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 following the birth of the baby. If you believe your child suffered an unavoidable birth injury, speak to an experienced birth injury attorney right away.

A firm that specializes in birth injury cases will generally advance all costs associated with a lawsuit and only get paid when they are awarded compensation for your case.

Damages

While medical advances made childbirth safer than ever before but many mothers and their babies are still at high danger of injury due number of reasons. These include oxygen deprivation, head trauma and infections. These injuries can lead to long-lasting and devastating disabilities such as cerebral palsy. A good birth injury attorney can assist families in obtaining the compensation they need to fund lifelong care and support.

Your attorney will ask for all medical records and reports related to the injuries sustained by your baby. He or she will also employ medical experts to review the evidence and give an official opinion on whether the medical personnel involved in your baby's birth violated the standard of care. In a typical instance, an expert will assess the medical treatment offered by the defendant with the practices that are commonly used by other medical professionals who have similar training and experience.

Damages can be awarded for both economic and non-economic losses. Economic damages cover expenses like future and current medical bills, lost income, and property loss. Non-economic damages include emotional distress, suffering and pain. In rare cases punitive damages can also be awarded. They are intended to punish the person responsible and deter similar behavior in the future. These are separate from the compensation damages that are awarded to cover actual losses.

Medical Experts

While medical advances have made childbirth more safe than ever before, there are still some risks for both mother and baby. It is the responsibility of nurses and doctors involved in the birth to be professional and to avoid mistakes that can have devastating consequences for both mother and baby's health. If they fail to act accordingly and cause a pleasanton birth injury lawyer injury parents may be able to claim compensation for the damage.

A birth injury attorney will be in close contact with you throughout the entire duration of your case, from the initial consultation to the final resolution. They will collect evidence from you, including medical records and birth injury witness testimony and will also seek expert opinions from many sources, including other specialists and doctors.

The experts will analyze the evidence and offer an official opinion on whether the injuries resulted from negligence on the part of a medical professional. This will be used by the lawyer to decide the best way to proceed.

If the medical expert agrees that there was a malpractice the lawyer will file a lawsuit against the guilty parties. This typically consists of the obstetrician responsible for the delivery and pregnancy, any nurses or surgeons who assisted during the delivery as well as the hospital where the birth took place.

The cost of litigation can be quite high because of the many fees like those for documents, expert witnesses, and depositions. Your lawyer will pay these expenses, and will reimburse you after they have settled your case.

Preparing for Trial

Generally, a birth injury lawyer will take on every case where the baby suffered injuries because of negligence by a doctor before or shortly after birth. The lawyer will examine two aspects when analyzing the case: whether there evidence of medical negligence, and how severe the injury.

Attorneys often consult medical experts to determine whether the injury was the result of medical malpractice. Experts will examine all records related to the childbirth, pregnancy and medical treatment for injuries. They will also be able to evaluate the effects of the injuries on the child as well as his or her future.

The experts will assist the lawyer in determining the medical providers to be named as defendants in the lawsuit. The lawyer will then send a letter the medical providers and their insurers asking them to respond to the lawsuit. A good birth injury attorney will be able to negotiate with insurance companies and be prepared to bring the case to trial if necessary.

Parents may be entitled to compensation for future and past medical expenses resulting from the injuries sustained by their child. You may also be entitled to damages for your pain and suffering. These damages can be significant, especially if a child's injuries were serious. A good birth injury attorney can maximize the compensation paid to the parents.

Insurance Companies

While a birth injury lawsuit will not reverse the damage that occurred to your child, it could be used to pay for future medical expenses for therapy, the cost, home modifications and on-going support. The costs could seem overwhelming at first but a competent birth injury lawyer will collaborate with a variety of experts to determine the financial impact of a particular accident on your family and how much you're entitled to compensation for these costs.

The first step in a birth injury claim is to establish that the doctor who handled your case had an professional relationship with you and your child, and that they violated this relationship by acting negligently before or during your child's delivery. This may be easy to prove by obtaining your medical documents and hospital bills.

Once this is established the lawyer must identify what specific actions the doctor made that were negligent and how these affected the health of your child. A birth injury attorney will know what to look for and where you can get the medical records and expert witness testimony needed to prove your case.

A good birth injury attorney can handle the entire complexity of your case and will not require you to pay out of pocket to pursue justice. They should be able to work on a contingent fee basis which means that they receive compensation if they prevail in your case and the amount they earn is a portion of the settlement or award you receive.