Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Birth is a dangerous and stressful experience, but families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to uphold a high standard of care. When they do not, birth injuries can be devastating to families.

If you suspect your child was born with a preventable injury due to medical malpractice or birth injuries, you should contact a birth injury lawyer to get help. A reputable lawyer will review your case for free and will not charge any upfront fees. A successful claim will require proving the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

Few life events are more memorable and special than the birth of a baby. Unfortunately, this birthing process can be traumatic for parents if medical blunders result in severe injuries to their baby during labor and birth. These mistakes can be irreversible and force a family to be faced with a series of challenges for the rest of their lives.

Doctors and other medical professionals have a legal obligation to treat patients with the respect and competence that is expected of health care providers in their respective fields under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. To prevail in a lawsuit against an at-fault healthcare provider, you must prove that the medical professional breached this obligation. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or failure to act was in violation of what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The second element in a negligence lawsuit is the 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 might not have supervised your child's vitals during labor and delivery. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation which, in turn, caused brain damage.

Damages are the most important part of an effective negligence case. You must prove that you as well as your child suffered significant financial losses, which are quantifiable, resulting from the at-fault healthcare professional's failure to perform their duty of care. This usually includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals have a responsibility to their patients to provide treatment that is consistent with the standards in their field. If a medical professional or nurse fails to meet this standard of care, they could cause an injury to the patient, and lead to an action for damages. To prevail in a birth injury lawsuit an attorney must demonstrate that the breach of duty directly caused your child's injuries. This can be proved with evidence like medical records and expert testimony.

It is also essential to establish that your child would not be injured in the event that a medical professional given the level of care that is expected. Medical experts are expected to look into the matter and give their opinion regarding whether or not the hospital or doctor was acting in a manner that was inconsistent with the accepted medical practice.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering effects that require the use of a lifetime of medical treatment and other expenses. It is crucial to hold at-fault physicians and hospitals accountable for their negligence, and to seek compensation to provide for your child's future requirements.

A lawyer experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process for you, which includes responding to insurance requests and bringing a lawsuit against the responsible parties. They can also create an argument based on evidence, secure expert testimony, locate medical records and documents and advocate for fair settlements to cover family's lifetime care costs and expenses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who will examine medical records, testimonies from your family and you and other evidence. They will determine if the doctor in your case violated their duty to care for your child and causing injuries to your child. They will then determine the amount of damage you have suffered due to those injuries. These include your future and current medical expenses as well as lost wages, loss in quality of life, emotional distress and many other losses.

When nurses, doctors, or other medical staff commit preventable errors before or during the birth of your child, it can cause devastating harm to your family. It can be difficult to bring legal action against doctors and hospitals that have acted negligently or with a lack of care. They have teams of lawyers who are employed full-time to protect their clients, denying claims or decrease settlements.

Medical professionals can be held accountable for their actions by hiring a New York birth injuries lawyer. The lawyer will negotiate with the insurance companies and then file a claim in court and build a solid evidence-based case to establish liability. They will also fight to secure you an appropriate settlement or verdict from a jury for your losses as well as lifetime care costs. They can also file your lawsuit in time to be in compliance with any applicable deadlines, since the clock begins ticking off from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury lawsuit is based on four components. Your lawyer can explain each one and create a strong legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims rely on showing that the defendant owed you the obligation of care, that the defendant breached this obligation and that the breach directly caused your child's injuries. It is crucial to prove causation to be successful in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or inability to act resulted in the injury of your child.

Defense attorneys can challenge any of these elements. They could argue that you haven't established a doctor-patient relationship or that the standard of care you provide is different from what you believe it to be. Additionally, they may challenge your evidence as well as your expert witnesses and their opinions.

To prove a breach of duty, you'll have to provide medical records and other evidence and a written statement that explains the circumstances that led to your child's birth. Also, you'll need provide a demand package that includes the names of the people you believe should be named defendants. An experienced attorney can assist you in identifying the right defendants and ensure that there is enough insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist with costs associated with litigation, like the expenses of highly qualified medical experts. This could help ease some of the financial stress that comes with litigating a claim for birth injury.