Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families are conditioned to believe that their doctors and other medical professionals maintain a high level of care. When they do not birth injuries can be devastating to families.

If you suspect your child has suffered a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence, contact a birth injury lawyer to get help. A reputable lawyer will review your case without imposing any upfront fees. To prove your claim, you must prove the four elements.

Duty of Care

The birth of a baby can be one of the most joyful and memorable events in the lives of any person. However, the birth process can turn traumatic for parents if medical errors result in serious injuries to the baby during labor or delivery. These mistakes could be irreparable which can cause an entire series of problems for families.

Medical professionals and doctors have the legal obligation of treating their patients with the same respect and expertise that they expect from health professionals of similar professions in similar circumstances. This is called the duty of care. If you want to prevail against a healthcare provider who is at fault it is necessary to prove that the medical professional breached this obligation. This usually means proving how the medical professional's actions, or absence of actions, differed from what a competent and properly trained medical professional would have done in similar circumstances.

The third element in a negligence lawsuit is the issue of causation. You must prove with medical records and evidence from an expert that the healthcare professional responsible for the breach of duty led to your child's injuries. A doctor, for example might not have been able to monitor the vitals of your child during labor and delivery. This could have resulted in brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the last part of a successful negligence case. You must prove that you and your child have suffered, birth injury quantifiable financial losses resulting from the healthcare professional at fault's inability to meet their obligation 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 have a responsibility to patients to provide treatment in line with the highest standards of care in their field. A doctor or nurse who fails to meet the standards of care can cause injuries to a patient and could result in an action for damages. To prevail in a case of birth injury the attorney must show that the breach of duty directly led to your child's injuries. This can be proved with evidence such as medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also necessary to prove that your child wouldn't have suffered the injury even if the medical professional performed the required standard of care. Medical experts are obligated to examine the situation and give their opinion regarding whether or not the hospital or doctor was acting in a manner that was incompatible with accepted medical practices.

Birth injuries can cause life-altering impacts that require a lifetime of medical treatments and other expenses. It is important to hold at-fault physicians and hospitals accountable for their negligence and obtain compensation to ensure your child's future requirements.

A lawyer who is experienced in handling medical malpractice cases can oversee the entire legal process for you, which includes responding to insurer requests and bringing lawsuits against the responsible parties. They can also develop a case with the help of evidence, obtain expert testimony, locate documents and medical records and negotiate fair settlements to cover the family's life-long care costs and losses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who review medical records, testimony from your family and you, and other evidence. They will assist you in proving that the medical professional or hospital involved in your case breached their duty of care and harmed your child. They will also estimate the damage you've suffered because of these injuries. Included are your future and current medical expenses in addition to lost wages, loss in quality of life emotional distress, and other losses.

If nurses, doctors or other medical staff commit mistakes that could be avoided prior to or during the birth of your child, it can have devastating consequences for your family. It can be difficult to take legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have acted negligently or with a lack of care. They usually have their own legal teams who are on call 24/7 to protect their clients and to deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

You can hold medical professionals responsible for their actions by hiring an New York birth injuries lawyer. Your lawyer will be in contact with the insurers and file a claim in court and build a solid argument based on evidence to establish the liability. They will also fight to secure you an appropriate settlement or jury verdict for your losses as well as lifetime care costs. They may also file a lawsuit in time for any applicable statute of limitation and the clock starts to run from the day the malpractice or medical error occurred.

Statute of limitations

A successful claim for compensation in a birth-related injury case includes four parts. Your attorney can help you understand the elements and create a strong legal case in support of your claim.

Medical negligence claims require being able to prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that the defendant breached this duty, and that the breach directly led to the injuries to your child. It is crucial to prove causation to prevail in an action. This means that the defendant's actions or omission to act caused the injuries to your child.

Defendants can challenge each of these elements. They could argue that there is no doctor-patient relationship or that normal care isn't what you claim it is. They can also challenge your evidence as well as your expert witnesses' opinions.

In order to prove a breach of duty, you'll have to submit medical records as well as other documentation and a written statement that explains what went wrong during the birth of your child. You'll also need to submit a demand package with a list of all individuals you believe should be named as defendants. A skilled lawyer can help identify the right defendants and make sure there's sufficient insurance coverage. Lawyers can assist in advancing costs associated with litigation, like the costs of highly skilled medical experts. This can help to reduce some of the financial stress associated with pursuing the case of birth injury.