How a Birth Injury Attorney Can Help Families Get the Compensation They Need

Although advances in medicine make births more secure than ever, complications can still arise during and after the birth of the baby. If you suspect that your child suffered a preventable birth injury, contact an experienced birth injury attorney right away.

A firm that specializes in birth injury cases generally will advance all costs associated with a lawsuit and only get paid when they win compensation for your case.

Damages

While medical advances made childbirth safer than ever before but mothers and infants are still at a high risk of injury for a variety of reasons. Head trauma and oxygen deprivation are among the most frequent. These injuries can result in devastating disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. A good birth injury attorney can help families receive the compensation they require to cover lifelong medical treatment and support.

Your lawyer will seek all relevant medical records and reports related to your baby's injury. The attorney may employ medical experts who will analyze the evidence and provide an opinion in writing on whether the medical personnel who delivered your baby have violated the standards of care. In a typical case an expert will compare medical care provided by defendant to practices commonly accepted by medical experts with similar experience and training.

Economic and non-economic damages are able to be awarded. Economic damages can include medical expenses as well as lost income and property damage. Non-economic damages could include emotional distress, pain and suffering. In some cases, punitive damages are also awarded. They are intended to punish the responsible party and discourage similar behavior in future. They are distinct from compensation damages that are granted to recover actual losses.

Medical Experts

Although medical advances have made childbirth more secure than ever, the procedure still involves some risk for mother and baby. It is the responsibility of the nurses and doctors who are involved in the birth to be professional and to avoid making mistakes that can have devastating consequences for both the baby's and mother's health. When they fail to do this and cause a birth injury parents may claim compensation for their injuries.

A birth injury attorney will be in close contact with you for the duration of your case, from beginning with the initial consultation until final resolution. They will collect evidence from you, such as medical records and witness testimonies and will also seek expert opinions from numerous sources including other specialists and doctors.

The experts will go over all the evidence and give a formal opinion on whether the injuries occurred due to medical negligence. This will be utilized by the lawyer to decide on how to proceed.

If the medical expert agrees that there was a malpractice then your lawyer will file a lawsuit against the guilty parties. This typically includes the obstetrician who was in charge of your pregnancy and delivery as well as any surgeons or nurses who assisted during the delivery, as well as the hospital where the birth took place.

Legal proceedings can be costly because of the many costs, such as the cost of documents, expert witnesses and depositions. Your lawyer will cover these costs and pay you back once they have won a settlement on your behalf.

Preparing for trial

Generally, a birth injury lawyer takes every case where the infant was injured due to negligence of a doctor prior to, during or shortly after delivery. The attorney will look at two aspects when evaluating the case: whether there evidence of medical negligence, and how severe the injury is.

Often, lawyers will consult with medical experts in order to determine if medical malpractice led to the injury. They will review documents from the pregnancy, the child's birth and the medical treatment given to the injuries that occurred afterward. They will also be able to analyze the effects of injuries on the child and their future.

The experts will aid the lawyer in determining which medical providers are to be named as defendants in the lawsuit. The lawyer will send a letter to the medical providers and their insurers asking them to reply to the lawsuit. A good birth injury attorney will know how to negotiate with insurance companies and be ready to make the case go to trial should it be necessary.

Parents may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses arising from their child's injuries. They could also receive damages for their pain and suffering. These damages can be significant when the child's injuries are serious. A good birth injury attorney can maximize the amount of compensation awarded to the parents.

Insurance Companies

While a birth injury lawsuit will not reverse the damage that occurred to your child, it could be used to pay for future medical expenses and the cost of therapy, home modifications and on-going support. The costs could seem overwhelming at first but a good birth injury attorney will collaborate with a variety of experts to determine the financial impact of an injury on your family and how much you are entitled to compensation for these expenses.

The first step in a birth injury claim is to establish that the doctor who was involved in your case had a professional relationship with you and your child and that they breached the trust by committing a breach prior to or during your child's delivery. It is easy to prove this by collecting your medical bills and hospital bills.

Once this is established the lawyer will have to determine what specific actions the doctor made that were negligent and how these impacted the health of your child. A birth injury attorney will know what to look for and where you can get the medical records and expert witness testimony needed to prove your case.

A good birth injury attorney can handle the entire complexity of your case and should not require you to pay out of pocket to pursue justice. They should be willing to work on a contingent fee basis, meaning that they only receive compensation if they prevail in your case and the amount they get is a percentage of the settlement or award you receive.