Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical doctors and other professionals will provide a high standard of care. If they fail to do so birth injuries can be catastrophic to families.

If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence, contact a birth injury lawyer to get help. Reputable attorneys will evaluate your case and not charge any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few occasions in life are more memorable and special than the birth of a baby. However, the birth process can turn traumatic for some parents if medical errors cause serious injuries to the baby during labor and birth. These mistakes can be irreversible and make a family confront a long list of challenges.

Medical professionals and doctors are legally bound to treat patients with the respect and skill ordinarily expected of health care providers in their respective fields in similar situations. This is known as the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional has violated this duty to be able to win a claim. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or inability to act was in violation of what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The second element of a negligence claim is causation. You must prove, using medical documents and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare professional's negligence caused the injury of your child. A doctor, for instance might not have supervised your child's vitals during labor and delivery. This could have caused brain damage as a result of prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the last aspect in a successful negligence case. You must prove that you as well as your child suffered tangible financial losses that resulted from the at-fault healthcare professional's inability to meet their obligation of care. This includes past and future medical costs and 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 highest standards of care in their specialization. A doctor or nurse who fails to meet the standards of care can cause injury to a patient and could result in a claim for damages. In order to win a case involving birth injury law firm injuries, an attorney will need to prove the breach of duty was responsible for the injury to your child. This has to be proven by evidence, like medical records or expert testimony.

It is also essential to prove that your child wouldn't have suffered a traumatic injury if a medical professional had performed the medical care expected. Medical experts are required review the case in order to determine if the doctor or hospital was acting in a manner not consistent with the accepted medical guidelines.

Birth injuries can be life-changing and require medical treatment for the rest of their lives. It is vital that you hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence and seek compensation to help pay for the future requirements of your child.

A lawyer who is experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process for you, from responding to insurer requests and filing an action against the accountable parties. They can also build a case using evidence, get expert testimony, obtain documents and medical records, and fight for fair settlements to cover the family's lifetime care costs and expenses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who look over medical records, witness statements from you and birth injuries your family as well as other evidence. They will establish that the doctor involved in your case has not complied with their duty to care and caused injuries to your child. They will also estimate the damages you've suffered because of these injuries. Included are your current and future medical expenses in addition to lost wages, diminished quality of life emotional distress and other losses.

It can be devastating for your family members when nurses, doctors and other medical personnel make unavoidable errors prior to or during the birth your child. It can be difficult to take legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have acted negligently or with a lack of care. They often have their own legal teams working full-time to protect their clients and defend against claims or reduce settlement amounts.

If you hire an New York birth injury lawyer to represent you, you can hold medical professionals at fault accountable. The lawyer will handle all communications with insurers and file your claim in court, and create an evidence-based argument to prove the responsibility. They will also fight for you to secure an appropriate jury verdict or settlement for your losses as well as care expenses over your life. They may also bring a lawsuit within the timeframe for any applicable statute of limitation 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 birth-related injury case requires four components. Your attorney can help you understand the components and build an argument that is legal and strong in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require that you establish that the defendant owed an obligation of care for your child, and that the defendant violated that duty, and that this breach caused the injuries to your child. For a claim to succeed it is crucial that you prove causation, which means that your child's injuries wouldn't have occurred but for the defendant's actions (or failure to act).

Defense attorneys can challenge any of these elements. They may argue that you haven't established a doctor-patient connection or that the standards of care are different than what you assert it to be. In addition, they can challenge your evidence and your expert witnesses' opinions.

You'll need to provide medical records, other documentation, as well as a statement describing what was wrong with the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to provide a demand package that contains an inventory of the parties you believe should be named defendants. A knowledgeable lawyer can help identify the right defendants and ensure there's adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist with litigation-related expenses, for example the fees of highly experienced medical experts. This helps alleviate some of the financial strain associated with litigating a birth injury claim.