Birth Injury Lawyer 101 A Complete Guide For Beginners

Birth Injury Settlement

A settlement for birth injuries can be used to pay for long-term therapies that help your child live a more comfortable life. These treatments can include medications along with home modifications and equipment like wheelchairs.

Medical malpractice cases are not common and therefore many families decide to settle their cases. However, the amount of settlement is contingent on a number of aspects.

Damages

Birth injuries can impact all aspects of a child's existence, including their quality of life. Some patients may need medication to manage their ailments, while others may require home modifications or medical devices like wheelchairs. Parents might also be forced to quit their jobs to care for their children, which could result in a loss of income. A lawyer will determine a patient's estimated lifetime treatment costs and seek enough compensation to pay for those costs.

The severity and duration of the injury could impact the value of the settlement. Patients with cerebral palsy may have greater medical expenses over the course of their life than someone suffering from Erb's Palsy or Shoulder Dystocia. Some states limit the amount of noneconomic damages for pain, suffering and other emotional distress, which could reduce the value of a settlement.

When an action is filed, attorneys for both sides will create evidence and collect details from witnesses to support their allegations of negligence. The parties will eventually meet to discuss possible solutions in settlement talks. If negotiations fail, the case could proceed to trial. A jury and judge will hear arguments and render a verdict. Trials tend to be more expensive and take longer than settlements. Therefore, it is recommended to settle as soon as you can.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can provide important evidence in support of the claim for damages. They can be a vital part in the process of proving causation, which is a necessary element of any medical malpractice case. It may be difficult for birth injuries jurors to decide if your child's injuries result of the defendant's infraction to accepted professional practices without the assistance of an expert.

Your lawyer must establish a link between negligence and the harms suffered by your child to establish the causality. This can be accomplished through several methods such as medical records and expert testimony. Your lawyer will be able to help you find the best expert witness to assist your case.

Your legal team will be able to identify the defendants in the event of birth injury to your child. They may include obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine experts, nurses during delivery and other healthcare professionals. Then, they will need to determine the quality of care that is generally determined by the medical knowledge. This will involve a detailed review of your child's medical records, which can be complex.

Your attorney will need to determine the needs for future care of your child. This can be quite complicated as it involves estimating costs for therapies and equipment, in-home caregivers, additional procedures and surgeries and many more. Your lawyer will work with expert witnesses who can help you calculate the cost of these future expenses.

Statute of limitations

Building a birth injury case requires careful research and use of medical experts. It is crucial to choose an attorney who has an extensive knowledge of the subject and knows how to build an effective case.

The first step in a lawsuit is establishing that the defendant has violated their duty of care. This is done by reviewing medical records and deposing the doctors involved. Attorneys can also seek medical experts to give an opinion on whether or not the doctors acted appropriately in the circumstances.

Medical negligence is the inability to meet a standard of care and knowledge. This is applicable to doctors and other healthcare professionals, but is especially strict for specialists like Obstetricians who have extensive training and specialization. A legal claim must also establish causation, which means that a medical mistake directly caused the child's injury.

Parents have two years to make a claim for malpractice on behalf of a child who has been injured under New York law. Minors cannot sue themselves according to CPLR Sec. 1207.1. They must have an account with a parent or guardian on their behalf. Medical malpractice claims must comply with statutory limits on damages, including non-economic damages. This limit is typically set by the court and is often based on the number of similar cases in the state.

Getting Started

An experienced attorney is necessary to get adequate compensation and recognition for the injuries a child has sustained due to medical negligence or malpractice at birth. A competent legal team knows how to analyze the various aspects that impact the settlement for a birth injury and how to argue for these in court to get you the most money-based settlement.

The process begins with a free consultation with your lawyer to establish an attorney-client relationship. After that your lawyer will conduct an investigation into the matter, including reviewing medical records and calling expert witnesses to determine the accepted standard of care for the procedure in question.

Your lawyer can also negotiate and push insurance companies of the defendants on a fair amount of damages. If this fails then your lawyer will file a lawsuit against the medical providers to bring the case before the judge and jury.

If a decision is reached the lawyer will draft the documents that will be used to calculate the damages you and your child are entitled to. This includes the anticipated costs of any future medical treatment, loss of income and other economic damages. Your lawyer will also be able to outline the lifetime costs of care for birth injuries your child's injuries. This is called life-care planning. This is typically a major part of the settlement.