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Birth Injury Litigation
Medical negligence during labor and birth can cause severe birth injuries to infants. These injuries can have a lasting impact on the child and their family.
A successful lawsuit could help with medical costs now and in the future along with lost wages and other damages. However, a successful lawsuit can take years to reach.
Compensation
Despite the latest medical advancements childbirth can be dangerous. Baby and mother expect doctors to behave professionally and avoid errors which could have long-lasting consequences. If you think the hospital or doctor was negligent in causing your baby's injury, you should contact a New York birth injuries lawyer to determine what legal options you have.
If you're successful in your claim, you will be awarded financial compensation. This can be used to pay for future and current medical expenses, lost earnings, emotional distress, and other areas of damage. In certain instances juries or judges can also award punitive damages for unacceptable conduct.
Your attorney will collaborate with a group of expert witnesses to analyze what happened and establish the accepted standard of care. They will go through your entire medical record and evaluate the actions of your medical team during your birth. This information will help you build solid arguments and increase your chances for success.
Before bringing a lawsuit, your lawyer is likely to attempt to negotiate with the malpractice insurer. This requires submitting an itemized list of demands that includes a comprehensive statement outlining your family's losses as well as the medical evidence to back the claims. The malpractice insurer will respond with an offer. If a settlement isn't reached, the case will go to trial.
Damages
The damages that a plaintiff receives may be either financial (such as medical bills) or non-economic (such as pain and suffering). In a lot of cases, juries award both. The amount of damages that the victim is awarded is based on how their accident has affected them, and also their past and future losses. Certain states limit the amount of non-economic damages juries may determine.
To pursue compensation the case must prove that the defendant acted in breach of their duty of care. This is done through the use of medical documents, expert witness testimony, and depositions. Medical experts are those who have specialized in a particular area of medical practice. They evaluate all evidence in the case and are able to testify at trial, if needed. In cases of birth injuries, the expert will determine if the defendant's actions did not meet the standard of care of an medical professional with similar training and experience.
Attorneys may also depose anyone who has a relevant story or who has a unique insight. They are sworn statements that are delivered outside of court that permit attorneys to inquire about witnesses directly what transpired. Depositions can be conducted via telephone or via videoconference however the majority of depositions are conducted in court. These depositions are often challenging and stressful, yet they are essential to constructing a convincing case for clients and obtaining the maximum possible compensation.
birth injury of Limitations
Like many states, New York requires that medical malpractice claims be filed within a specified time of limitations. Parents have two and a quarter years to file a lawsuit following the date of a wrongful act, omission, or inaction that they believe caused their child's injuries.
Your attorney will be able to review the medical records of your child to determine whether any nurses or obstetricians along with other hospital personnel were involved in the birth of your daughter or son. He or she may then seek any relevant documents and information that could help determine the cause of the injuries to your child.
Your lawyer must prove malpractice by proving that the defendant was bound by a duty to your child and breached it by failing to provide the required care in similar circumstances. To prove this, you attorney will work with medical professionals to compare the actions of the medical professional with accepted practices and procedures.
A lawyer can help locate witnesses to be available to testify in your case. They can provide valuable information about the process of making decisions by a doctor and how an error or omission resulted in your child's birth injuries. This information can be used by your lawyer in support of your claim for compensation. A successful medical malpractice case requires two separate legal claims one for the child injured and one for the parents.
Expert Witnesses
With the right support families can get compensation that covers medical bills and lost income due to absence from work as well as rehabilitative therapies and treatments in addition to the costs of long-term care. The key to winning a birth-injury case is having the most skilled experts on your side.
These individuals are able to review evidence and provide a professional opinion on the extent to which a medical professional breached their duty of care performing an act that could have led to injuries to an infant. They can also explain complex medical terms to make them easier for a judge or jury to comprehend.
The role of an expert witness is to give unbiased medical testimony that is based on the current state of knowledge at the time of the event that is in dispute. This means that they should not exclude any relevant information to develop a view that is more favorable to either the plaintiff or defendant.
Experts should also examine the relevant medical records and contemporaneous literature with sufficient thoroughness so that they can form a sound opinion. In some cases, experts may be called to make deposition (sworn out-of-court statements). These sessions can be intimidating but they are a crucial part of making the case. Your attorney can assist you prepare for these sessions and ensure that you are treated fairly.
