What Experts Say You Should Know

Birth Injury Settlement

A settlement from a birth injury may pay for long-term treatment that helps your child lead an easier lifestyle. These treatments can include medication, home modifications and even equipment like wheelchairs.

Many families settle their cases since medical malpractice trials are rare. The amount of a settlement will depend on several factors.

Damages

A birth injury can affect the entire child's life including their quality of living. For example, some patients require medication to treat their ailments and others require modifications to their homes or medical equipment, such as wheelchairs. Parents may also be required to quit their jobs to take care of their children, resulting in a loss of income. A lawyer will estimate the estimated lifetime treatment costs and seek enough compensation to cover the costs.

The severity and duration of the injury could influence the value of the settlement. Patients with cerebral palsy is likely to have an increased medical bill over the course of their life than someone suffering from Erb’s Palsy or Shoulder Dystocia. Additionally, some states have limitations on the amount of non-economic damages that can be awarded for suffering and pain, which could lower the value of a settlement.

Both sides will collect evidence from witnesses and prepare evidence once a lawsuit has been filed. In the end both sides will meet to discuss possible resolutions via settlement negotiations. If negotiations do not succeed, the case can go to trial. A jury and judge will listen to arguments and then make a decision. Trials tend to be more expensive and long-lasting than settlements. It is recommended to settle your case as soon as possible.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can provide valuable evidence to support a claim for damages. They can also be crucial in proving the causation of the medical malpractice claim and is a vital aspect. It can be difficult for jurors to determine if your child's injuries result of the defendant's deviation from professional standards without the assistance of an expert.

Your attorney must establish the connection between negligence and the harms suffered by your child to establish the causation. This can be done by a variety means such as medical records and expert witness testimony. Your lawyer will be able assist you in finding the right expert witness to assist your case.

Your legal team will help you identify the defendants involved in your child's birth injury lawsuit. They could include obstetricians as well as maternal-fetal medicine experts, nurses during birth and other healthcare professionals. They will then need to establish the proper standard of care, which is generally determined by the current medical knowledge. This will involve a detailed review of the medical records of your child, which can be a bit complicated.

Your attorney will also need to estimate your child's future requirements for care. It isn't easy to estimate the cost of therapies and equipment caregivers at home, additional surgeries and procedures and more. Your lawyer will work with expert witnesses to help to accurately calculate the cost of these future expenses.

Statute of limitations

The process of preparing a birth injury lawsuit requires careful research and recourse to medical experts. It is crucial to select an attorney who has an in-depth understanding of the subject and is skilled at constructing a solid case.

The first step is to prove that the defendant has breached his duty of care. This requires review of medical records and depositions of the physicians involved. Lawyers will also employ medical experts to provide an opinion as to whether the doctors acted in a proper manner under the circumstances.

Medical negligence is the inability to adhere to a set of standards of care and knowledge. This is applicable to doctors and other health professionals however, it is more rigorous for specialists like obstetricians who have extensive training and specialized expertise. A legal claim must establish the causality. This means that the medical error directly caused the injury to the child.

New York law gives parents two years to file a malpractice lawsuit on behalf of their child who has suffered injury. Minors are not able to sue themselves according to CPLR Sec. 1207.1. They must be accompanied by a file for them by the parent or guardian. Medical malpractice claims must conform to the legal limits for birth injury lawsuit damages, which includes noneconomic damages. This limit is usually set by the court and is often dependent on the number of similar cases in the state.

Getting Started

An experienced attorney is necessary to obtain the proper compensation and acknowledgement for the injuries a child has suffered due to medical negligence or malpractice during birth injury lawsuits. A legal team that is competent can analyze the many different factors that affect a birth injury settlement and how to argue for them in court to ensure that you receive the highest amount of financial compensation.

The procedure begins with a free consultation with your lawyer to establish an attorney-client relationship. The lawyer will then look into the case by reviewing medical records and contacting experts to establish the accepted standard for the relevant procedure.

Your lawyer can also negotiate and push the insurance companies of the defendants to negotiate on a fair amount of damages. If this fails your lawyer will bring a suit against the medical practitioners to bring the case before the judge and jury.

When a verdict is reached, your lawyer will draft the documents that will be used to calculate the amount of damages you and your child owe. This includes the estimated cost of future medical procedures or loss of income, as well as other economic damages. Your lawyer can also estimate the costs over the life of your child's care for your child's injuries, which is known as life-care planning. This is usually a significant portion of the settlement.