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 adhere to a high standard of medical care. If they fail to do so birth injuries can be devastating for families.

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

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby is one of the most joyful and significant events in the life of a person. Unfortunately, this birthing process could be difficult for parents if medical errors cause serious injuries to their infant during labor and birth. These mistakes can be irreversible and make a family endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Medical professionals and doctors have a legal obligation to treat patients with the same care and expertise that is expected of health care providers in their respective fields under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. You must demonstrate that a medical professional acted in violation of this duty in order to prevail on a claim. This usually means proving how the medical professional's actions or absence of actions, differed from what a competent and properly trained medical professional would do in similar circumstances.

The second part of a negligence claim is the causation. You must prove, through medical documents and expert testimony that the at-fault provider's negligence caused your child's injury. For instance, a physician might not have been able to observe your child's vital indicators during labor and birth. This could have resulted in prolonged oxygen deprivation which in turn caused brain damage.

Damages are a crucial part of the case of a successful negligence claim. You must demonstrate that you and your child have suffered, quantifiable financial losses resulting from the at-fault medical professional's inability to meet their obligation of care. This usually includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and other non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to their patients to provide treatment that is consistent with the standards of their area of expertise. A doctor or nurse who fails to meet the standard of care can cause injuries to patients, and result in the possibility of a claim for damages. To win a birth injury case the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly led to the injuries suffered by your child. This must be proven with evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child would not be injured when a medical professional given the level of care expected. Medical experts are required to review the case and offer their opinions as to whether or not the doctor or hospital performed a procedure that was not in accordance with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can cause a lot of trauma and require medical attention for the rest of your life. It is important that you make hospitals and doctors accountable for their mistakes, and receive compensation to cover the future requirements of your child.

A lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases has the ability to manage the entire legal process including responding to insurance inquiries and filing a lawsuit against the accountable parties. They can also construct an argument using evidence, get expert testimony, locate documents and medical records and argue for fair settlements that cover the family's life-long care costs and losses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who will examine medical records, evidence from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will help you establish that the medical professional or hospital involved in your case violated their duty of care and harmed your child. They will then calculate the damages you have suffered due to those injuries. Included are your future and current medical expenses in addition to lost wages, diminished quality of life emotional distress and other losses.

It can be devastating for your family when nurses, doctors and other medical personnel make inexcusable mistakes prior to or even after the birth of your child. It can be also difficult to take legal action against the doctors and hospitals who may have committed negligence or malpractice. They typically have their own teams of lawyers who are on call 24/7 to protect their clients and deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

By hiring an New York birth injury lawyer, you can hold medical professionals at fault accountable. Your lawyer will contact the insurers and file a claim in court, and create a strong proof-based case to prove the responsibility. They will also fight to get you an acceptable settlement or verdict from a jury for your losses as well as lifetime healthcare costs. They may also file a lawsuit in time for any applicable statute of limitation when 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 injury case requires four components. Your lawyer can help you understand the various elements and develop a strong legal case to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on the defendant's obligation to you an obligation of care, that the defendant breached this duty, and that the breach directly caused your child's injuries. To be successful in a claim, it is also essential that you establish causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child could not have occurred without the defendant's actions (or negligence).

The defendants have the option of challenging each of these elements. They can argue that there is no doctor-patient connection or that the normal care isn't what you claim it is. They may challenge your evidence or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

You'll need to provide medical records, any other documentation and an account of what went wrong during the birth of your child. You'll also have to submit a demand packet that contains the names of all people you consider to be defendants. An experienced lawyer will assist you in identifying the most appropriate defendants and ensure there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can also assist in advancing the costs associated with litigation, such as fees for highly qualified medical experts. This can ease some of the financial burden that comes with pursuing a claim for birth injury attorneys injury.