9 Lessons Your Parents Teach You About Birth Injury Lawsuit
Birth Injury Litigation
Medical negligence during labor and birth can cause serious birth injuries to infants. These injuries can have a lasting impact on the child as well as their family.
A successful lawsuit can be used to pay for future and ongoing medical expenses as well as lost wages, and other losses. However it could take years to obtain.
Compensation
Despite incredible medical advances, childbirth can be risky. Both babies and mothers expect that doctors will act professionally and avoid errors which could have lasting consequences. If you believe the hospital or doctor was negligent in causing your baby's injury or harm, you should speak with a New York birth injury attorneys injuries lawyer to determine the legal options you have.
If you're successful with your claim, you will receive financial compensation. This could cover the medical costs of the present and future loss of wages, emotional distress, and other potential areas of damage. In certain cases juries or judges can also award punitive damages for the most egregious of conduct.
Your attorney will work closely with a network expert witnesses to determine what happened and the standard of care you should expect. They will look over your medical records and evaluate the actions of the medical team that were present during your delivery. This information can help build an argument that is strong and increase your chances of success.
Typically your lawyer will attempt to reach a settlement with the malpractice insurer prior to filing an action. This is done by submitting a demand package, that includes a report detailing your family's losses and the medical evidence that supports the claim. The malpractice insurance company will make an offer. If a settlement isn't reached, the lawsuit will proceed to trial.
Damages
The damages that a plaintiff receives may be economic (such as medical bills) or non-economic (such as suffering and pain). In a lot of cases, juries award both. The amount of compensation a victim will receive is determined by how the accident has affected them as well as their past and future losses. Some states limit the amount of non-economic damages that juries can decide to award.
In order to pursue compensation the plaintiff must prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty of care. This is accomplished by combining medical evidence, expert testimony and depositions. Medical experts are those who specialize in a specific area of medicine. They review all evidence in the case and are able to testify at trial, if needed. In birth injury cases the expert will establish that the defendant's actions fell outside the standard of care of medical professionals with similar experience and training.
In addition to medical experts, attorneys will take the depositions of anyone who might have relevant information or a story to share. These are sworn, out-of-court statements that permit attorneys to directly question witnesses about what happened. Some depositions are conducted via the phone or through a video conference, but the majority are conducted in the courtroom. These conversations are often difficult and stressful, but they are essential to constructing a convincing case for clients and obtaining the maximum possible amount of compensation.
Statute of Limitations
In New York, as in most states, medical malpractice claims must be filed within a time frame of a statute of limitations. Parents have a maximum of two and a half years to file a suit after the date of the wrongful act, omission, or omission that they believe caused the injuries of their child.
Your attorney can review the medical records of your child to determine whether any obstetricians or nurses, as well as other hospital personnel were involved in the birth of your son or daughter. The attorney will seek any documents or information that pertains to the injuries of your child.
Your lawyer has to prove the case of malpractice by establishing that the defendant owed an obligation to your child and breached it by failing to provide the proper care in similar circumstances. To prove this, your lawyer will work with medical professionals to evaluate the actions of the medical professional to accepted practices and birth procedures.
A lawyer can help locate witnesses to be able to testify in your case. These professionals can give an insight into the process used by doctors to make decisions and how a specific mistake or omission led to the birth injury of your child. This information can be used by your lawyer to prove your compensation claim. A successful medical malpractice case involves two separate legal claims one for the child who was injured as well as one for the parents of the child.
Expert Witnesses
Families can be compensated for medical expenses, lost wages due to absences from work as well as rehabilitation therapies and treatments, and long-term care costs with the right assistance. However, the key to winning a birth injury case is having the top experts available for your case.
These individuals can review evidence and provide a professional opinion on whether a medical professional acted in violation of their duty of care doing something that could have caused an infant's injury. They can explain complicated medical terms to make it easier for judges or jury to comprehend.
The job of an expert witness is to give unbiased medical testimony that reflects the state of medical knowledge at the time of the incident relevant to the case. This means they must not exclude any relevant facts to form an opinion that is more favorably disposed to either the plaintiff or the defendant.
Experts should also study the relevant medical records as well as contemporaneous literature with sufficient thoroughness to enable them to form a sound opinion. In some instances experts may be required to give an oath outside of court. These sessions can be a bit intimidating however they are an essential aspect of preparing the case. Your attorney can assist you prepare for these sessions and make sure that you are treated with respect.
