The 10 Scariest Things About Birth Injury Law
Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained
Childbirth is a risky and stressful experience, but families expect their medical professionals and doctors to ensure a high quality of care. Birth injuries can be devastating for families if they're not treated properly.
If you suspect that your child was born with a preventable injury due to medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer for assistance. Professionals with a good reputation will assess your case with no upfront costs. A successful claim will require proving the four elements of your case.
Duty of Care
Few occasions in life are more joyful and memorable than the birth of a child. However, the birth process can be difficult for some parents if medical mistakes cause serious injuries to the baby during labor and delivery. These mistakes can be irreversible and cause a family endure a lifetime of difficulties.
Medical professionals and doctors are under the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same respect and expertise that is expected from health care providers in similar professions in similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional has violated this duty to settle a case. This usually involves demonstrating that the medical professional's conduct or failure to act in a manner that was not consistent with what a reasonably trained and competent medical professional would have done under the same circumstances.
The second aspect in a negligence lawsuit is causation. You must prove through medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare professional responsible for the breach of duty led to your child's injuries. A doctor, for example, may not have monitored the vitals of your child during labor and birth. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation which in turn caused brain damage.
Damages are a crucial aspect in the case of a successful negligence claim. You have to prove that you and/or your child suffered actual and quantifiable loss as a result of the healthcare professional's incompetence to perform their duty of care. This includes past and Birth Injury future medical costs such as lost wages, as well as non-economic damages such as discomfort and pain.
Causation
Medical professionals are required to their patients to provide treatment that is in accordance with standards in their field. If a doctor or Birth Injury nurse fails to meet the standard of care, it may result in injury to the patient and result in an action for damages. To prevail in a birth injury case the attorney must prove that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This can be proven with evidence, including medical documents or expert testimony.
It is also important to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury if the medical professional had performed the required standard of treatment. Medical experts are asked to examine the situation to determine if the physician or hospital behaved in a manner that was not consistent with accepted medical practices.
Birth injuries can cause life-altering effects that need a lifetime of medical treatments and other expenses. It is vital that you make hospitals and doctors accountable for their mistakes and seek compensation to cover the future requirements of your child.
A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process including responding to insurance inquiries and filing a suit against the parties responsible. They can also create an evidence-based case and secure expert testimony, retrieve medical records and other documents and then fight for a fair settlement to cover your family's losses as well as lifetime expenses for medical care.
Damages
A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who will examine medical records, testimonies from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will establish that the doctor in your case acted outside of their duty to provide care and harmed your child. Then, they'll estimate the damage you have suffered because of those injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs in addition to lost wages, diminished quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.
It can be devastating for your family members when doctors, nurses and other medical staff make inexcusable mistakes prior to or during the birth your child. It can be also difficult to take legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have acted negligently or erroneously. They have lawyers on staff who work full-time for them to protect their clients, deny claims or decrease settlements.
By hiring a 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 will submit your claim to court, and create an evidence-based argument 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 will also make your claim in time to meet any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock starts ticking on the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.
Statute of Limitations
A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case requires four components. Your lawyer can explain each element and build a strong legal argument to support your claim.
Medical negligence claims require that you establish that the defendant owed an obligation of care for your child, that they breached this duty, and that this breach led to the injuries to your child. To prove a claim, it is also essential that you prove causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child could not have occurred without the defendant's actions (or failure to act).
The defendants have the option of challenging each of these elements. They can argue that they haven't established a doctor-patient relationship, or that the standard of care you provide is different from what you claim it to be. Additionally, they may challenge your evidence as well as your expert witnesses and their opinions.
To prove breach of duty, you'll have to submit medical records and other documents and a written statement of what went wrong during the birth of your child. You'll also need to submit the demand package, which includes a list of all people you think should be named as defendants. A skilled attorney can help you identify the right defendants and ensure that there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can also assist in advancing costs related to litigation, such as fees for highly qualified medical experts. This can help to reduce some of the financial burden associated with pursuing a claim for birth injury.
