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Birth Injury Lawsuits Explained

Families expect that their medical doctors and other professionals will ensure a high standard of care. Birth injuries can be devastating for families when they're not treated appropriately.

If you suspect your child was born with a preventable injury due to medical negligence, contact a birth injury lawyer for help. The most reputable lawyers will evaluate your case for free and will not charge any upfront fees. A successful claim requires the proof of the four elements of your case.

Duty of Care

Few events in life are more exciting and special than the birth of a child. Unfortunately, this process can become traumatic for parents when medical errors cause serious injuries to their baby during birth and labor. These errors can be irreparable and force a family to confront a long list of challenges.

Doctors and other medical professionals are legally bound to treat patients with the care and skill that is normally expected of health care providers in their field in similar situations. This is known as the duty of care. You must prove that a medical professional acted in violation of this duty to be able to win a case. This usually means proving how the medical professional's actions, or lack thereof, differed from what a competent and reasonably trained medical professional would perform under the same circumstances.

The second element of a negligence claim is the causation. You must prove through medical records and testimony from an expert that the healthcare professional who was at fault's negligence led to your child's injuries. For instance, a doctor may have failed to monitor your child's vital indicators during labor and birth. This could have resulted in brain damage due to the prolonged oxygen deprivation.

Damages are the final part of a successful negligence case. You must demonstrate that you and your child have suffered, quantifiable financial losses resulting from the healthcare professional's failure to meet their duty of care. This includes past and future medical costs and lost wages and non-economic losses such as discomfort and pain.

Causation

Medical professionals are required to patients to provide care that is consistent with the standard of care in their area of expertise. If a nurse or doctor is not able to meet this standard of care, it can cause injury to the patient, and lead to a claim for damages. To succeed in the case of a birth injury the attorney must prove that the breach of duty directly caused your child's injuries. This must be proved using evidence like medical documents and expert testimony.

It is also necessary to prove that your child would not have suffered the injury if the medical professional had performed the required standard of treatment. Medical experts are obligated to look into the matter and provide an opinion regarding whether or not the doctor or hospital acted in a way that was not in accordance with accepted medical procedures.

Birth injuries can have a profound impact on your life and require medical care for the rest of their lives. It is important that you make hospitals and doctors accountable for their negligence and seek compensation to cover the future needs of your child.

An experienced lawyer who has handled medical malpractice cases will manage the entire legal process for you, from responding to insurer requests and filing an action against the accountable parties. They can also create a case using evidence, get expert testimony, locate medical records and documents, and Birth Injury Lawyer fight for fair settlements to pay for the family's life-long care costs and expenses.

Damages

A birth injury lawsuit requires the expertise of medical experts who review medical records, testimony from you and your family as well as other evidence. They will prove that the doctor who is involved in your case has violated their duty to provide care and harmed your child. They will then determine the damages you have suffered due to these injuries. Included are your future and current medical costs, lost wages, loss of quality of your life emotional distress and other losses.

When doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals make mistakes that are not preventable before, during, or after the birth of your child, it can have devastating consequences for your family. It isn't always easy to bring legal action against hospitals and doctors who may have committed malpractice or negligence. They typically have their own legal teams who are on call 24/7 to protect their clients and deny claims or reduce settlement amounts.

If you hire an New York birth injury lawyer to represent you, you can hold medical professionals responsible for your injuries. Your lawyer will contact the insurance companies, file a claim in court and construct a solid evidence-based case for establishing the responsibility. They will also work to secure you an equitable settlement or jury verdict for your losses and life-long expenses for medical care. They may also file a lawsuit in time for any applicable statute of limitation when the clock begins to run from the day the malpractice or medical error occurred.

Statute of Limitations

Four essential elements are required for a successful claim for compensation when birth injuries occur. Your attorney can explain each of them and build a strong legal argument to support your claim.

Medical negligence claims depend on proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that the defendant breached this obligation and that the breach directly led to the injuries to your child. For a claim to succeed, it is also essential that you establish causation, which means that the injuries suffered by your child would not have occurred if it weren't for the defendant's actions (or inaction).

The defendants may contest any of these elements. They may argue that there is no doctor-patient connection or that the standard care is not what you claim it is. They can also challenge your proof or the opinions of your expert witnesses.

To prove a breach of duty, you'll need to submit medical records as well as other documentation along with a statement that explains what went wrong in your child's birth. You will also need to submit a demand packet, which includes the names of the people you think should be named as defendants. A skilled lawyer can help identify the right defendants and ensure that there is adequate insurance coverage. A lawyer can also assist in advancing costs related to litigation including the costs for highly qualified medical experts. This helps ease some of the financial stress associated with pursuing a birth injury claim.