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Birth Injury Compensation
If your child is suffering from a birth injury because of the negligence of a doctor or wrongful act, it can be devastating. These injuries typically require lifetime treatment and treatment, which can result in massive financial burdens.
A lot of birth injury cases require a lengthy debate on medical errors versus malpractice. Our lawyers can assist you discern the differences.
Costs of Treatment
Insurance companies, attorneys, and judges look at the severity of the birth injury as well as the impact it has on the child's life in determining the amount compensation to be paid. If a child needs extensive medical treatment that lasts over time, the value of the claim will rise.
Medical treatment for birth injuries can be very expensive. Compensation awarded for a birth injury will help families pay for these expenses. Lawyers often work with experts in putting together an "Life Care Plan," that calculates the total costs incurred by a child's injury. These expenses include hospitalization, surgeries, specialized medical treatments, prescriptions, home improvements and equipment, etc.
Your legal team will collect medical records from the time of your child's birth and pregnancy and also firsthand accounts from family members. These documents will be used to show that your child was injured due to medical malpractice, and also to prove the extent of the injury.
Many states have enacted medical indemnity funds in order to provide financial assistance to families of children who suffer from birth injuries. These funds can either collect a portion from malpractice insurance premiums, or require hospitals and doctors to contribute to a resource pool. These programs can provide families with financial support and lessen the necessity of filing a lawsuit. However, JLARC staff found that these programs do not always meet their goals and need to be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children suffering from conditions like cerebral palsy or hypoxic ischephalopathy will require medical treatment for the rest of their lives. These include physical therapy, special equipment, and home health care. These costs can often be significant.
A life-care planning plan is an important document that outlines the future medical, education home, and other expenses that a child who has disabilities will incur throughout his or her lifetime. These plans are used to calculate the economic portion of the compensation awarded in cases of birth injury . They should be comprehensive and carefully drafted to satisfy the strict requirements of evidentiary for admission in court.
Life-care planning experts can assist to draft these documents using the input and opinions of the child's medical professionals or therapists as well as caregivers. The plans also include a detailed account of the injury's initial diagnosis. They explain the underlying causes of the disability and their long-term effects.
A medical malpractice lawyer must work with a life planner to develop the most appropriate plan for their client's situation. The goal of the plan is to ensure that your child receives adequate compensation to cover the cost of all of his or her future expenses and medical care. The money is usually placed in a trust to cover special needs, which is managed by an administrator approved by the trustee. Typically the amount given will be adjusted regularly to accommodate changes in your child's future needs.
Pain and Suffering
In cases involving birth injuries the damages awarded compensate the plaintiff for past and future pain and discomfort. This includes the physical and mental pain caused by the injury, as and the inability to engage in activities that others can do.
It is also possible to get compensation for income loss if a victim's disability limits their professional options or prevents them from working at all. Families can also receive compensation to help care for an injured child.
The verdicts in medical malpractice cases are often very high, as juries are often sympathetic towards patients and hold doctors accountable for their errors. Many hospitals and doctors choose to settle instead of risking a trial that is expensive and stressful for everyone involved.
Both sides will gather evidence to back their arguments during the trial. They will exchange documents in a process known as discovery, which entails the deposition of witnesses to obtain statements under an oath. The defendants may also ask to examine the medical records of a plaintiff which is permitted in most states.
An attorney with experience in this type of case is required to file an effective claim for birth injuries. An experienced attorney will review your case to determine if you have a valid lawsuit and will work to achieve the highest settlement.
Punitive Damages
Certain medical malpractice lawsuits include punitive damages, which are meant to communicate a message to deter future negligent behavior. They are awarded in cases that involve serious negligence or where there was intentional misconduct on the part the medical professional. They are not common in the case of birth injuries.
After identifying the defendants the attorney must gather and analyze the evidence to support the claim. They must establish that the injuries caused by medical professionals did't meet the standard of care. The legal team must also be able to prove the loss that was caused with the injuries, referred to as "damages." These damages can be either economic or non-economic.
Economic losses are usually calculated by estimation of the cost of a child's ongoing medical treatment, which includes long-term care facilities and other services. It is also possible to include losses in earnings if the injury has caused one or both parents to quit their jobs.
The legal team will create a demand document to present to the malpractice lawyers. This document will detail the birth injuries, and their impact on the child and the family, and request compensation for the losses. The attorneys will negotiate until a settlement has been reached with the medical practitioners. During the discovery process, attorneys will exchange information with other party about their case. This includes taking depositions of witnesses who are required to testify under oath.
