Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical doctors and other professionals will ensure a high standard of care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families if not treated properly.

If you suspect that your child has suffered a preventable birth injury as a result of medical malpractice then contact a birth trauma lawyer to get help. Professionals with a good reputation will assess your case at no cost and will not charge upfront fees. In order to prove your claim, you must demonstrate the four elements.

Duty of Care

Birth of a baby is one of the most exciting and memorable events in the lives of any person. Unfortunately, the process can be difficult for parents if medical errors cause serious injuries to the baby during labor or delivery. These mistakes could be irreparable and cause a family be faced with a series of challenges for the rest of their lives.

Medical professionals and doctors are under an obligation under law to treat their patients with the same care and skill that is expected from health professionals of similar professions under similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. In order to win a case against a healthcare provider who is at fault, you must prove that the medical professional breached this duty. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or their lack thereof, were different from what a competent and reasonably trained medical professional would do in the same circumstances.

The second part of a negligence claim is the causation. You must establish, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare provider's negligence led to the injury of your child. A doctor, for example, may not have monitored your child's vitals during labor and delivery. This could have led to brain damage due to prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The last element of a successful negligence claim is damages. You must prove that you and your child suffered actual tangible financial losses that resulted from the healthcare professional's inability to fulfill their duty of care. This typically includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals are bound to their patients to provide care that is in accordance with standards in their area of expertise. If a doctor or nurse fails to meet the standard of care, it may result in injury to the patient and result in a claim for damages. To succeed in a birth injury lawsuit the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This has to be proved by evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also crucial to prove that your child wouldn't be injured even if a medical professional given the level of care expected. Medical experts are obligated to examine the case and provide an opinion on whether or not the hospital or doctor performed a procedure that was incompatible with accepted medical procedures.

Birth injuries can alter the course of your child's life and require medical care for the rest of your life. It is vital that you hold doctors and hospitals accountable for their mistakes, and receive compensation to cover the future needs of your child.

A lawyer experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal procedure for you, including responding to insurer requests and filing lawsuits against the responsible parties. They can also build an evidence-based case, secure expert testimony, retrieve medical records as well as other documents and negotiate a fair settlement to cover your family's losses and lifetime costs of care.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who look over medical records, birth injury lawsuit witness statements from your family and you, and other evidence. They will help establish that the doctor who is involved in your case acted outside of their duty to care and caused injuries to your child. They will then estimate the damages you have suffered as a result of these injuries. This includes the future and present medical expenses in addition to lost wages, loss of quality of life, emotional distress, and many other losses.

When nurses, doctors, and other medical staff make mistakes that are not preventable before or during the birth of your child, it could result in devastating consequences for your family. It isn't easy to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have committed malpractice or negligence. They often have their own legal teams working full-time to protect their clients and deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

If you hire an New York birth injury lawyer to represent you, you can hold at-fault medical professionals accountable. Your attorney will handle communications with insurers and then submit your claim to court, and build solid evidence-based arguments to prove the liability. They will also advocate for you to win an equitable jury verdict, or settlement for your losses and care expenses over your life. They can also make your claim in time to satisfy any applicable statute of limitations, as the clock begins to tick from the date of the malpractice or medical negligence.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury lawsuit includes four parts. Your lawyer can help you understand the factors and craft a solid legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims require the defendant's obligation to you a duty of care and that the defendant violated this duty, and that the breach directly led to your child's injuries. It is essential to prove causation to win a claim. This means that the defendant's actions or omission to act caused your child's injuries.

The defendants may contest any of these elements. They could argue that you haven't established a doctor-patient relationship, or that the standard of care is different from what you believe it to be. Additionally, they could challenge your evidence and your expert witnesses opinion.

You'll need medical records, other documents in addition to an account of what happened during the birth of your child. You will also need to make an application for a demand form, which includes the names of the individuals you believe should be named defendants. An experienced lawyer can help you identify the most appropriate defendants and ensure there is enough insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist you in advancing litigation-related costs, such as the fees of highly qualified medical experts. This can help reduce some of the financial burden associated with pursuing an injury claim arising from birth.