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

While advances in medicine make birthing safer than ever before but complications can still occur in the course of birth and after the birth of a baby. If you suspect that your child suffered from a preventable birth injury, consult an experienced birth injury lawyer right away.

A firm that focuses on birth injuries will typically pay for all litigation costs and only be paid when they receive compensation in your case.

Damages

While medical advances made childbirth more secure than ever before but many mothers and their babies are still at risk of risk of injury for a variety reasons. This includes oxygen deprivation, head trauma and infections. These injuries can cause devastating disabilities, such as cerebral palsy. An experienced birth injury lawyer can help families receive the compensation they need to cover lifelong medical treatment and support.

Your attorney will seek all relevant medical records and reports relating to your baby's injury. He or she will also engage medical experts to analyze the evidence and provide an official opinion on whether the medical personnel involved in your baby's birth did not meet the standards of care. In a typical case an expert will evaluate the medical care offered by the defendant with the standard practices used by other medical professionals who have similar qualifications and experience.

Economic and non-economic damages may be awarded. Economic damages can include medical expenses as well as lost income and property damage. Non-economic damages include emotional distress, pain and suffering. In rare circumstances, punitive damages may also be awarded. They are designed to punish the party at fault and discourage similar behaviour in the future. They are distinct from compensation damages that are awarded to recover actual losses.

Medical Experts

Although medical advances have made childbirth safer than ever, the process still poses a risk for both mother and child. It is the responsibility of nurses and doctors who are involved in the birth to be professional and to avoid making mistakes that could have disastrous consequences for both baby and mother's health. Parents may be able to sue for damages if the doctors and nurses fail to act professionally during the delivery.

From the first consultation to the final resolution An attorney for birth injuries will closely work on your case. They will collect evidence from you, including medical records and witness testimonies as well as seek expert opinions from a variety of sources including other doctors and specialists.

The experts will go over all evidence and provide an official opinion on whether the injuries are due to medical negligence. The lawyer will use this to decide on the best way to proceed.

If a medical professional is of the opinion that there was a malpractice and your lawyer files a lawsuit against the guilty parties. This typically consists of the obstetrician in charge of your pregnancy and delivery and any nurses or surgeons who helped during the delivery as well as the hospital where the birth occurred.

The cost of a lawsuit are expensive due to the charges for expert witnesses, records and depositions. Your lawyer will pay for these expenses, and will reimburse you once they have settled your case.

Preparing for a trial

A birth injury lawyer will take on any case where the baby suffered injuries as a result of doctor negligence, prior to or during or shortly after the birth. When reviewing the case the lawyer will be looking at two things: whether or not there are any indications of medical negligence and the severity of the injury.

Attorneys often consult medical experts to determine if the injury was the result of medical negligence. These experts will carefully review records from the pregnancy, birth of the child and the medical treatment received for the injuries that occurred afterward. They will also be able to evaluate the impact of the injuries sustained by the child on their future.

The experts will aid the lawyer in determining the medical providers to be named as defendants in the lawsuit. The lawyer will then send an email asking the medical providers and insurers to respond to the complaint. A good birth injury attorney will know how to negotiate with the insurance companies and birth injury lawyers will be ready to take the case to trial if needed.

Parents may be entitled to damages for medical expenses related to the injuries suffered by their child. You may also be entitled to damages for the pain and suffering you have endured. These damages could be substantial particularly if the child's injuries were severe. A reputable birth injury lawyer will maximize the amount of compensation given to parents.

Insurance Companies

Although a lawsuit for birth injuries can't reverse the harm done to your child, it can cover future medical expenses, the cost of therapy, Birth Injury Lawyers home modifications and on-going support. The costs could seem daunting, but a skilled birth injury lawyer will collaborate with a variety of experts to determine the financial impact on your family of an injury, and how much compensation you are entitled to.

The first step in a birth injury claim is to prove that the doctor in your case had an established professional relationship with your child and you, and that they violated the trust by committing a breach either prior to or after the birth of your child. You can easily prove this by collecting your medical bills and hospital bills.

After this is established the lawyer must identify what specific actions the doctor performed that were negligent and how they affected the health of your child. A birth injury lawyers injury lawyer will know what to look for and where to obtain the medical documentation and expert witness testimony needed to establish your case.

A good birth injury lawyer will handle all the complexities of your case and should not require you to pay out of your pocket to seek justice. They should be able to work on a contingency basis which means they only receive compensation if they prevail in your case and the amount they earn is a percentage of the settlement or award you receive.