Birth injury lawsuits are different: Call a lawyer now
Anywhere between six to eight children of every thousand in the US suffer a birth injury. Expectedly, for new parents, it can be distressing to know that their child has suffered because of the health provider’s fault or negligence. Examples of birth injuries include brachial plexus injuries, fractured bones, spinal cord injuries, cephalohematoma, cerebral palsy, perinatal asphyxia, and subconjunctival hemorrhage. If you believe that the doctor or midwife was negligent which led to the infant’s injury, you could pursue legal action. This is a unique type of medical malpractice case, and before you initiate any further steps, consider talking to an attorney.
What kind of damage can you receive?
There are two types of compensatory damages that you can get – economic and non-economic. The immediate losses that you incurred because of the infant’s injury such as medical care, surgeries, and rehabilitative treatments are recovered through economic damages. Because the eventual suffering of the child and parents is subjective, it is possible to claim non-economic damages. For instance, if your child is unlikely to have a normal life because of the birth injury, you could claim non-economic damages too.
Understanding the complications
No matter the cause, knowing that your child is born with a disability can be an emotional and distressing experience. There’s something worse too – Not knowing what caused the disability. Today, medical science and diagnostics have advanced considerably, and therefore, doctors can detect numerous disabilities and birth defects during pregnancy. If your doctor had informed you of a possible birth defect, you cannot typically sue them for the birth injury. It also depends on what you had been told and whether the eventual birth injury is related to it.
You need an expert
Fighting a medical malpractice lawsuit takes considerably more time, effort, and work compared to a standard PI case. Birth injury lawsuits are complicated and extremely hard to prove, and you need to have an attorney who has worked on similar medical malpractice lawsuits in the past. Most cases are settled outside of court, but it’s best to hire a lawyer who has represented clients at trial because there’s always a possibility of that.
Final word
Nothing in life can prepare you to deal with an injury caused to your child. Money doesn’t make things better, but you can use the compensation for their care and wellbeing. Don’t forget to ask the attorney about their landmark cases.