Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families expect that their doctors and other medical professionals will maintain a high level of care. When they do not, birth injuries can be catastrophic to families.

Contact a birth injury attorney for help in the event that you suspect your child has suffered an injury that could be prevented during birth due to medical negligence. A reputable lawyer will review your case free of charge and will not charge any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must demonstrate the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few things in life are more exciting and special than the birth injury lawyer of a child. Unfortunately, the process can be difficult for parents if medical errors result in serious injuries to the baby during labor and delivery. These mistakes can be irreversible and force a family to endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Doctors and medical professionals have the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same care and expertise that they expect from health care providers of similar professions in similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional breached this duty to win a claim. This usually involves demonstrating how the medical professional's actions, or their lack thereof, were different from what a qualified and reasonably trained medical professional would do in the same circumstances.

The third element in a negligence case is the cause. You must prove, using medical documents and expert testimony that the at-fault provider's breach of duty caused the injury of your child. A doctor, for instance might not have been able to monitor the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have led to brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the last component in a successful negligence case. You have to prove that you and/or your child suffered real, quantifiable losses as a result of the healthcare professional's negligence in their duty of care. This includes future and past medical costs in addition to lost wages, and also non-economic damages such as pain and discomfort.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to their patients to provide them with care that is consistent with the standards of their area of expertise. If a physician or nurse is not able to meet this standard of care, they could cause injury to a patient, and lead to an action for damages. In order to be successful in a case that involves birth injuries, an attorney will need to prove that the breach of duty led to your child's injury. This has to be proved by evidence like medical records and expert testimony.

It is also important to prove that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury even if the medical professional been able to provide the standard of medical care. Medical experts are expected to examine the case and provide their opinion regarding whether or not the doctor or hospital acted in a way that was inconsistent with accepted medical procedures.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering effects that require an ongoing series of medical treatments and other expenses. It is important that you hold doctors and hospitals accountable for their negligence, and receive compensation to help pay for the future needs 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 lawsuit against the parties responsible. They can also construct an evidence-based case and get expert testimony, obtain medical records and other records, and fight for an equitable settlement to cover your family's losses and lifetime expenses for medical care.

Damages

Medical experts are needed to review medical records, witness statements from you and your family members and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will determine if the doctor involved in your case has violated their duty of provide care and harmed your child. They will also estimate the damage you've sustained as a result of these injuries. These include your future and current medical expenses in addition to the loss of income, the loss of quality of life, emotional distress, and many other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family if nurses, doctors and other medical professionals make preventable mistakes before or after the birth your child. It can be difficult to take legal action against hospitals and doctors that have committed negligence or malpractice. They typically have their own legal teams working full-time to protect clients and defend against claims or reduce settlement amounts.

When you employ an New York birth injury lawyer and appointing medical professionals who are at fault accountable. The lawyer will handle all communications with insurers, file your claim in court, and construct solid evidence-based arguments to prove the responsibility. They will also work to secure you a fair settlement or verdict from a jury for your losses as well as lifetime care costs. They can also start a lawsuit before the deadline for any applicable statute of limitation, as the clock begins to tick from the time the malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of limitations

Four elements are necessary to file a claim for compensation when a birth injury occurs. Your attorney can explain each of them and formulate a convincing legal argument in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on showing that the defendant owed you an obligation of care and that the defendant violated this obligation and that the breach directly led to the injuries to your child. In order for a claim to be successful it is crucial that you establish 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 you don't have a doctor-patient relationship, or that the standards of care are different than what you assert it to be. They may also challenge your evidence or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

You'll need to provide medical records, other documentation in addition to an explanation of what happened during the birth of your child. You'll also need to submit the demand package, which includes an inventory of all the parties you think should be named as defendants. A knowledgeable lawyer can help identify the right defendants and make sure there's sufficient insurance coverage. Lawyers can assist in advancing costs associated with litigation, like the expenses of highly qualified medical experts. This can ease some of the financial stress that comes with litigating a claim for birth injury.