must show that the injuries caused by medical professionals did not meet the standard of care. The legal team also needs to show the costs associated with the injuries, which is known as "damages." This information could be either economic or non-economic in the sense that it is not a loss.

Economic losses are figured out by making estimates of ongoing treatment costs including long-term care facilities and other services. They could also consider losses in earnings if the injury caused one or both parents to leave their jobs.

The legal team will draft an order package that they will present to malpractice insurance companies. This document will describe the birth injury and the impact it has on the child's family and and request compensation to cover the costs of these loss. The attorneys will negotiate with medical providers until the settlement is reached. During this negotiation, the attorneys will discuss their cases with the opposing side through discovery, which includes taking depositions from witnesses who are required to testify under the oath.