Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families expect that their medical professionals and doctors maintain a high level of care. If they don't, birth injuries can be devastating for families.

If you suspect your child suffered a preventable birth injury as a result of medical malpractice, contact a birth injury lawyer for help. Reputable attorneys will evaluate your case and not charge any upfront fees. A successful claim requires the proof of the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

Birth of a baby is one of the most joyous and significant events in a person's life. Unfortunately, the process can be traumatic for parents when medical errors result in serious injuries to the baby during labor and birth. These errors could be irreparable which can cause the possibility of a lifetime of difficulties for families.

Medical professionals and doctors owe a legal duty to treat patients with the respect and skill ordinarily expected of health care providers in their field in similar situations. This is referred to as the duty of care. You must demonstrate that a medical professional has violated this duty in order to prevail on a claim. This typically involves proving how the medical professional's actions, or absence of actions, differed from what a qualified and properly trained medical professional would do in the same circumstances.

The second aspect in a negligence case is the issue of causation. You must establish, through medical evidence and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare professional's negligence caused your child's injury. For instance, a healthcare professional may not have observed your child's vital signs during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in brain damage as a result of prolonged oxygen deprivation.

The final element of a successful negligence claim is the amount of damages. You have to prove that you and/or your child suffered actual tangible, quantifiable losses as the result of the healthcare professional's incompetence in their duty to care. This usually includes future and past medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic losses like suffering and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals have a duty to their patients to provide care that is consistent with the standards of their area of expertise. A nurse or doctor who fails to adhere to the standards of care can cause injury to a patient, and may result in an action for damages. To succeed in a birth injury case the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This must be proved with evidence, like medical records or expert testimony.

It is also essential to establish that your child would not be injured in the event that a medical professional been able to provide the level of care that is expected. Medical experts are called to review the case and provide an opinion on whether or not the hospital or doctor did something that was not in accordance with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can be life-changing and require medical attention for the rest of their lives. It is essential to hold at-fault doctors as well as hospitals responsible for their negligence and obtain compensation to provide for your child's future requirements.

A lawyer who has dealt with medical malpractice cases can handle the entire legal process including responding to insurance requests and filing a suit against the parties responsible. They can also construct a case based on evidence, secure expert testimony, obtain documents and medical records and advocate for fair settlements to cover the family's lifetime medical costs and losses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who examine medical records, evidence from your family and you as well as other evidence. They will prove that the doctor in your case violated their duty to care and caused injuries to your child. They will then estimate the damage you've suffered as a result of these injuries. This includes the future and present medical expenses in addition to the loss of income, the loss of quality of life, emotional distress and other losses.

It can be devastating for your family if nurses, doctors and other medical staff commit errors that could have been avoided prior to or even after the birth of your child. It can be difficult to take legal action against hospitals and doctors that may have committed malpractice or negligence. They have teams of lawyers who work full-time for them to protect their clients, denying claims or limit settlements.

If you hire a New York birth injury law firms injury lawyer and appointing at-fault medical professionals accountable. Your lawyer will handle communication with insurance companies and will file your claim in court, and create an evidence-based case to prove the responsibility. They will also fight to secure you a fair settlement or verdict from a jury to cover your losses and future cost of care. They will also submit your lawsuit on time to be in compliance with any applicable statute of limitations, since the clock begins to tick from the date of the medical negligence or malpractice.

Statute of Limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury case requires four components. Your attorney can help you understand the components and build an effective legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on showing that the defendant owed you an obligation of care and that the defendant violated this obligation and that the breach directly resulted in the injuries to your child. It is essential to prove causation to be successful in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or inability to act caused your child's injuries.

Defendants can challenge each of these elements. They may claim that there isn't a doctor-patient relationship or that standard of care is not what you claim it to be. Additionally, they may challenge your evidence as well as your expert witnesses or their opinions.

To prove a breach of obligation, you'll need submit medical records and other documents along with a statement of what went wrong in your child's birth. Also, you'll need to submit an application package that includes an inventory of all the parties you believe should be named as defendants. An experienced attorney can assist you in identifying the proper defendants and make sure there is enough insurance coverage. Lawyers can assist in advancing litigation-related expenses, for example the fees of highly experienced medical experts. This could help ease some of the financial burden that comes with pursuing a claim for birth injury.