Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical professionals and doctors will maintain a high level of care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families when they are not treated properly.

Contact a birth injury lawyer for help in the event that you suspect your child suffered an injury that could be prevented at birth injury lawyers due to medical negligence. Reputable attorneys will evaluate your case and not charge any upfront fees. A successful claim requires proving the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby is one of the most joyous and memorable events in the life of a person. Unfortunately, this process can become traumatic for parents if medical blunders result in serious injuries to their child during birth and labor. These mistakes are often irreparable and cause a family endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Doctors and medical professionals have an obligation under law to treat their patients with the same respect and expertise that is expected from health professionals of similar professions in similar situations. This is called the duty of care. To prevail in a lawsuit against a healthcare provider who is at fault it is necessary to prove that the medical professional violated this obligation. This typically means proving that the medical professional's actions or failure to act in a manner that was not consistent with what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done under the same circumstances.

The second aspect in a negligence case is causation. You must show, via medical evidence and expert testimony that the healthcare provider at fault's negligence caused your child's injury. A doctor, for instance could not have observed the vitals of your child during labor and birth. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation, which, in turn, caused brain damage.

The final aspect of a successful negligence claim is damages. You must prove that you and/or your child suffered genuine tangible, quantifiable losses as the result of the healthcare professional's negligence in their duty to care. This includes past and future medical expenses and lost wages and non-economic losses like pain and discomfort.

Causation

Medical professionals have a duty to their patients to provide care that is in line with standards of their area of expertise. A nurse or doctor who fails to meet the standards of care can cause injury to a patient, and may result in the possibility of a claim for damages. To win a case of birth injury, an attorney must prove that the breach of duty directly caused your child's injuries. This can be proved with evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child would not be injured even if a medical professional been able to provide the level of medical care expected. Medical experts are required review the case in order to determine whether the doctor or hospital behaved in a manner not in accordance with the accepted medical guidelines.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering consequences that require the need for a lifetime of medical care and other costs. It is important to hold at-fault physicians and hospitals responsible for their negligence, and to seek compensation that will 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 filing a lawsuit against the responsible parties. They can also construct an evidence-based case and secure expert testimony, retrieve medical records as well as other documents, and fight for an appropriate settlement to cover your family's losses as well as lifetime cost of care.

Damages

A birth 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 help establish that the doctor who is involved in your case has not complied with their duty of take care of your child and caused harm to your child. They will also estimate the damage you have suffered as a result of these injuries. Included are your present and future medical expenses as well as lost wages, loss of quality of your life emotional distress, and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family when doctors, nurses and other medical personnel make preventable mistakes before or during the birth your child. It isn't easy to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have acted negligently or in a negligent manner. They have lawyers on staff who are employed full-time to defend their clients, deflect claims or reduce settlements.

Medical professionals can be held accountable for their actions by hiring an New York birth injuries lawyer. Your lawyer will handle communication with insurers, birth injury lawsuits make your claim to the court, and build solid evidence-based arguments to establish liability. They will also try to secure you an equitable settlement or jury verdict for your losses and life-long healthcare costs. They may also start a lawsuit before the deadline for any applicable statute of limitations in the event that the clock begins to tick from the time the medical malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a case of birth injury is based on four components. Your lawyer can explain each one and formulate a convincing legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims rely on being able to prove that the defendant owed you the duty of care and that the defendant violated this duty, and that the breach directly resulted in the injuries to your child. For a claim to succeed it is essential to prove causation which means that the injuries suffered by your child wouldn't have occurred but for the defendant's actions (or the failure to act).

Defendants may challenge any of these elements. They could argue that you aren't establishing a doctor-patient partnership or that the standard of care is different than what you assert it to be. They can also challenge your evidence, or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

In order to prove a breach of duty, you'll need to submit medical records and other documentation along with a declaration of the circumstances that led to the birth of your child. You'll also have to submit an application package that includes an outline of the individuals you think should be named as defendants. An experienced lawyer can assist in identifying the appropriate defendants and make sure there's sufficient insurance coverage. Lawyers can also help with the advancement of litigation-related costs like the cost of highly qualified medical experts. This can help to reduce some of the financial stress that comes with pursuing an injury claim arising from birth.