Margarette Baugh asked 1 year ago
Birth Injury Litigation
Birth injuries can lead to serious disabilities and can affect the quality of life for your child. Medical treatments can be expensive and long.
A reputable lawyer can file your birth injury lawsuit, investigate the incident and gather evidence, create an argument for negligence and represent you during settlement negotiations or in court in the event of a trial.
Settlements
In a majority of medical malpractice lawsuits, the plaintiff and defendant negotiate a settlement before the case goes to trial. Both parties can avoid the high and stressful court costs and receive compensation for the plaintiff. If an agreement cannot be reached, a jury will determine if the defendants owe the plaintiff compensation and how much money they should pay.
The first step toward receiving financial compensation for your child’s birth injury is proving that the doctor you hired to deliver your baby was in an official relationship with you and violated that obligation during the birthing process. You can prove this by using medical documents and hospital invoices. Your lawyer will also have to find evidence that shows the breach caused your child’s injuries.
Once you have this evidence the lawyer will then submit an offer to the defendants’ malpractice insurance carriers. This document includes a written statement detailing the injuries suffered by your child, together with the supporting documentation. The malpractice insurer will review the request, and either take it or leave it. If the demand is rejected your lawyer will file a lawsuit.
Your lawyer might suggest that in the event that a lawsuit is successful for birth injury law firms injuries, a portion of the settlement or award be put into a special-needs fund. This will enable your child to have access to future funds for things like medicines physical therapy, home modifications.
Trials
In some instances lawyers will try to reach a deal to settle the issue without going to court. A settlement is an agreement that is formal and resolves a dispute and pays compensation to the plaintiff.
An attorney’s team will seek evidence to prove medical professionals did not adhere to a high standard of care and triggered an injury. Lawyers for defendants will also collect their own evidence in order to refute assertions. The attorneys will meet to discuss a settlement. If a settlement isn’t reached then the case will go to trial.
The trial process can take months or even years to be completed. Plaintiffs could suffer from pain, stress and risk as they relive their child’s birth injury trauma. The winner could receive a large award. A losing party may appeal the decision.
A knowledgeable birth injury lawyer can make a huge difference in your case. A legal professional can help you get the best outcome through every step of the litigation process, from writing the demand letter, to filing the lawsuit or discovery, negotiation of settlement and trial, or in the event of an appeal, if necessary. They can help you get life-changing compensation for your family’s needs. A lawyer can also provide a network of expert witnesses to prove your claim. The legal team at Lipsitz Green will investigate your case to determine the cause of the injury occurred and fight for fair compensation.
Statute of Limitations
The medical profession has its own set of rules that must be followed in all procedures. This includes the statute of limitations, which imposes a time limit for birth injury lawyer filing lawsuits. This limit is meant to ensure that claims can be filed while evidence is still available and witnesses’ memories remain fresh. Even if a lawsuit has a solid legal foundation, it will be dismissed if it’s filed after the statute of limitations has expired.
For victims of birth injuries the statute of limitations may be especially important. A successful claim could award compensation for future and current medical costs loss of wages due to the inability to work to take care of the child, and emotional stress. In some cases, the judge or jury could also award punitive damage to punish defendants who have demonstrated excessive negligence.
Victims of birth injuries should have an New York attorney familiar with these kinds of claims. They can investigate the incident and gather evidence, make an argument for negligence, and negotiate a settlement or go to trial if needed. In some cases there is a possibility that a defendant will attempt to dismiss a lawsuit by asserting that the statute of limitations has expired. A lawyer will be able to quickly determine when this is the case. If the matter involves a hospital that is public, which are operated by local, state or federal governments in a different and possibly shorter time-limits may be in effect.
Expert Witnesses
In the case of medical malpractice, expert witnesses can assist jurors and judges understand the evidence and the facts in the case. They also offer expert or specialized opinions to help the jury make a decision. They are permitted to do so because their expertise is more reliable and thorough than the knowledge of a layperson or someone who is not trained in medical sciences.
A legal representative may retain an expert witness to review medical records, offer a testimony, and aid the lawyer in putting together the case. The expert would sign an affidavit, and then testify in the court. An expert can be an employee of a hospital or health care professional from the defendant’s institution or an outsider.
Expert testimony should reflect the current state of medical knowledge at the time of incident in the case. Experts should not rebuke performance that falls within the generally accepted standards of practice or accept any performance that is not in the scope of those standards. Experts should be able to provide transcripts of depositions and courtroom testimony for peer review. They should not sign contracts where the fees for their expert testimony are disproportionately high relative to their time and effort.
Parents of a child that has suffered a serious birth trauma can seek damages to pay for the future expenses they will incur for their child’s medical care, as well as any expenses that were paid for. An experienced attorney can determine whether negligence was the cause of the child’s birth injury and seek compensation to help ease the financial burden of a family.