Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Birth is a dangerous and stressful experience, but families expect their doctors and other medical professionals to ensure a high quality of care. When they do not birth injuries can be devastating for families.

If you suspect that your child suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence then contact a birth trauma lawyer to get help. Professionals with a good reputation will assess your case without charging any upfront costs. In order to prove your claim, you must prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

Few occasions in life are more joyous and special than the birth of a baby. However, this event can be stressful for parents if medical mistakes cause serious injuries to their child during the birth process and during labor. These mistakes could be irreparable and create many challenges for a family.

Medical professionals and doctors have the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same care and expertise that they expect from health care providers in similar professions in similar situations. This is referred to as the duty of care. You must demonstrate that a medical professional has violated this duty to be able to win a case. This typically involves proving how the medical professional's actions, or their lack thereof, were different from what a qualified and appropriately trained medical professional would do in the same circumstances.

The second aspect in a negligence case is the causation. You must prove, using medical documents and expert testimony that the at-fault healthcare provider's negligence caused your child's injury. A doctor, for example, may not have monitored your child's vitals during labor and birth. This could have led to brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the final element in a successful negligence case. You must demonstrate that you as well as your child suffered real, tangible financial losses from the healthcare professional at fault's failure to meet their duty of care. This usually includes past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and other non-economic losses such as pain and suffering.

Causation

Medical professionals are bound to their patients to provide them with care that is consistent with the standards of their area of expertise. A doctor or nurse who does not meet the standards of care can cause injuries to a patient and lead to a claim for damages. In order to be successful in a case that involves birth injuries, an attorney must prove that the breach of duty caused your child's injury. This can be proven through evidence, like medical documents or expert testimony.

It is also crucial to establish that your child wouldn't have suffered a traumatic injury when a medical professional performed the treatment expected. Medical experts are expected to examine the case and provide their opinion on whether the hospital or doctor performed a procedure that was inconsistent with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can be life-changing and require medical care for a lifetime. It is crucial to hold at-fault doctors as well as hospitals responsible for their negligence, and to seek compensation that can help ensure your child's future needs.

A lawyer who is experienced in handling medical malpractice cases will manage the entire legal procedure for you, including responding to insurer requests and bringing an action against the responsible parties. They can also construct an evidence-based argument and obtain expert testimony, obtain medical records as well as other documents and then fight for an equitable settlement to cover your family's losses and lifetime care costs.

Damages

Medical experts are required to review medical records, witness statements from you and your family members, and other evidence in a birth injury lawsuit. They will establish that the doctor involved in your case has not complied with their duty to care and caused injuries to your child. They will then calculate the damages you have suffered as a result of these injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs, lost wages, loss in quality of life emotional distress, and other losses.

It can be a tragedy for your family when doctors, nurses and other medical professionals make inexcusable mistakes prior to, during or after the birth injury attorneys your child. It can also be difficult to take legal action against hospital and doctors who might have committed negligence or malpractice. They often have their own legal teams who are on call 24/7 to protect their clients and defend against claims or reduce settlement amounts.

When you employ a New York birth injury lawyer to represent you, you can hold medical professionals responsible for your injuries. Your lawyer will handle communication with insurance companies and then file your claim in court, and create solid evidence-based arguments to prove the liability. They will also fight for you to obtain a fair jury verdict or settlement for your losses and costs over your lifetime. They can also start a lawsuit before the deadline for any applicable statute of limitations and the clock starts to tick from the time the malpractice or negligence occurred.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth injury lawsuit is based on four components. Your lawyer can help you understand the components and build a strong legal case in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require that you establish that the defendant owed the duty of care towards your child, that they breached this duty, and that this breach led to the injuries to your child. To prove a claim it is crucial that you prove causation, which means that your child's injuries would not have occurred if it weren't for the actions of the defendant (or the failure to act).

Defendants can challenge each of these elements. They may claim that there isn't a doctor-patient relationship or that normal care isn't what you claim it to be. They can also challenge your proof or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

To prove that you have breached your duty, you'll need to provide medical records and other documentation along with a statement that describes what went wrong with your child's birth. You'll also have to provide a demand package that includes a list of the parties you consider to be defendants. A skilled lawyer can help in identifying the appropriate defendants and ensure that there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can assist with costs associated with litigation, like the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This can help to reduce some of the financial burden associated with litigating the case of birth injury.