Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Birth is a dangerous and stressful experience, however families expect their medical professionals and doctors to adhere to a high standard of care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families when they are not properly treated.

If you suspect your child suffered a birth injury as a result of medical malpractice and birth injury you suspect that your child suffered a birth injury, contact a lawyer to get help. A reputable lawyer will review your case for free and charge no upfront fees. A successful claim is based on the evidence of the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby can be one of the most joyous and memorable events in a person's lifetime. Unfortunately, the procedure can be very stressful for parents if medical errors result in serious injuries to the baby during labor and birth. These mistakes could be irreparable and force a family to endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Doctors and other medical professionals owe a legal duty to treat patients with the care and competence that is expected of health care providers in their field under similar circumstances. This is referred to as the duty of care. If you want to prevail against a healthcare provider who is at fault you must show that the medical professional breached this obligation. This typically involves proving how the medical professional's actions or lack thereof, differed from what a qualified and competent medical professional would perform under the same circumstances.

The second component in a negligence case is the causation. You must establish, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the at-fault provider's negligence caused the injury to your child. For instance, a healthcare professional might not have been able to observe your child's vital signs during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in prolonged oxygen deprivation, which in turn caused brain damage.

Damages are the last component in an effective negligence case. You must prove that you as well as your child suffered, quantifiable financial losses resulting from the at-fault medical professional's inability to meet their obligation of care. This usually includes future and past medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals owe a duty to patients to provide treatment in line with the highest standards of care in their specialization. If a medical professional or nurse fails to meet the standard of care, it can cause injury to a patient and result in a claim for damages. In order to succeed in a case involving birth injuries, an attorney will have to prove that the breach in duty caused the injury to your child. This must be proved with evidence such as medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also essential to prove that your child wouldn't be injured in the event that a medical professional given the level of treatment expected. Medical experts are expected to review the case and give their opinion on whether or not the hospital or doctor performed a procedure that was inconsistent with accepted medical practices.

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

A lawyer who is experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can oversee the entire legal process for you, from responding to insurance requests and filing an action against the accountable parties. They can also build an evidence-based argument and obtain expert testimony, locate medical records as well as other documents and negotiate a fair settlement that covers your family's losses and lifetime expenses for medical care.

Damages

Medical experts are required to look over medical records, testimony from you and your family members and other evidence in the birth injury lawsuit. They will help establish that the doctor involved in your case violated their duty of care for your child and causing injuries to your child. Then, they will estimate the damages that you have suffered because of those injuries. This includes your future and current medical expenses in addition to lost wages, loss in quality of life, emotional distress, and many other losses.

When doctors, nurses, and other medical staff make mistakes that are preventable prior to or during the birth of your child, it could cause devastating harm to your family. It isn't easy to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors that have acted negligently or with a lack of care. They have teams of lawyers who work full-time to protect their clients, deny claims or decrease settlements.

Medical professionals can be held accountable for their actions by hiring a New York birth injuries lawyer. Your attorney will handle communications with insurance companies and will present your claim in court, and construct a strong evidence-based case to establish responsibility. They will also work to secure you an acceptable settlement or jury verdict for your losses as well as lifetime expenses for medical care. They can also make your claim in time to meet any applicable statute of limitations, since 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 lawyer injury lawsuit requires four components. Your lawyer can explain each element and build a strong legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims require showing that the defendant owed you an obligation of care and that the defendant violated this obligation, and that the breach directly caused your child's injuries. To prove a claim it is also necessary that you prove causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child could not have occurred without the defendant's actions (or the failure to act).

The defendants have the option of challenging each of these elements. They could claim that there isn't a doctor-patient relationship or that standard of care isn't what you claim it to be. They may also challenge your evidence, or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

You'll have to provide medical records, other documents, as well as an explanation of what happened during the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to file a demand package with a list of all parties you think should be named as defendants. An experienced lawyer can help to identify the proper defendants and ensure you have adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist with litigation-related expenses, for example the expenses of highly qualified medical experts. This can help ease some of the financial burden that comes when litigating a birth injury claim.