Medical malpractice is a serious offense as it can have long-term consequences for one’s health and financial concerns. For cases of pregnancy, there is a need for even greater care from medical professionals to ensure safe procedures and safeguard patient health. Just a little carelessness on the part of the doctors and nurses can result in permanent damage to the health of your newborn baby.
With 40 % of birth injury liability claims having to do with mismanagement during delivery, you need to be aware of the professional loyalty of the healthcare staff responsible for dealing with your pregnancy. If you noticed any level of medical negligence, it could be that your baby’s development of conditions as serious as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or shoulder dystocia was not natural!
Undergoing the challenges of giving birth is grueling enough! If your child suffers birth injuries, it can make this difficult yet beautiful period in your life painful and hard to bear.
Children suffering from birth injuries are usually prone to developing life-long illnesses. For instance, they may be unable to walk without aid or handheld devices or suffer brain damage, leading to delays in normal development milestones. At times, children experience bone fractures, blindness, and seizures. Now imagine if such serious conditions occur because of some negligent surgeons. Wouldn’t you want to hold them accountable for their lack of care?
The good news is that the law recognizes such actions as legal offenses! So, if you face a similar situation, you can hire a cerebral palsy lawyer to get compensation for your family for the financial and emotional damage they’ve caused. But you should also be aware of some tips to file a birth injury lawsuit to be better prepared when the need arises.
1. Verify the occurrence of malpractice
First things first! You’ll need to verify whether malpractice was the reason behind your child’s birth injury. Sometimes, other risk factors contribute to birth injuries, making it inevitable despite the doctors’ utmost efforts. Obesity or diabetes in the mother, complications during delivery, and premature birth can all contribute to conditions like cerebral palsy and epilepsy. So before you decide on filing a lawsuit, make sure that there are no maternal or infant risk factors at work.
2. Collect medical evidence
Even if you’re sure that medical malpractice has occurred during your treatment, it’s still not enough. You need to collect evidence to prove it in court. After you contact a cerebral palsy lawyer, they help with collecting the facts you require to get compensated for your loss. To make a strong case, you’ll need expert witnesses who can give their expert opinion on the facts of the case. In addition, you will require medical reports and hospital bills related to birth injuries to support your claim to receive the compensation you deserve.
3. Choose a suitable lawyer
Your lawyer is the key player in your birth injury lawsuit. They are the ones fighting the battle on the front lines. It is their level of expertise, degree of skill, and extent of knowledge that can ensure a transparent process with a fair outcome. So, choose your lawyer wisely. However, while you’re contemplating the options, the lawyers’ years of experience should not be the only factor in your mind.
As there are different statutes of limitations in different states, every state has a unique period of time during which parents are allowed to file a lawsuit. So, if you hire a lawyer from your own state, chances are high that they will have adequate knowledge of how things work in your area. Consequently, they can advise and guide you better than someone from another state.
4. Negotiating a settlement
One of the most common pieces of advice, in fact, the first advice given by most experienced cerebral palsy lawyers, is to settle the case without a trial. Negotiation is the easy way out, and it’s a completely reasonable course of action. If both parties can agree on a settlement with some third party mediating between them, there’s no harm in that! It will save you from extra expenses and the difficult process of a long-term trial.
Remember that your goal in a birth injury lawsuit is to get compensation for your child’s damaged health. Your main focus is to upgrade the quality of their life, which was affected by the negligence of medical staff. Having a child with birth injuries isn’t just difficult to deal with emotionally; you’ll also have to face additional financial expenses like potential subsequent surgeries, regular check-ups, special equipment like wheelchairs and other devices, special education, and special care like home nursing. Considering all of that, taking the easy road to compensation shouldn’t be disregarded.
5. File a lawsuit
If the other party is unwilling to negotiate or if both parties cannot reach an agreement of settlement, then have your lawyer file a lawsuit. Filing a lawsuit at this stage is necessary to protect your family’s rights. During a lawsuit, the judge will decide whether you receive compensation and how much that would be. Your lawyer will be the one steering the direction of the lawsuit based on their gathered evidence and skillset.
Whichever party loses in the trial has the option of appealing in a higher court. So, if this is your last resort, be prepared for a possible delay in compensation and frequent visits to the court. However, don’t let these worries make you give up taking the case to trial. Receiving compensation isn’t just about making sure justice is served; it’s about being able to support your child in every way you can.