birth injury attorney Injury Compensation
It could be devastating for your child if they suffer a birth injury as a result of a doctor's negligence. These injuries are often life-long treatment and care, leaving you with enormous financial costs.
In addition, many birth injury cases involve an intricate debate over medical malpractice versus medical mistakes. Our lawyers can help you understand the differences.
Costs of Treatment
Attorneys, insurance companies, and judges consider the severity of the birth injury and the impact it affects the child's quality of life in determining the amount compensation to be paid. For instance when a child needs extensive ongoing medical treatment, this will increase the value of the claim.
Medical treatment for birth injuries can be very expensive. Compensation for birth injuries could help families cover these costs. Lawyers and experts frequently collaborate to develop an "Life Care Plan" that estimates the costs of a child's injuries over the course of their lives. These include hospitalization and surgical procedures, as well as specialized medical treatment prescriptions, home improvements and other equipment, and many more.
Your legal team will gather medical records from your child's
Birth injury Law Firms as well as pregnancy, as well as firsthand stories from family members. These documents will be used to show that your child was injured due to medical malpractice, and to show the extent to which the injury occurred.
Many states have established medical indemnity funds which provide financial aid to families with children with birth injuries. These funds are a source of a portion of the malpractice insurance premiums or require doctors and hospitals to contribute to a pool of resources. These programs can provide families with financial aid and lessen the need to file a lawsuit. However, JLARC staff found that the programs don't always meet their goals and need to be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children with disorders such as hypoxic ischephalopathy or cerebral palsy will require medical treatment throughout their lives. This includes physical therapies as well as specialized equipment and home health care. The costs for these can be substantial.
A life-care plan is a document that establishes the future medical education, in-home, and other costs the child with disabilities will be liable for throughout his or his or her life. These plans are commonly used to calculate the economic component of the damages awarded in a birth injury lawsuit. These plans should be thorough and meticulously drafted to meet the strict requirements of admissibility.
Experts in life-care planning may help develop these documents using their input and the formal opinions of a disabled child’s doctors or therapists, as well as the caregivers. The plans also include an in-depth description of the injury's initial diagnosis. They explain the underlying causes of the disability and the long-term consequences.
A medical malpractice lawyer should collaborate with a life-care planner to develop the most appropriate plan for their client's situation. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that your child receives the proper compensation to cover all of his or her future medical and other expenses. The money is typically put in a trust to cover special requirements, which is managed by an administrator approved by the trustee. The amount of money awarded is typically adjusted regularly to reflect changes in the future requirements of your child.
Suffering and Pain
In a birth injury lawsuit damages are awarded to cover a plaintiff's past and future pain and suffering. This includes physical and mental suffering caused by the injury as and the inability to take part in activities that others could be able to do.
It is also possible to claim for lost income if a victim's disability limits their options for employment or stops them from working. Families can also be compensated for the care and treatment of an injured child.
Medical malpractice cases usually have very high verdicts due to the fact that juries tend to show sympathy for victims and hold medical professionals accountable for their errors. Many doctors and hospitals opt to settle rather than risk a trial that is expensive and stressful for everyone involved.
Both sides will collect evidence to support their arguments during the trial. They will exchange documents during a process called discovery, which entails deposing witnesses to get statements under swearing. The defendants can also ask to review the medical records of the plaintiff which is permitted in all states.
An attorney with experience in this type of case is needed to make an effective claim for birth injury. An experienced lawyer will evaluate your case to determine if you have a valid lawsuit and will help achieve the highest settlement.
Punitive Damages
Certain medical malpractice lawsuits contain punitive damages awards, that are intended to serve as a warning and discourage future negligence. These damages can be awarded when there is a high degree of negligence or malice on the part the doctor. However, they are very rare in birth injury cases.
After identifying the defendants the attorney needs to gather and analyze the evidence to support the claim. They must demonstrate that the injuries caused by medical professionals did not comply with a high level of care. The legal team also has to provide evidence of the losses associated with the injuries, which is known as "damages." The information could be either economic or non-economic in nature.
Economic losses are typically calculated by estimating the cost of the child's ongoing treatment, which may include long-term care facilities and other services. These may also include lost earnings if a traumatic event caused both or one parent to lose their job.
The legal team will then prepare a demand package to present to the malpractice lawyers. The document will explain the birth injury, its effects on the child's and family and request compensation to cover the expenses of these losses. The lawyers will negotiate with medical providers until the settlement is reached. During this negotiation, the lawyers will share information regarding their cases with the opposing side through discovery, which entails taking depositions from witnesses who swear to their testimony under oath.
