The 10 Scariest Things About Birth Injury Law

Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical professionals and doctors will ensure a high standard of care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families if they're not properly treated.

If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable birth injury as a result of medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer to get help. Reputable lawyers will evaluate your case for free and charge no upfront fees. In order to prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby can be one of the most joyous and significant events in the life of a person. However, the birth process can be traumatic for parents who have medical errors result in serious injuries to the baby during the labor and delivery. These mistakes can be irreversible and make a family endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Doctors and other medical professionals have a legal obligation to treat patients with the same care and expertise that is expected of health professionals in their respective fields under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. You must demonstrate that a medical professional has violated this duty to be able to win an action. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or inability to act in a manner that was not consistent with what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done under similar circumstances.

The second element of a negligence claim is the causation. You must establish, through medical records and expert testimony, that the at-fault healthcare professional's negligence led to your child's injury. A doctor, for example could not have observed your child's vitals during labor and delivery. This could have led to brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The final component of a successful negligence claim is damages. You must prove that you as well as your child suffered real, tangible financial losses from the at-fault healthcare professional's failure to perform their duty of care. This typically includes future and past medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to patients to provide treatment consistent with the standards of care in their specialization. A nurse or doctor who fails to adhere to the standards of care could cause injury to a patient and lead to an action for damages. In order 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 can be proven through evidence such as medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also necessary to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury if the medical professional had adhered to the standard of treatment. Medical experts are called to examine the case and provide their opinion regarding whether or not the doctor or hospital acted in a way that was not in accordance with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering effects that require a lifetime of medical treatments and other expenses. It is vital that you make hospitals and doctors accountable for their mistakes, and receive compensation to help pay for the future needs of your child.

A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process including responding to insurance inquiries and filing a suit against the parties responsible. They can also construct an argument based on evidence, secure expert testimony, access medical records and documents and negotiate fair settlements to pay for the family's lifetime medical costs and losses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, evidence from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will prove that the doctor involved in your case has not complied with their duty to care for your child and causing injuries to your child. They will then calculate the damages you have suffered because of those injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs and lost wages, as well as loss of quality of life emotional distress and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family if nurses, birth injury lawsuits doctors and other medical staff make errors that could have been avoided prior to or after the birth of your child. It can also be difficult to pursue legal action against hospital and doctors who might have acted negligently or erroneously. They have teams of lawyers who work full-time for them to protect their clients, denying claims or reduce settlements.

Medical professionals can be held responsible for their actions by hiring an New York birth injuries lawyer. Your lawyer will be in contact with the insurers and then file a claim in court and build a solid proof-based case to prove liability. They will also advocate for you to get an equitable jury verdict, or settlement for your losses and costs over the course of your entire life. They can also submit your lawsuit on time to be in compliance with any applicable statute of limitations, since the clock begins to tick from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth-related injury case requires four components. Your attorney can explain the factors and craft an effective legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims require that you prove that the defendant had the duty of care towards your child, and that the defendant violated that duty, and that this breach led to the injuries to your child. To be successful in a claim, it is also essential that you prove causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child wouldn't have occurred but for the actions of the defendant (or the failure to act).

The defendants can challenge any of these elements. They can argue that there is no doctor-patient relationship, or that the standard of care is not what you claim it to be. They may also challenge your proof or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

You'll need to provide medical records, any other documentation, as well as a statement describing what occurred during the birth of your child. You'll also have to submit the demand package, which includes an outline of the individuals you think should be named as defendants. A knowledgeable attorney can assist you in identifying the correct defendants and make sure that they have adequate insurance coverage. Lawyers can also help with advancing litigation-related expenses including the costs for highly qualified medical experts. This helps alleviate some of the financial stress associated with litigating a birth-related injury claim.