A Proactive Rant About Birth Injury Law

Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Birth is a dangerous and stressful event, but families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to provide a high level of medical care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families if they're not treated properly.

Contact a birth injury attorney to get help should you suspect that your child suffered an injury that could be prevented at birth as a result of medical malpractice. The most reputable lawyers will review your case without imposing any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you have to prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few things in life are more memorable and special than the birth of a child. Unfortunately, this process can be traumatic for parents when medical errors cause severe injuries to their baby during labor and birth. These mistakes could be irreparable and cause a family confront a long list of challenges.

Doctors and other medical professionals are legally bound to provide patients with the level of care and Birth Injury Lawsuits competence that is expected of health care providers in their respective fields under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. If you want to prevail against an at-fault healthcare provider you must prove that the medical professional violated this duty. This usually means proving that the medical professional's conduct or failure to act was different from what a reasonably trained and competent medical professional would have done in the same circumstances.

The second aspect of a negligence claim is the causation. You must establish, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the healthcare provider at fault's negligence caused the injury of your child. For example, a doctor may have failed to monitor your child's vital signs during labor and delivery. This could have caused brain damage from prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The final aspect of a successful negligence claim is proving damages. You must prove that either you or your child suffered real significant, quantifiable damages as a result of the healthcare professional's negligence to perform their duty of care. This usually includes future and past medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals are bound to their patients to provide care that is in line with standards in their area of expertise. If a nurse or doctor fails to meet this standard of care, it can cause injury to the patient and result in a claim for damages. To succeed in a birth injury case the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly led to the injuries suffered by your child. This has to be proven by evidence, such as medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also important to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered a traumatic injury in the event that a medical professional provided the standard of care expected. Medical experts are required to examine the situation to determine if the doctor or hospital behaved in a manner that was not consistent with the accepted medical guidelines.

Birth injuries can alter the course of your child's life and require medical attention for a lifetime. It is important to hold at-fault doctors as well as hospitals accountable for Birth injury lawsuits their actions and seek compensation to the future of your child's requirements.

A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process, including responding to insurance requests and filing a suit against the accountable parties. They can also construct a case with the help of evidence, obtain expert testimony, obtain documents and medical records and argue for fair settlements that cover the family's life-long care costs and expenses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who will look over medical records, witness statements from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will assist you in proving that the hospital or doctor involved in your case violated their duty of care and caused your child to suffer injuries. They will then calculate the damages you've suffered as a result of these injuries. Included are your future and current medical expenses, lost wages, diminished quality of life emotional distress and other losses.

When nurses, doctors, and other medical personnel make mistakes that are preventable prior to or during the birth of your child, it can have devastating consequences for your family. It isn't easy to bring legal action against doctors and hospitals that have committed negligence or malpractice. They typically have their own teams of lawyers working full-time to protect their clients and deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

Medical professionals can be held accountable for their actions by hiring an New York birth injuries lawyer. Your lawyer will contact the insurance companies, file a claim in court and construct a solid proof-based case to prove liability. They will also try to secure you an appropriate settlement or verdict from a jury for your losses and life-long healthcare costs. They will also bring your case in time to satisfy any applicable time limit, as the clock starts ticking from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case involves four elements. Your lawyer can explain each of them and develop a solid legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on proving that the defendant owed you the obligation of care, that the defendant breached this duty and that the breach directly caused your child's injuries. To prove a claim it is essential that you establish causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child would not have occurred if it weren't for the actions of the defendant (or inaction).

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

You'll need medical records, other documentation, as well as an explanation of what occurred during the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to file an order form with the names of all people you think should be named as defendants. A skilled attorney can assist you in identifying proper defendants and make sure there is sufficient insurance coverage. A lawyer can help advance costs associated with litigation, like the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This can help ease some of the financial stress associated when litigating a birth injury claim.