Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

The birth of a child is a potentially dangerous and stressful experience, however families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to provide a high level of care. If they don't, birth injuries can be devastating to families.

If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable birth injury as a result of medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer for help. Reputable lawyers will evaluate your case free of charge and will not charge upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must demonstrate the four elements.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby can be one of the most joyous and special events in a person's life. Unfortunately, the process can be difficult for parents when medical errors cause serious injuries to the baby during the labor and delivery. These errors could be irreparable and birth injury cause a lifetime of challenges for the entire family.

Doctors and medical professionals have an obligation under law to treat their patients with the same attention and expertise that is expected from health professionals of similar professions under similar circumstances. This is called the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional violated this duty in order to prevail on an action. This usually involves demonstrating that the medical professional's actions, or the failure to act was different from what a reasonably trained and competent medical professional would have done under the same circumstances.

The second aspect in a negligence lawsuit is the causation. You must prove through medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare provider who was at fault's negligence caused your child's injuries. For instance, a healthcare professional may have failed to monitor your child's vital signs during labor and delivery. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation, which, in turn, caused brain damage.

Damages are a crucial part of an effective negligence case. You must demonstrate that you and your child suffered actual tangible financial losses that resulted from the healthcare professional at fault's inability to fulfill their duty of care. This typically includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals have a duty to their patients to provide them with care that is consistent with the standards of their field. A doctor or nurse who fails to adhere to the standard of care can cause injury to a patient, and could result in claims for damages. To prevail in a birth injury case an attorney must demonstrate that the breach of duty directly led to the injuries suffered by your child. This must be proven with evidence such as medical records and expert testimony.

It is also essential to prove that your child wouldn't have suffered a traumatic injury when a medical professional given the level of medical care expected. Medical experts are obligated to examine the case and provide their opinion regarding whether or not the doctor or hospital acted in a way that was incompatible with the accepted medical practice.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering effects that need an ongoing series of medical treatments and other costs. It is essential to hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their mistakes and seek compensation to pay for the future needs of your child.

A lawyer with experience in handling medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process for you, including responding to insurer requests and filing an action against the responsible parties. They can also develop an argument using evidence, get expert testimony, access documents and medical records and argue for fair settlements to pay for the family's lifetime medical costs and expenses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who will review medical records, testimony from you and your family and other evidence. They will help you prove that the medical professional or hospital involved in your case breached their duty of care and caused your child to suffer injuries. They will then calculate the damage you've suffered due to these injuries. These include the future and present medical expenses in addition to the loss of income, the loss of quality of life, emotional distress and many other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family when nurses, doctors and other medical personnel make unavoidable errors prior to or even after the birth your child. It can be difficult to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors that have acted negligently or in a negligent manner. They have lawyers on staff who work full-time to defend their clients, deflect claims or decrease settlements.

By hiring an New York birth injury lawyer and appointing medical professionals at fault accountable. The lawyer will negotiate with the insurers and then file a claim in court and develop a solid evidence-based case to establish the liability. They will also fight to secure you an appropriate settlement or verdict from a jury for your losses and life-long healthcare costs. They can also bring your case in time to satisfy any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock starts ticking from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case includes four parts. Your attorney can help you understand the elements and create a strong legal case to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims rely on being able to prove that the defendant owed you an obligation of care and that the defendant violated this obligation and that the breach directly resulted in the injuries to your child. It is essential to prove causation to prevail in a claim. This means that the defendant's actions or failure to act would not have caused your child's injuries.

The defendants can challenge any of these elements. They could claim that there isn't a doctor-patient connection or that the standard care is not what you claim it to be. Additionally, they may contest your evidence and expert witnesses and their opinions.

You'll need to submit medical records, other documents along with a statement describing what was wrong with the birth of your child. Also, you'll need submit an demand package that includes a list of the people you think should be named as defendants. An experienced lawyer can assist you establish the appropriate defendants and ensure you have adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist you in advancing litigation-related expenses, for example the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This can ease some of the financial burden associated with litigating a claim for birth injury.