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The Benefits of a Birth Injury Settlement

A settlement for birth injuries can help pay for medical treatments that can be costly. The amount you receive will depend on the kind of birth injury your child experienced.

Costs for long-term care are often related to severe birth injuries, including cerebral palsy. These expenses are known as economic damages, and they are not subject to maximum caps.

Compensation

If doctors or nurses make mistakes during childbirth that cause permanent, life-changing consequences for the baby or mother who has been injured, they may be held accountable under the laws governing medical malpractice. In certain cases, the court may give compensation for the damages, like pain and discomfort or loss of consortium as well as past and future physical therapy, medical costs and more.

A birth injury lawsuit may also seek compensation for other expenses which could have been avoided if the doctor did not commit malpractice, such as lost income or reduced earning capacity. Parents who have to care for their disabled child usually have to quit their jobs, resulting in a significant loss of money. Some birth injuries also require expensive equipment or adjustments to the home. This can result in high costs.

Lawyers usually start the claims process by providing an application to the hospital's doctor or malpractice insurer, which includes an exhaustive description of the injuries and all relevant documents. The insurance company will evaluate the claim and either accept or deny it. If the insurance company denies the offer then attorneys will make a claim.

Some states have indemnity insurance funds for birth injuries, which lower the amount of medical malpractice insurance premiums, or fees, charged to doctors who specialize in obstetrics. These funds may not cover the costs of a lifetime's worth of care. Additionally they don't stop plaintiffs from seeking monetary awards from other defendants, for instance, the hospital where the malpractice took place.

Expert Witnesses

Medical professionals who are involved in a lawsuit for birth injuries have the duty of care to the mother and child. If a healthcare professional fails in this duty and causes an injury, they could be held accountable. Expert witnesses are needed to support this claim. They are usually doctors working in the same or a similar field, who can describe in plain language the standards of practice and how the medical professional who was liable for the malpractice violated that standard.





A birth injury lawyer with years of experience knows how to gather and present expert witness testimony. They also have the ability to anticipate healthcare professionals defenses and counter them to ensure that the claim is presented in the most favorable light.

Your attorney will also help you to calculate your total losses and demonstrate them in court. These include non-economic and economic damages, like medical bills along with pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and lost income.

A reputable birth injury lawyer is also proficient in negotiations with insurance companies and knows the tactics that insurers often employ to pressure victims into accepting lowball offers. Your attorney can help you resist these pressures and keep the case moving along until the medical providers' malpractice insurers agree to accept a settlement. Your attorney may file a suit to force them to negotiate on good faith if they do not agree.

Statute of limitations

There are strict deadlines for filing claims on behalf of children who suffered birth injuries. Medical malpractice claims based upon injuries to a mother are generally filed within two-years of the wrongful act that led to the claim. In contrast birth injury claims based upon injuries to the child can typically be filed until the child turns 10.

The goal of building a strong case is to prove that the medical professional who treated your child did not follow the appropriate standard of care. This could involve extensive review of medical documents and tests, and it may involve interviewing other nurses, doctors and hospital staff who watched the labor and delivery process.

Even if you prove that a medical professional was unable to meet the standard of care, this doesn't mean that you will automatically win your claim. You must also prove that this breach of duty directly caused the injuries to your child. This is known as causation, and is a widely litigated issue in medical malpractice cases.

Selecting an attorney who has the resources to build your case and take it to trial is crucial. Your lawyer will typically cover costs for litigation and only be paid if you receive compensation. This allows you to concentrate on your child's rehabilitation and it provides a level of financial security you can count on in the event of a long and long trial.

Time Limits

Each state has a statute or time limit within which you are able to bring a lawsuit. This deadline ensures that legal issues are pursued swiftly, while evidence and witness statements are fresh. For birth injury cases the statute of limitations is typically two and one-half years from the date of the accident or negligence.

However, there are exceptions for injuries suffered by infants. For instance, New York laws allow for an extended time of limitations for medical malpractice claims made on behalf of a child, extending the deadline to 10 years following the birth of the child.

An experienced birth injury lawyer will be well-versed in the specifics pertaining to each State's statute of limitation. They will also know about any particular considerations associated with a child’s birth injury case. For instance, a lot of birth injuries are accompanied by significant economic damages, which include future loss of income (or loss of life expectation) and past and foreseeable medical expenses. Economic damages don't have a limit on their value which increases the value of the case.

A skilled birth injury lawyer will be familiar with the process of negotiating and settling claims with insurance adjusters. They will be able recognize an offer for settlement that is low and respond with an amount that is fair. In certain situations there may be a settlement reached outside of the courtroom. In other cases, a trial may be required to get the amount you are due.