Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families expect that their medical professionals and doctors will provide a high standard of care. When they do not birth injury law firms injuries can be devastating to families.

Contact a birth injury attorney for help if you suspect that your child suffered an injury that could have been prevented during birth due to medical negligence. The most reputable lawyers will evaluate your case for free and will not charge any upfront fees. In order to prove your claim, you must prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

The birth of a child is one of the most exciting and special events in the life of a person. Unfortunately, the process can be traumatic for parents who have medical errors cause serious injuries to the baby during the labor and delivery. These errors can be irreversible and cause an entire series of problems for families.

Doctors and medical professionals have the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same care and competence that is expected from health care professionals of similar professions in similar circumstances. This is called the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional has violated this duty to win a case. This typically means proving that the medical professional's actions or failure to act deviated from what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The second aspect of a negligence claim is the causation. You must prove via medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare provider who was at fault's negligence led to your child's injuries. A doctor, for instance might not have supervised your child's vitals during labor and delivery. This could have caused brain damage as a result of prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The final component of a successful negligence claim is damages. You must prove that you and/or your child suffered genuine tangible, quantifiable losses as the result of the healthcare professional's failure to perform their duty of care. This usually includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages and other non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals are obligated to patients to provide treatment in line with the highest standards of care in their field of. If a nurse or doctor fails to meet this standard of care, it could cause an injury to the patient, and lead to an action for damages. In order to be successful in a case that involves birth injuries, an attorney will have to prove that the breach of duty was responsible for the injury to your child. This has to be proven by evidence such as medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also essential to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury even if the medical professional been able to provide the standard of treatment. Medical experts are expected to examine the situation and provide an opinion on whether or not the doctor or hospital performed a procedure that was not in accordance with accepted medical procedures.

Birth injuries can cause a lot of trauma and require medical care for the rest of your life. It is crucial to hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence and seek compensation to pay for the future needs of your child.

A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process including responding to insurance inquiries and filing a lawsuit against the accountable parties. They can also construct a case with the help of evidence, obtain expert testimony, obtain medical records and documents and advocate for fair settlements that cover the family's costs for care throughout their lifetime and losses.

Damages

Medical experts are required to examine medical records, evidence from you and your family members and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will help you establish that the doctor or hospital involved in your case violated their duty of care and caused injuries to your child. Then, they'll calculate the damages you have suffered because of those injuries. This includes your current and future medical expenses as well as loss of wages, loss of quality of life, emotional distress, and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family when doctors, nurses and other medical staff commit unavoidable errors prior to, during or after the birth your child. It can be also difficult to initiate legal action against the doctors and hospitals who may have committed negligence or malpractice. They usually have their own legal teams who are on call 24/7 to protect their clients and to deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

Medical professionals can be held accountable for their actions by hiring an New York birth injuries lawyer. The lawyer will negotiate with the insurers, file a claim in court and develop a solid proof-based case to prove the liability. They will also try to secure you an appropriate settlement or jury verdict for your losses and lifetime cost of care. They may also file a lawsuit in time for any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock begins to run from the day the medical malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury lawsuit includes four parts. Your lawyer can explain the factors and craft an effective legal argument in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require that you prove that the defendant had the duty of care towards your child, that he breached that duty, and that his breach caused the injuries to your child. To prove a claim it is also necessary that you prove causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child wouldn't have occurred but for the actions of the defendant (or negligence).

The defendants may contest any of these elements. They can claim that there isn't a doctor-patient relationship or that standard care is not what you claim it is. They may also challenge your evidence, or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

To prove that you have breached your duty, you'll have to submit medical records and other evidence along with a statement that explains what went wrong during the birth injury Law firms of your child. Additionally, you'll need to submit a demand packet that includes a list of the individuals you think should be named as defendants. An experienced attorney can help you identify the correct defendants and make sure that there is sufficient insurance coverage. A lawyer can also help in advancing the costs associated with litigation like the cost of highly qualified medical experts. This helps alleviate some of the financial burden that comes with litigating a birth-related injury claim.