Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical doctors and other professionals will maintain a high level of care. Birth injuries can be devastating for families if they're not properly treated.

Contact a birth injury attorney to seek assistance if you suspect that your child has suffered a preventable injury at birth due to medical malpractice. Reputable attorneys will evaluate your case without imposing any upfront fees. A successful claim is based on the evidence of the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

The birth of a child is one of the most exciting and memorable events in the life of a person. Unfortunately, this birthing process could be difficult for parents when medical errors result in serious injuries to their baby during labor and birth. These errors can be irreparable and cause a family endure a lifetime of difficulties.

Doctors and other medical professionals owe a legal duty to treat patients with the care and skill that is normally expected of health care providers in their field 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 show that the medical professional breached this duty. This usually involves demonstrating how the medical professional's actions, or their lack thereof, were different from what a qualified and competent medical professional would perform under similar circumstances.

The second element in a negligence case is causation. You must prove via medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare professional at fault's breach of duty caused your child's injuries. A doctor, for instance could not have observed the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in prolonged oxygen deprivation, which could have caused brain damage.

Damages are a crucial component in an effective negligence case. You must prove that either you or your child suffered actual significant, quantifiable damages as a result of the healthcare provider's lapse in their duty to care. This includes future and past medical costs, lost wages, and non-economic losses such as pain and discomfort.

Causation

Medical professionals are bound to their patients to provide them with care that is in line with standards of their area of expertise. If a physician or nurse is not able to meet this standard of care, it can cause an injury to the patient and result in a claim for damages. In order to win a birth injury lawsuit an attorney must demonstrate that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This must be proved with evidence, such as medical records or expert testimony.

It is also important to prove that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury even if the medical professional performed the required standard of medical care. Medical experts are required review the case in order to determine if the doctor or hospital behaved in a manner that was not in accordance with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can have life-altering effects that need a lifetime of medical treatments and other costs. It is crucial to make hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence, and receive compensation to help pay for the future requirements of your child.

A lawyer with experience in handling medical malpractice cases can oversee the entire legal process for you, which includes responding to insurer requests and filing a lawsuit against the responsible parties. They can also build an argument with the help of evidence, obtain expert testimony, locate medical records and documents and advocate for fair settlements to cover family's lifetime care costs and expenses.

Damages

Medical experts are required to review medical records, the testimony of you and your family members, and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will help you establish that the hospital or doctor involved in your case breached their duty of care and harmed your child. They will then determine the amount of damage you have suffered because of those injuries. Included are your present and future medical expenses, lost wages, diminished quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

When doctors, nurses, or other medical staff commit mistakes that are preventable prior to, during, or after the birth of your child, it could cause devastating harm to your family. It can be difficult to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors that may have committed negligence or malpractice. They have teams of lawyers who are full-time employees to defend their clients, deflect claims or limit settlements.

When you employ a New York birth injury lawyer who can hold the medical professionals who are at fault accountable. The lawyer will negotiate with the insurers, file a claim in court and construct a solid evidence-based case for establishing the responsibility. They will also fight to secure you an equitable settlement or verdict from a jury to cover your losses and future cost of care. They will also make your claim in time to be in compliance with any applicable statute of limitations, since the clock starts ticking on the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case is based on four components. Your attorney can provide a detailed explanation of each element and formulate a convincing legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on showing that the defendant owed you the duty of care, that the defendant breached this duty and that the breach directly caused your child's injuries. To be successful in a claim it is also necessary that you prove causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child would not have happened if not for the defendant's actions (or the failure to act).

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 is different from what you believe it to be. They can also challenge your evidence or expert witnesses opinion.

You'll need to submit medical records, as well as other evidence in addition to an account of what went wrong during the birth of your child. Also, you'll need to submit a demand package with the names of all individuals you think should be named as defendants. An experienced lawyer can assist identify the right defendants and ensure there's adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can help advance costs related to litigation, including the fees of highly experienced medical experts. This could help ease some of the financial burden associated with litigating claims for birth injuries.