Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

The birth of a child is a potentially dangerous and stressful event, but families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to uphold a high standard of care. If they fail to do so birth injuries can be devastating to families.

If you suspect that your child suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical malpractice then contact a birth trauma lawyer for assistance. Reputable lawyers will evaluate your case for free and will not charge any upfront fees. A successful claim requires proving the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

Few things in life are more memorable and special than the birth of a baby. Unfortunately, the birth process could be difficult for parents if medical errors cause serious injuries to their child during the birth process and during labor. These mistakes are often irreparable and make a family face a lifetime of challenges.

Doctors and other medical professionals are legally bound to treat patients with the care and skill that is normally expected of health care providers in their field under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. To prevail in a lawsuit against a healthcare provider who is at fault you must show that the medical professional violated this duty. This usually means proving how the medical professional's actions or lack thereof, differed from what a qualified and properly trained medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The second element in a negligence case is causation. You must show, via medical documents and expert testimony that the at-fault provider's breach of duty caused the injury to your child. A doctor, for example could not have observed the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have led to brain damage due to prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the last element in a successful negligence case. You must prove that either you or your child suffered genuine tangible, quantifiable losses as the result of the healthcare professional's failure when it came to their duty of care. This includes past and future medical costs such as lost wages, as well as other damages like pain and discomfort.

Causation

Medical professionals have a responsibility to patients to provide treatment consistent with the standards of medical care in their area of expertise. A doctor or nurse who does not meet the standards of care could cause injury to a patient, and result in the possibility of a claim for damages. In order to win a birth injury lawsuit the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly caused your child's injuries. This must be proved using evidence such as medical records and expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child wouldn't be injured even if a medical professional provided the standard of treatment expected. Medical experts are called to review the case and provide an opinion on whether the hospital or doctor performed a procedure that was incompatible with the accepted medical practice.

Birth injuries can alter the course of your child's life and require medical care for a lifetime. It is essential to hold at-fault doctors as well as hospitals accountable for their negligence and obtain compensation to ensure your child's future needs.

A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process, including responding to insurance inquiries and bringing a lawsuit against the parties responsible. They can also construct an evidence-based case and get expert testimony, recover medical records as well as other documents and then fight for an equitable settlement to cover your family's losses as well as lifetime care costs.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, evidence from you and your family and other evidence. They will determine if the doctor in your case has violated their duty to care for your child and causing injuries to your child. They will then estimate the damage you've suffered because of these injuries. Included are your present and future medical expenses and lost wages, as well as loss of quality of life emotional distress and other losses.

If nurses, doctors, or other medical staff commit mistakes that are not preventable before, during, or after the birth of your child, it can have devastating consequences for your family. It can also be difficult to take legal action against the doctors and birth injury lawsuit hospitals who may have committed negligence or malpractice. They have teams of lawyers who are full-time employees to defend their clients, deflect claims or limit settlements.

You can hold medical professionals accountable for their actions by hiring an New York birth injury attorney injuries lawyer. Your lawyer will be in contact with the insurers and then file a claim in court, and create a strong proof-based case to prove the liability. They will also advocate for you to win an equitable jury verdict or settlement for your damages and costs over your entire life. They can also start a lawsuit before the deadline for any applicable statute of limitation, as the clock begins to run from the day the malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of Limitations

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

Medical negligence claims require that you demonstrate that the defendant was under an obligation of care for your child, that he breached that duty, and that the breach caused the injuries to your child. For a claim to succeed it is also necessary that you establish causation, which means that your child's injuries could not have occurred without the defendant's actions (or failure to act).

Defense attorneys can challenge any of these elements. They can argue that they aren't establishing a doctor-patient partnership or that the standards of care are different from what you declare it to be. In addition, they can challenge your evidence and your expert witnesses opinion.

You'll need medical records, as well as other evidence along with a statement describing what went wrong during the birth of your child. You'll also have to provide a demand package that includes a list of the individuals you think should be named as defendants. A skilled attorney can assist you in identifying correct defendants and make sure that there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can also assist with advancing litigation-related expenses including the costs for highly qualified medical experts. This can ease some of the financial stress that comes with pursuing claims for birth injuries.