Pansy Prieur asked 10 months ago
The Benefits of a Birth Injury Settlement
A birth injury settlement can provide medical treatment which can be expensive. The amount of compensation you receive can be contingent upon the type of birth injury your child sustained.
Cerebral palsy can result in lifelong expenses for care. These expenses are called economic damages, and they are not subject to caps on the maximum amount.
Compensation
When nurses and doctors make mistakes during childbirth that lead to permanent, life-altering consequences for the injured baby and/or mother, they may be held accountable under the law of medical malpractice. In some cases the court could decide to award compensation for damages, like pain and discomfort, loss of consortium and future physical therapy, medical costs and more.
A birth injury lawsuit can also seek compensation for costs that could have been avoided if the doctor not committed a malpractice. These include loss of income and decreased earning capacity. Parents who are responsible for their disabled child typically have to leave their jobs, which can result in substantial financial losses. In addition some birth injuries require expensive equipment and modifications to the home, which could be costly.
Lawyers typically begin the claim process by submitting demand packages to the doctor or hospital’s malpractice insurance company, which includes a detailed statement of the incident and all relevant records. The insurance company will then look over the claim and either accept it or deny it. If the company declines the offer, then lawyers will start a lawsuit.
Some states have indemnity insurance funds for birth injuries, which can reduce the amount of medical malpractice insurance premiums or fees charged to doctors who specialize in obstetrics. These funds may not cover the costs of lifetime care. Furthermore they do not bar plaintiffs from seeking financial compensation from other defendants, such as the hospital where the negligence took place.
Expert Witnesses
The medical professionals involved in a birth injury lawsuit have a duty to the mother and baby the obligation of following their profession’s accepted standard of care. If a healthcare professional does not fulfill this duty, and it results in an injury, they could be held accountable. The case requires expert witnesses, typically physicians from the same or a similar field who can describe the standard of practice in layman’s terms and how the defendant medical professional violated that standard.
A birth injury lawyer who has experience will know how best to gather and present expert witness testimony. They are able to anticipate and counter the defenses of healthcare providers, so that the case will be presented in the best way possible.
Your lawyer will also assist you to calculate your total losses and prove these in the court. These include both economic and non-economic ones like medical expenses such as pain and suffering, loss of income.
A reputable birth injury lawyer is also skilled in negotiating with insurers and knows the tactics they use to pressure victims into accepting lowball settlement offers. Your attorney can help you resist these pressures and help move the case forward until the medical professionals are willing to accept a settlement. Your attorney may start a lawsuit to force them into negotiations in good faith, if they don’t agree.
Statute of Limitations
Parents may make claims on behalf of their children for expenses due to birth injuries, but there are certain deadlines that apply. Medical malpractice claims based upon injuries to a mother must generally be filed within two years of the negligence that led to the claim. In contrast, birth injury claims based on injuries to the child can generally be filed before the child turns 10.
The aim of creating a strong case is to establish that your child’s medical professional did not follow the appropriate standard of care. This may require an exhaustive review of medical records, tests, and interviews with other nurses, doctors and hospital staff who witnessed the labor and delivery.
You are not guaranteed to win a claim if you prove that a medical professional did not meet the standard of care. It is also necessary to prove that this breach of duty directly contributed to your child’s injuries. This is known as causation and is a highly debated issue in medical malpractice cases.
It is crucial to select an attorney who has the resources necessary to build your case and then take it to an investigation. Your lawyer will typically cover costs for litigation and only be paid if you get compensation. This allows you to focus on the child’s progress, and it also offers 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 of limitations, or timeframe within which you can make a claim. This restriction ensures that legal proceedings are handled in a timely fashion and as long as evidence in the form of physical evidence is available and witnesses’ accounts remain fresh. For birth injuries, the statute of limitations is usually two and half years from date of the accident or negligence.
There are exceptions to this law for injuries sustained 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 after the child’s birth.
An experienced birth injury lawyer will be familiar with the specifics of the statute of limitation in each state. They also know about any particular issues relevant to a child’s birth injury case. Many birth injury cases include significant economic damages. These include future lost income, or loss of life expectancy as well as the future and past medical costs. Economic damages are not subject to caps on maximum value and thus increase the potential value of an injury case.
A good birth injury lawyer is proficient in the process of negotiating with insurance adjusters. They will be able recognize a low-ball settlement offer and counter it with an appropriate amount. In some cases, a settlement may be reached without the need for the courtroom. In certain situations it is necessary to go through a trial in order to secure the compensation you deserve.