Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families expect that their doctors and other medical professionals maintain a high level of care. Birth injuries can be catastrophic for families when they're not properly treated.

If you suspect that your child suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence, contact a birth injury lawyer for assistance. Professionals with a good reputation will assess your case with no upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must establish the four elements.

Duty of Care

Birth of a baby is one of the most exciting and significant events in the life of a person. Unfortunately, the birth process can be traumatic for parents if medical errors cause serious injuries to their child during birth and labor. These mistakes can be irreversible and cause a family to confront a long list of challenges.

Medical professionals and doctors have an obligation under law to treat their patients with the same level of care and expertise that is expected from health care professionals of similar professions in similar situations. This is known as the duty of care. To win a claim against a healthcare provider at fault, you must prove that the medical professional violated this obligation. This usually means proving that the medical professional's actions or failure to act was different from what a reasonably trained and competent medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The second part of a negligence claim is causation. You must prove via medical records and testimony from an expert that the healthcare provider who was at fault's negligence caused your child's injuries. For example, a doctor might not have been able to observe your child's vital indicators during labor and birth. This could have led to prolonged oxygen deprivation, which could have caused brain damage.

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

Causation

Medical professionals are obligated to patients to provide treatment in line with the standards of medical care in their specialization. A nurse or doctor who fails to meet the standards of care can cause injuries to patients, and may result in an action for damages. In order to win a birth injury case an attorney must demonstrate that the breach of duty directly caused the injuries suffered by your child. This must be proved using evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also important to prove that your child would not have suffered a traumatic injury when a medical professional been able to provide the level of care expected. Medical experts are called to look into the matter and provide their opinion regarding whether or not the doctor or hospital 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 a lifetime. It is important that you hold hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence and seek compensation to pay for the future needs of your child.

A lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases can manage the entire legal process, including responding to insurance requests and filing a suit against the parties responsible. They can also construct an evidence-based argument and birth injury obtain expert testimony, obtain medical records as well as other documents and then fight for an appropriate settlement to cover the losses of your family and continue to pay for costs of care.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, testimonies from your family and you and other evidence. They will determine if the doctor who is involved in your case acted outside of their duty of care and caused injuries to your child. Then, they will calculate the damages you have suffered as a result of those injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs, lost wages, diminished quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family members when doctors, nurses and other medical staff commit unavoidable errors prior to or after the birth of your child. It isn't easy to bring legal action against doctors and hospitals that may have acted negligently or in a negligent manner. They have lawyers on staff who work full-time to protect their clients, deny claims or reduce settlements.

When you employ a New York birth injury lawyer and appointing medical professionals at fault accountable. Your lawyer will contact the insurers and file a claim with the court, and create a strong evidence-based case for establishing liability. They will also fight to get you an equitable settlement or jury verdict to cover your losses and future expenses for medical care. They can also make your claim in time to comply with 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 case requires four components. Your lawyer can explain each of them and create a strong legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on the defendant's obligation to you a duty of care and that the defendant violated this duty and that the breach directly caused the injuries to your child. It is crucial to prove causation in order to prevail in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or failure to act resulted in the injury of your child.

The defendants can challenge any of these elements. They can claim that there isn't a doctor-patient relationship or that standard care is not what you claim it is. They can also challenge your evidence, or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

In order to prove a breach of obligation, you'll need submit medical records and other evidence as well as a written statement of what went wrong with your child's birth. Additionally, you'll need to file an order form with the names of all people you believe should be named as defendants. A knowledgeable lawyer can help you establish the appropriate defendants and ensure that there is adequate insurance coverage. Lawyers can also help in advancing costs related to litigation including the costs for highly qualified medical experts. This can ease some of the financial stress that comes with pursuing a claim for birth injury.