Birth Injury Settlement

A settlement from a birth injury could provide long-term treatment options that will allow your child to lead a more comfortable and healthy life. The treatments can include home modifications, medication and equipment like wheelchairs.

Medical malpractice cases are not common and therefore many families decide to settle their cases. But the amount of a settlement is contingent on a number of aspects.

Damages

Birth injuries can affect all aspects of the child's life including their quality of living. For example, some patients require medication to manage their symptoms and others require home modifications or medical equipment such as wheelchairs. Parents may also have to give up their jobs to care for their children, resulting in a loss of income. A lawyer will calculate a patient's estimated lifetime treatment costs and request enough compensation to cover these expenses.

The value of a settlement also is contingent on the severity and duration of the injury. For instance, a person with cerebral palsy is more likely to have a much higher lifetime medical bill than someone suffering from Erb's Palsy or shoulder dystocia, which are less severe injuries. Additionally, certain states impose a limit on the amount of non-economic damages for pain and suffering, which could lower a settlement's value.

Both sides will gather evidence from witnesses and prepare evidence when a lawsuit is filed. The parties will eventually meet to discuss solutions that could be reached through settlement negotiations. If negotiations fail, the matter could go to trial. A jury and judge will listen to arguments and make a decision. However, trials are generally more expensive and lengthy than settlements. Therefore, it is best to settle as fast as you can.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can be a valuable resource in proving a claim for damages. They are also crucial in proving the cause of the medical malpractice claim and is a vital element. Without an expert witness, it could be difficult for jurors to determine whether your child's injuries resulted from the doctor who was accused of violating the accepted professional guidelines.

Your attorney must establish the connection between negligence and the harms suffered by your child in order to prove the causality. This can be done by various methods, such as medical records and expert witness testimony. Your lawyer can help you find the best experts to aid in your case.

Your legal team will be able to identify the defendants in the birth injury case of your child. They can include obstetricians and maternal-fetal medicine experts, nurses during the delivery and other healthcare professionals. They'll then have to establish the right standard of care, which is usually determined by the current medical knowledge. This will require a thorough review of the medical records of your child which may be complicated.

Your attorney must determine the needs for future care of your child. This can be difficult, as it involves estimating costs for therapies and equipment such as in-home caregivers, surgeries and procedures and many more. Your lawyer will work with experts who can aid in accurately calculating the cost of these future expenses.

Statute of Limitations

The process of constructing a birth injury claim requires careful research and recourse to medical experts. It is important to select a lawyer with a thorough understanding of the subject matter and who is able to construct a solid case.

The first step in a lawsuit is to prove that the defendant has violated their duty of care. This requires reviewing medical records and taking depositions of the doctors involved. A lawyer will also engage medical experts to give an opinion about whether the doctors acted appropriately in the circumstances.

Medical negligence is the failure to follow a certain standard of care and knowledge. This applies to doctors and other health professionals, but it is especially strict for specialists such as obstetricians who have a vast amount of training and knowledge. A legal claim also must establish causation. This means that the medical error directly caused the injury to the child.

Parents have two years to make a claim for malpractice on behalf of a child who is injured under New York law. However, minors are not able to file a lawsuit themselves under CPLR Sec. 1207.1. They must have a record for them by an adult or guardian. Medical malpractice claims are also subject to the statutory limitations on damages, which includes non-economic damages. The limit is usually determined by the court, and is often based on the number of similar claims in the state.

Getting Started

Getting adequate recognition and compensation for injuries suffered by a child caused by medical malpractice or negligence during birth requires the assistance of an experienced attorney. A competent legal team will know how to review the various factors that impact a Birth Injury Lawyer injury settlement and how to argue them in court to ensure that you receive the highest amount of financial compensation.

A free consultation with an attorney is the initial step in establishing a relationship between you and your lawyer. Once that is done your lawyer will conduct an investigation into the case, including reviewing medical records and bringing in expert witnesses who can define the accepted standard of care for the procedure in question.

Your lawyer will be negotiating and pushing the insurance companies of the defendants to negotiate on a fair amount for damages. If this fails the lawyer will file a suit against the medical professionals to present the case in front of a jury and judge.

Your lawyer will prepare the documents needed to calculate the damages that you and your child are entitled to. This includes the projected cost of future medical treatment as well as loss of income and other economic damages. Your lawyer may also calculate the cost of care for your child over the course of his life of your child's injuries. This is referred to as a life-care plan. This usually is a large part of the settlement.