The Benefits of a Birth Injury Settlement

A settlement for birth injuries can provide medical treatment that can be costly. The amount of compensation that you receive will depend on the nature and severity of birth injury that your child was injured.

Lifelong care costs are often caused by severe birth injuries, like cerebral palsy. These costs are referred to as economic damages and are not subject to maximum caps.

Compensation

Medical malpractice laws could hold nurses and doctors accountable for errors they make during childbirth, which can have permanent and life-changing effects on the mother or baby. In some cases, courts award compensation for damages like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, past and future medical bills, physical therapy and more.

A birth injury lawsuit can also seek compensation for other costs that would be avoided if the doctor did not commit negligence, like lost income or reduced earning capacity. Parents who are forced to take care of their disabled children often have significant financial losses. Certain birth injuries require costly equipment or modifications to the home. This can result in high costs.

Lawyers usually start the claims process by submitting an offer to the hospital's doctor or malpractice insurer, which includes a detailed statement of the injuries and any relevant medical records. The insurance company will then evaluate the claim, and either accept it or reject it. If the company declines the offer, attorneys will bring a lawsuit.

Some states have indemnity funds for birth injuries, which decrease the amount of medical malpractice insurance premiums or charges to doctors of obstetrics. However, these funds may not be sufficient to cover the cost of a lifetime of treatment. Also, they do not stop plaintiffs from seeking damages in monetary form from other defendants such as the hospital in which the malpractice occurred.

Expert Witnesses

The medical professionals involved in a birth injury lawsuit owe the mother and child an obligation to adhere to the accepted standards of care. If the medical professional fails to fulfill this duty and leads to an injury, they could be liable for malpractice. To prove this, you need expert witnesses, typically physicians in the same or similar field who can explain the standard of practice in a layman's way and explain how the medical professional violated that standard.

A skilled birth injury lawyer knows how to secure and present the most expert witness testimony. They also have the expertise to anticipate healthcare professionals defences and counter them in a manner that the case is presented in the strongest light.

Your lawyer will assist you to determine the total value of your losses and prove it in the court. These include both economic damages as well as non-economic ones such as medical expenses such as pain and suffering, lost income.

A good birth injury attorney has also worked with insurance companies and is familiar with the strategies they employ to get victims to accept settlements that are low-cost. Your lawyer can help you resist these pressures and help move the case forward until the medical professionals' malpractice insurers agree to accept a settlement. If they don't an offer, your lawyer may start a lawsuit to compel them to negotiate in good faith.

Statute of limitations

There are strict deadlines for filing claims on behalf of children who suffered birth injuries. Medical malpractice claims based on injuries to a mother's body are generally filed within two-years of the negligence that led to the claim. Contrarily, birth injury claims based on injuries to the child are typically filed before the child turns 10.

To make a convincing argument, you need to prove that the medical professional who treated your child did not adhere to the standards in place. This may involve a lengthy review of medical records and tests, and it may involve interviewing other nurses, doctors and hospital personnel who observed the birth injury lawyers and labor process.

It is not a guarantee that you will succeed in a lawsuit if you prove that a medical professional was not up to the standard of care. It is also necessary to prove that the breach of duty directly contributed to your child's injuries. This is known as causation and is an extremely litigated issue in medical malpractice cases.

Choosing an attorney that has the resources to construct your case and to go through trial is essential. The lawyer you choose will usually charge you for lawsuit expenses, and only be paid if they recover compensation for you. This allows you to concentrate your focus on the healing of your child and also provides financial security in the event of a prolonged trial.

Time Limits

Each state has a statute or time period within which you may start a lawsuit. This limit ensures that legal proceedings are handled in a timely fashion and while physical evidence is still accessible and the testimony of witnesses remain fresh. For birth injuries the statute of limitation is typically two and half years from date of the negligence or mishap.

There are exceptions for infants who suffer injuries. New York law, for instance, permits an extended statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims for a child. The deadline is extended to 10 years after the date of birth for the child.

An experienced birth injury lawyer will be familiar with the particulars of each state's statute of limitations. They'll be aware of any specific requirements that apply to cases involving birth injuries for children. For instance, a large number of birth injuries involve substantial economic damages. These include the possibility of losing future income (or loss of life expectation) and future and past medical expenses. Economic damages do not have a maximum amount and can be a significant factor in the value of a case.

A good birth injury lawyer will be well versed in the process of dealing with insurance adjusters. They will know how to spot a low-ball offer and utilize their expert experience to counter-offer with a fair settlement amount. In some cases it is possible to have a settlement reached outside of court. In certain cases, a trial is necessary to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve.