Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

The birth of a child is a potentially dangerous and stressful time, but families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to uphold a high standard of medical care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families if not treated appropriately.

If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence, contact a birth injury lawyer for assistance. A reputable lawyer will review your case with no upfront costs. In order to prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few things in life are more joyful and memorable than the birth of a child. Unfortunately, the birth process can be traumatic for parents if medical mistakes cause severe injuries to their baby during birth and labor. These errors could be irreparable, creating an entire series of problems for families.

Medical professionals and doctors have the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same respect and skill that is expected from health care providers of similar professions in similar situations. This is called the duty of care. You must demonstrate that a medical professional violated this duty to settle a case. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions, or lack thereof, differed from what a qualified and competent medical professional would do under the same circumstances.

The second component in a negligence lawsuit is causation. You must show, via medical evidence and expert testimony that the healthcare provider at fault's negligence caused the injury of your child. A doctor, for example might not have supervised the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have caused brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the last component in the case of a successful negligence claim. You must prove that you and/or your child suffered real significant, quantifiable damages as a result of the healthcare professional's negligence to perform their duty of care. This typically includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and other non-economic losses such as suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to their patients to offer care that is consistent with the standards in their area of expertise. If a medical professional or nurse fails to meet this standard of care, it may cause injury to a patient and result in an action for damages. To prevail in the case of a birth injury an attorney must demonstrate that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This must be proved using evidence such as medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child would not have suffered an injury when a medical professional been able to provide the level of medical care expected. Medical experts are asked review the case in order to determine if the doctor or hospital was acting in a manner not in line with accepted medical practices.

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

A lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases has the ability to manage the entire legal process, including responding to insurance requests and filing a suit against the responsible parties. They can also develop an argument using evidence, get expert testimony, retrieve documents and medical records and advocate for fair settlements to cover the family's lifetime care costs and losses.

Damages

A birth injury law firm injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, testimonies from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will establish that the doctor in your case violated their duty of care and caused injuries to your child. They will then calculate the damages you have suffered as a result of these injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs, lost wages, diminished quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family if nurses, doctors and other medical professionals make errors that could have been avoided prior to or during the birth your child. It can also be difficult to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have committed negligence or malpractice. They have teams of lawyers who are full-time employees to protect their clients, reject claims or limit settlements.

By hiring a New York birth injury lawyer and appointing medical professionals responsible for your injuries. Your lawyer will communicate with the insurers, file a claim in court and build a solid proof-based case to prove the responsibility. They will also fight to secure you a fair settlement or jury verdict for your losses and life-long cost of care. They can also file your lawsuit in time to meet any applicable time limit, as the clock begins ticking off from the date of the malpractice or medical negligence.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case includes four parts. Your attorney can help you understand the factors and craft a solid legal argument in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require you to demonstrate that the defendant was under an obligation of care for your child, that they breached this duty, and that this breach caused the injuries to your child. For a claim to succeed it is essential that you prove causation, which means that your child's injuries would not have happened if not for the defendant's actions (or the failure to act).

Defense attorneys can challenge any of these elements. They could argue that you haven't established a doctor-patient relationship, or that the standards of care are different from what you claim it to be. They can also contest your evidence and expert witnesses' opinions.

To prove that you have breached your obligation, you'll need submit medical records and other evidence along with a statement of what went wrong in the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to file an application package that includes an inventory of all the parties you think should be named as defendants. An experienced attorney will assist you in identifying the proper defendants and make sure there is sufficient insurance coverage. A lawyer can help advance costs associated with litigation, like the fees of highly experienced medical experts. This can help ease some of the financial burden that comes with litigating a birth-related injury claim.