The 10 Most Scariest Things About Birth Injury Law

Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their medical professionals and doctors will ensure a high standard of care. If they fail to do so, birth injuries can be devastating to families.

If you suspect that your child suffered a birth injury due to medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer for assistance. The most reputable lawyers will evaluate your case free of charge and will not charge upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few events in life are more joyous and special than the birth of a baby. However, this event could be difficult for parents if medical blunders result in severe injuries to their baby during labor and birth. These errors can be irreparable and cause a family to be faced with a series of challenges for the rest of their lives.

Medical professionals and doctors are legally bound to treat patients with the same care and skill that is normally expected of health professionals in their field under similar circumstances. This is called the duty of care. In order to win a case against a healthcare provider at fault you must show that the medical professional breached this duty. This typically involves proving that the medical professional's actions, or the failure to act was in violation of what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done under the same circumstances.

The third element in a negligence case is the issue of causation. You must show, via medical evidence and expert testimony that the healthcare provider at fault's negligence caused the injury to your child. For instance, a healthcare professional may not have observed your child's vital signs during labor and delivery. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation which could have caused brain damage.

The final component of a successful negligence claim is the amount of damages. You must demonstrate that you and your child have suffered significant financial losses, which are quantifiable, resulting from the healthcare professional at fault's failure to perform their duty of care. This typically includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals have a responsibility to their patients to offer care that is in line with standards of their area of expertise. A doctor or nurse who fails to adhere to the standards of care can cause injury to a patient, and may result in an action for damages. To win a birth injury case, an attorney must prove that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This can be proven through evidence, including medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also necessary to establish that your child would not have suffered the injury if the medical professional had met the expected standard of treatment. Medical experts are required to examine the case to determine whether the doctor or hospital acted in a way that was not consistent with the accepted medical practice.

Birth injuries can have life-altering effects that require the need for a lifetime of medical care and other costs. It is important that you hold doctors and hospitals accountable for their negligence, and receive compensation to meet the future needs of your child.

An experienced lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases will manage the entire legal process for you, from responding to insurer requests and filing lawsuits against the responsible parties. They can also develop a case based on evidence, secure expert testimony, retrieve documents and medical records and argue for fair settlements to pay for the family's life-long care costs and losses.

Damages

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

If nurses, doctors and other medical staff make mistakes that are not preventable before or during the birth of your child, it can result in devastating consequences for your family. It can be difficult to take legal action against doctors and hospitals that may have committed negligence or malpractice. They have teams of lawyers who work full-time to protect their clients, reject 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 insurance companies and file a claim with the court and develop a solid evidence-based case to establish liability. They will also fight for you to obtain a fair jury verdict or settlement for your losses as well as care costs over your life. They can also file a lawsuit in time for any applicable statute of limitation and the clock starts to tick from the date the medical malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case requires four components. Your attorney can explain each of them and create a strong legal argument in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require the defendant's obligation to you the duty of care and that the defendant violated this obligation, and that the breach directly led to your child's injuries. To be successful in a claim, it is also essential that you prove causation, which means that your child's injuries wouldn't have occurred but for the defendant's actions (or inaction).

Defendants can challenge each of these elements. They may argue that you haven't established a doctor-patient relationship or that the standard of care you provide is different from what you declare it to be. They can also challenge your evidence and your expert witnesses or their opinions.

In order to prove a breach of duty, you'll have to submit medical records and other documents along with a statement that explains what went wrong in the birth of your child. Additionally, you'll need to file the demand package, which includes the names of all individuals you believe should be named as defendants. A skilled lawyer can help in identifying the appropriate defendants and ensure that there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist you in advancing costs associated with litigation, like the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This could help ease some of the financial stress that comes with litigating a claim for birth injury.