Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

The birth of a child is a potentially dangerous and stressful time, but families expect their medical professionals and doctors to uphold a high standard of care. When they do not, birth injuries can be devastating to families.

Contact a birth injury lawyer to seek assistance should you suspect that your child has suffered an injury that could have been avoided at birth as a result of medical negligence. A reputable lawyer will review your case and not charge any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby can be one of the most joyful and significant events in the lives of any person. Unfortunately, the procedure can be very stressful for parents if medical mistakes cause serious injuries to the baby during the labor and delivery. These errors could be irreparable and cause a lifetime of challenges for the entire family.

Doctors and other medical professionals are required by law to provide patients with the level of care and competence that is expected of health care providers in their field under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional breached this duty to be able to win a claim. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or the lack of them, differed from what a qualified and properly trained medical professional would do in similar circumstances.

The second aspect of a negligence claim is the causation. You must prove, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare professional's negligence caused the injury of your child. A doctor, for instance, may not have monitored your child's vitals during labor and birth. This could have resulted in brain damage as a result of prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The last element of a successful negligence claim is proving damages. You must prove that you as well as your child suffered, quantifiable financial losses resulting from the healthcare professional at fault's failure to meet their duty of care. This usually includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to their patients to provide them with care that is in line with standards in their area of expertise. If a medical professional or nurse is not able to meet this standard of care, it may cause an injury to the patient and result in a claim for damages. To be successful in a case that involves birth injuries, an attorney will need to prove that the breach of duty was responsible for your child's injury. This must be proved with evidence, such as medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered an injury when a medical professional provided the standard of treatment expected. Medical experts are called to look into the matter and provide an opinion on whether the hospital or doctor performed a procedure that was incompatible with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can have a profound impact on your life and require medical care for the rest of your life. It is essential to hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence and seek compensation to help pay for the future requirements of your child.

A lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process including responding to insurance inquiries and bringing a lawsuit against the accountable parties. They can also create an evidence-based case, secure expert testimony, locate medical records and other records, and fight for an equitable settlement to cover your family's losses and lifetime costs of care.

Damages

Medical experts are needed to examine medical records, witness statements from you and your family members, and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will establish that the doctor involved in your case has violated their duty of care for your child and causing injuries to your child. They will then calculate the damage you've suffered due to these injuries. This includes your current and future medical expenses in addition to lost wages, loss in quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

When doctors, nurses, and other medical staff make mistakes that are not preventable before, during, or after the birth of your child, it could result in devastating consequences for your family. It can be difficult to take legal action against doctors and hospitals who may have committed malpractice or negligence. They often have their own teams of lawyers working full-time to protect clients and deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

By hiring an New York birth injury lawyer to represent you, you can hold medical professionals at fault accountable. Your lawyer will handle communication with insurance companies and then submit your claim to court, and build a strong evidence-based case to prove liability. They will also advocate for you to obtain an equitable jury verdict or settlement for your losses and care expenses over your life. They can also file your lawsuit in time to be in compliance with any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock begins to tick from the date of the malpractice or medical negligence.

Statute of limitations

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

Medical negligence claims require you to prove that the defendant had an obligation of care for your child, and that the defendant violated that duty, and that the breach caused the injuries to your child. It is crucial to prove causation to prevail in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or failure to act would not have resulted in the injury of your child.

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

To prove breach of duty, you'll need provide medical records and injury other documents, and provide a statement that describes what went wrong with the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to submit an demand package, which includes a list of the individuals you believe should be named defendants. An experienced attorney can help you identify the proper defendants and make sure there is sufficient insurance coverage. Lawyers can assist in advancing costs related to litigation, including the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This can help to reduce some of the financial stress that comes with litigating an injury claim arising from birth.