A successful birth injury lawsuit can help you recover compensation to cover past and future medical expenses. This includes costs for hospitalization, surgeries, therapy, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, medication, and ongoing care needs.
Your Atlanta Birth Injury Attorney can also secure compensation for lost income if you need to reduce your work hours or quit your job to provide care. Additionally, you may be entitled to compensation for emotional distress pain, and suffering.
Medical Expertise
A medical expert is an important part of any medical malpractice case, but it’s even more critical in birth injury cases. These are complex cases involving intricate medical evidence that must be reviewed and understood by a jury to establish liability and calculate damages. Without the help of an experienced medical expert, establishing medical negligence and winning a fair settlement is nearly impossible.
An expert witness can provide insights into the standard of care that a medical professional should have exercised in a given situation and whether this standard was violated, thus leading to a birth injury. These experts often have advanced education, training, or a clinical background that demonstrates their expertise. They can also testify about the specific actions or inactions of a medical provider that caused or contributed to the injury.
The expert witness can also help to identify potential causes of a birth injury. For example, if a medical professional fails to recognize the signs of fetal distress, such as abnormal heart tone or oxygen deprivation, they may miss a chance to intervene and prevent the injury.
Medical experts can also help calculate the total cost of your child’s injury. This includes past and future medical expenses, a loss of earning capacity, and other costs associated with a lifetime of care. This information can be incorporated into the demand package that your attorney submits to the doctor’s or hospital’s malpractice carrier.
Insurance companies know that you and your family need compensation to pay for ongoing medical treatment and living expenses. They will try to pressure you into settling for less than your case is worth, but an experienced birth injury attorney can keep the pressure on and ensure that any settlement you accept accurately reflects your child’s injuries.
You need a team of skilled and dedicated attorneys to help you win the compensation you deserve. While working with a firm close to home may seem convenient, it’s best to work with a national law firm that has offices and attorneys throughout the country. A national firm understands the unique laws of each state and how these differ from one another in medical malpractice claims.
Witness Testimony
As part of their investigation, birth injury attorneys may review medical records and/or hire expert witnesses to help them establish whether your doctor breached their duty of care by failing to meet the generally accepted standard of medical practice during your pregnancy and/or delivery. For example, if a birth injury occurred because your doctor failed to correctly respond to distressful heart tones and/or failed to deliver your child when the baby’s oxygen levels dropped too low, that might qualify as malpractice.
These experts are also crucial to helping a jury understand complex medical evidence and the impact of a birth injury. Whether it’s a brain injury, nerve damage, or other permanent condition, such as cerebral palsy, a birth injury damages award can cover a lifetime of costly care, rehabilitation expenses, lost income, and a diminished quality of life for the child and family.
For families that have lost a loved one or incurred financial and emotional hardships due to medical negligence, finding fair compensation can be daunting. By gaining a better understanding of the factors that influence settlement amounts, how a lawyer builds strong cases, and the typical amount of damages secured, families can feel empowered to secure justice for their children and themselves.
When a birth injury lawsuit is filed, the legal team works to gather compelling evidence to prove your doctor violated their duty of care and caused your child or family harm during the pregnancy, labor, or delivery. We work with a wide network of medical professionals who can offer independent opinions on how your doctor complied or deviated from the established standard of care in their actions, how those actions led to the injury, and how that injury has impacted your life.
A medical malpractice claim is a civil action against your doctor, the hospital, and any other medical providers who might have been involved in your case. The process typically begins with a consultation where the attorney can review your medical records and determine whether or not you have a valid claim. If you do, your attorney can then file a complaint with the court within the statute of limitations (typically two to three years after the injury). Once the lawsuit is filed, the medical providers’ malpractice insurers will contact you to negotiate a settlement.
Settlement Negotiations
Some injuries and traumas occur during childbirth, and these can inspire medical malpractice lawsuits. Birth injury attorneys help families file a claim, work with medical experts, and negotiate with the medical providers responsible for the infant’s injuries during labor and delivery.
A successful medical malpractice claim requires a thorough investigation and gathering of evidence, including detailed medical records. Depending on the case, birth injury attorneys review the records directly or hire medical professionals to evaluate the records and identify errors or missed diagnoses.
Once the evidence is collected, the lawyers start negotiating with the defendants. The goal is to settle out of court, which is preferred by both parties. However, if the defendants are unwilling to settle the case, the lawyers can take them to trial. If the jury finds in favor of the plaintiff, the doctor or hospital will pay a settlement.
When calculating the value of a birth injury, attorneys consider a wide range of damages. For example, medical costs incurred to care for the injured infant will factor into the settlement amount. This may include hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation, specialized equipment, and more. Family members may also seek compensation for lost income. Additionally, if the child has life-long impairments or needs to live in a nursing home, attorneys will calculate future expenses.
Lawyers are adept at negotiating with medical malpractice insurance companies, and they know how to counter the tactics insurers use to reduce the amount of a settlement. They are also able to demonstrate the extent of a client’s losses and the typical verdicts for similar claims.
A successful settlement can provide parents with the financial support they need for their child’s treatment and care. A fair settlement or award can also help families maintain a quality of life after the child’s birth injury. If you suspect a medical professional committed an error during the birth of your child, speak with a birth injury attorney. They can evaluate your claim, gather evidence, and consult with medical experts to build a strong case against the appropriate medical providers.
Trial
When a medical error occurs, the affected child may sustain injuries that require ongoing care. These needs can add up quickly, resulting in large expenses for the injured family.
A qualified birth injury attorney can review your case to see if you have a valid claim and help you pursue financial compensation. A lawyer can also ensure that any settlement or verdict adequately reflects your damages.
Your legal team can build a network of trusted medical professionals to help your case. These experts can provide invaluable insights and testimony that support your claim and increase its overall value. They can define the accepted standard of care and show how your healthcare providers failed to meet this level of skill and competence, directly causing your child’s injuries.
These medical professionals can include OB-GYNs, anesthesiologists, and nurses. They can also include hospital staff that provide labor and delivery services, such as aides, doulas, and nursery workers. These healthcare professionals can make mistakes during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum care that can cause serious injuries to the infant and their parents.
Injuries can be as severe as brain damage, spinal cord damage, and facial paralysis. These injuries can impact a child’s physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities, as well as their quality of life. They can lead to long-term effects that will be a major consideration in the case’s value.
Medical Expenses and Future Care Needs
Your attorney can help you determine the full extent of your child’s current and future medical needs and how these are expected to affect his or her lifelong quality of life. This will help determine the case’s value, and your attorney can use this information to negotiate with the healthcare provider’s insurance company. If a fair settlement is not reached, your attorney can prepare to take the case to trial and advocate for your rights in court. For families pursuing restitution for a birth injury, the experience of an accomplished lawyer can significantly improve the chances of receiving a substantial verdict. For a comprehensive review of your birth injury case, contact a reputable law firm today to schedule a free consultation.