Birth Injury Compensation
It can be devastating for your child if they suffer a birth injury as a result of a doctor's negligence. These injuries can require ongoing treatment and treatment. You will be left with massive financial burdens.
In addition, many birth injury cases are a complicated argument about medical errors versus malpractice. Our lawyers can explain the differences.
Costs of Treatment
Attorneys, insurance companies, and judges take into account the severity of the birth injury as well as the impact it has on the child's life in determining the amount compensation to be paid. If a child requires extensive medical treatment that lasts over time, the value of the claim will rise.
Medical treatment for birth injuries can be extremely expensive. The compensation awarded for a birth injury can help families pay for these expenses. Experts and lawyers often collaborate to develop a "Life Care Plan" that estimates the costs of a child's injury over a lifetime. These include hospitalization expenses, surgical intervention, specialized medical treatment, prescriptions, home renovations and other equipment, and many more.
Your legal team will collect medical records from the time of pregnancy and birth of your child, along with firsthand reports from relatives. They will be used to prove that your child sustained an injury due to negligence in the medical field and to show the extent of the harm caused.
Many states have medical indemnity fund that provides financial assistance to families with children born with birth injuries. These funds take a percentage of malpractice insurance premiums or require doctors and hospitals to contribute to a pool of resources. In addition to providing financial assistance, these programs could also reduce the need for families to file a lawsuit. However, JLARC staff found that the programs don't always meet their aims and could be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children with conditions such as hypoxic ischephalopathy, cerebral palsy, or hypoxic ir will require medical attention throughout their lives. This includes physical therapies and equipment that is specialized, as well as home health care. These costs can often be substantial.
A life-care planning document is an important document that outlines the future medical, education, home and other expenses children with disabilities will endure throughout their lifetime. These plans are commonly used to help calculate the financial portion of damages in a
birth injury lawsuit. The plans must be precise and carefully designed to comply with the strict requirements for admissibility.
Life-care experts can assist in the preparation of these documents using input and formal opinions from a child's doctors as well as therapists and caregivers. The plans also contain a detailed account of the initial injury and diagnosis. They also explain the root cause of the impairment as well as the long-term effects.
A medical malpractice lawyer must collaborate with a life-care planner to develop the most appropriate plan for their clients' situation. The aim of the plan is to ensure your child receives enough compensation to cover their future expenses and health care. The money awarded is typically placed in a special needs trust which is administered by an approved administrator. Typically the amount given will be adjusted regularly to adjust to any changes in your child's needs.
Suffering and Pain
In a birth injury lawsuit, damages are awarded for a plaintiff's past and future suffering and pain. This includes mental and physical stress caused by the injury and the inability to participate in activities that are enjoyed by other people.
You can also recover lost income if an injury hinders their professional options or prevents them from working at all. Families could also be compensated for the care and treatment of an injured child.
The verdicts for medical malpractice cases tend to be extremely high because juries are often compassionate towards victims and hold doctors responsible for their mistakes. Due to this, many doctors and hospitals prefer to settle instead of taking on the possibility of a trial, which is expensive and stressful for all parties involved.
During the trial attorneys from both sides will gather evidence to justify their arguments. They will share documents in the course of discovery, which includes the deposition of witnesses to obtain statements under oath. The defendants can also ask to review the medical records of the plaintiff and are legal in many states.
A lawyer who is experienced in this type of case is required to submit a successful claim for
birth injuries. An experienced attorney will go over the circumstances of your case, determine if the case meets the requirements for a lawsuit and work to secure the best financial settlement that is possible.
Punitive Damages
Some medical malpractice suits include punitive damage awards, intended as a warning, and also to deter future negligence. These damages are awarded when there is a substantial amount of negligence or malice on the part of the doctor. They are uncommon in cases of birth injury.
After identifying the defendants the attorney needs to gather and examine the evidence to back the claim. They must prove that the injuries caused by the medical professionals failed to meet an acceptable standard of care. The legal team also needs to provide evidence of the financial losses resulting from these injuries, known as "damages." The information can be economic or non-economic in the sense that it is not a loss.
Economic losses are figured out by taking into account ongoing treatment costs including long-term facilities and other services. They can also include lost earnings if an injury caused both or one parent to lose their job.
The legal team will then create a demand document for the malpractice lawyers. The document will outline the birth injury and the impact it has on the child's family and as well as request compensation to pay the costs associated with these losses. The attorneys will negotiate with medical professionals until an agreement is reached. During the discovery process, attorneys will exchange information with other party on their case. This may include depositions of witnesses who testify on oath.