A birth injury settlement can aid in the payment of medical expenses which can be expensive. The amount of compensation you receive will depend on the nature and severity of birth injury that your child suffered.
Costs for lifelong care are usually due to serious birth injuries, like cerebral palsy. These costs are known as economic damages and are not subject to caps on maximum amounts in many states.
Compensation
If doctors or nurses make mistakes during childbirth that result in lasting, life-altering injuries to the baby or mother who has been injured and/or father, they could be held accountable under the law of medical malpractice. In some instances, courts award compensation for damages such as suffering and suffering, loss of consortium, future and past physical therapy, medical bills and more.
A albany birth injury law firm injury lawsuit may also seek reimbursement for other costs that could be avoided if the doctor had not committed negligence, like lost income or reduced earning capacity. Parents who have to care for their children who are disabled often suffer significant financial losses. Certain birth injuries require expensive equipment or changes to the home. This can result in expensive expenses.
Lawyers typically begin the claims process by providing a demand package to the hospital’s doctor or malpractice insurance company, which includes an extensive description of the injuries and all relevant records. The insurance company will look over the claim and either accept it or Injury deny it. If the insurance company declines the offer, then lawyers will bring a lawsuit.
Some states have an indemnity fund for birth injuries which decreases the amount of medical malpractice fees or charges made by Obstetricians. However, these funds may not be sufficient to cover a lifetime of care. In addition they do not stop plaintiffs from seeking financial compensation from other defendants, such as the hospital where the malpractice took place.
Expert Witnesses
The medical professionals involved in a birth injury lawsuit have a duty to the mother and baby a duty to follow their profession’s accepted standard of care. If the healthcare provider is not able to meet this obligation and the result is an injury, they could be held accountable. The case requires expert witnesses, typically physicians from the same or a similar field who can explain the standard of practice in plain language and the way in which the medical professional violated that standard.
A birth injury lawyer who has experience will know how to gather and provide expert witness testimony. They also have the experience to anticipate healthcare professionals’ defenses and rebut them in a way that the case is presented in the most favorable light.
Your lawyer will help you determine the total amount of your losses. They will also prove it in the court. These include both economic damages as well as non-economic ones like medical expenses, pain and suffering and loss of income.
An experienced birth injury attorney is also skilled in negotiating between insurers and understands the strategies they employ to pressure victims into accepting low-ball settlement offers. Your lawyer can assist you in resisting these pressures, and keep your case moving until the malpractice insurance companies of the medical providers agree to settle. If they don’t to settle, your lawyer can file a lawsuit to force them to negotiate in good faith.
Statute of Limitations
There are strict deadlines for filing claims on behalf of children who have suffered birth injuries. Medical malpractice claims that stem from injuries to a mother’s body must be filed within two-years of the negligence that caused the claim. Contrarily, birth injury claims based on injuries to the child may be filed up to the time that the child reaches 10.
The aim of creating an argument that is strong is to prove that your child’s doctor injury did not follow the appropriate standard of care. This could require a thorough review of medical documents, tests, as well as interviews with other doctors, nurses and hospital staff who were present during labor and delivery.
It is not a guarantee that you will succeed in a lawsuit if you prove that the medical professional did not meet the standards of care. It is also necessary to prove that the negligence directly caused the injuries to your child. This is known as causation, and it’s a hotly contested issue in many medical malpractice cases.
It is crucial to select an attorney who has the resources required to build your case and then take it to a trial. Your lawyer is likely to charge you for lawsuit expenses, and only be paid if they get compensation for you. This allows you to concentrate on the child’s progress, and provides a sense of financial assurance that you can count on in the event of a lengthy and long trial.
Time Limits
Each state has a statute of limitations, also known as a timeframe within which you have to make a claim. This limit of time ensures that legal issues are addressed quickly, while evidence and witness statements are fresh. For birth injuries the statute of limitations is usually two and two-and-a-half years from date of negligence or malpractice.
There are exceptions to this rule for infants who suffer injuries. New York law, for example, allows for a longer statute of limitations on medical malpractice claims for children. The deadline is extended to 10 years after the date of birth of the child.
An experienced birth injury lawyer will be familiar with the particulars of each state’s statute of limitations. They also know any special considerations that are in a birth injury case. For instance, a large number of birth injuries involve substantial economic damages, such as future loss of income (or loss of life expectation) and future and past medical expenses. Economic damages do not have a maximum amount and can be a significant factor in the value of the case.