Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained
Birth is a dangerous and stressful event, but families expect their medical professionals and doctors to ensure a high quality of care. If they don't birth injuries can be catastrophic to families.
If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable
birth injury attorneys injury due to medical negligence or birth injuries, you should contact a birth injury lawyer to get help. A reputable lawyer will review your case without charging any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.
Duty of Care
Few events in life are more exciting and special than the birth of a baby. Unfortunately, this process can be traumatic for parents if medical blunders cause serious injuries to their baby during the birth process and during labor. These errors could be irreparable, creating many challenges for the family.
Doctors and medical professionals have a legal obligation to treat their patients with the same care and competence that is expected from health professionals of similar professions in similar circumstances. This is known as the duty of care. To prevail in a lawsuit against a healthcare provider who is at fault you must show that the medical professional violated this duty. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or failure to act was in violation of what a reasonably educated and competent medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.
The second element of a negligence claim is the causation. You must prove via medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare provider responsible for the breach of duty led to your child's injuries. A doctor, for example could not have observed the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in brain damage due to prolonged oxygen deprivation.
Damages are the last aspect in the case of a successful negligence claim. You must prove that you and your child have suffered tangible financial losses that resulted from the at-fault healthcare professional's inability to fulfill their duty of care. This includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages, as well as other damages like discomfort and pain.
Causation
Medical professionals are bound to their patients to provide care that is in line with standards of their field. If a nurse or doctor fails to meet the standard of care, they could cause injury to the patient, and lead to an action for damages. To succeed in a case involving birth injuries, a lawyer will need to prove the breach of duty led to your child's injury. This must be proved using evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.
It is also important to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury if the medical professional had been able to provide the standard of medical care. Medical experts are required to review the case to determine whether the doctor or hospital was acting in a way that was not in line with the accepted medical guidelines.
Birth injuries can cause life-altering impacts that require the use of a lifetime of medical treatment and other expenses. It is vital that you hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence, and receive compensation to pay for the future needs of your child.
A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process including responding to insurance requests and bringing a lawsuit against the parties responsible. They can also build a case based on evidence, secure expert testimony, locate documents and medical records, and fight for fair settlements to cover the family's lifetime care costs and expenses.
Damages
A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, testimonies from you and your family as well as other evidence. They will determine if the doctor in your case acted outside of their duty to take care of your child and caused harm to your child. They will then determine the damage you've suffered because of these injuries. These include the current and future medical expenses and the loss of income, the loss of quality of life, emotional distress, and other losses.
When doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel make mistakes that could be avoided prior to, during, or after the birth of your child, it could have devastating effects for your family. It isn't easy to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors who have acted negligently or in a negligent manner. They often have their own legal teams 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 handle communication with insurance companies, submit your claim to court, and build a strong evidence-based case to prove the liability. They will also fight for you to win a fair jury verdict or settlement for your losses and care costs over your entire life. They can also bring your case in time to be in compliance with any applicable statute of limitations, since the clock starts ticking on the date of the malpractice or medical negligence.
Statute of limitations
Four factors are essential to be successful in claiming for compensation if
birth injuries occur. Your lawyer can help you understand the factors and craft an argument that is legal and strong in support of your claim.
Medical negligence claims depend on showing that the defendant owed you the duty of care, that the defendant breached this obligation, and that the breach directly resulted in your child's injuries. To be successful in a claim, it is also essential to prove causation which means that the injuries suffered by your child would not have occurred if it weren't for the defendant's actions (or inaction).
The defendants can challenge any of these elements. They may argue that there is no doctor-patient relationship, or that the standard care is not what you claim it is. They can also contest your evidence and expert witnesses' opinions.
You'll need to submit medical records, other documentation and an account of what happened during the birth of your child. Also, you'll need to submit the demand package, which includes the names of all people you believe should be named as defendants. An experienced lawyer can assist identify the right defendants and make sure there's sufficient insurance coverage. Lawyers can also help with advancing litigation-related expenses including the costs for highly qualified medical experts. This can ease some of the financial burden that comes with pursuing claims for birth injuries.