Childbirth is supposed to be a joyous occasion, but a birth injury can result in devastation, sadness, and mounting medical bills. Birth injuries happen for a number of reasons, including, in some cases, medical negligence. If medical error is the cause of your child’s birth injury, a medical malpractice lawyer can help you get money damages for your or your child’s injuries.
Contact a birth injury attorney for more information on your legal rights and options regarding a possible birth injury lawsuit to obtain money damages.
What Causes Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries can be caused by a number of reasons. Although birth injuries can happen through the fault of no one, in some situations, obstetrical negligence is the cause of a child birth injury.
Obstetrical negligence is a type of medical malpractice that happens when a doctor, midwife, or obstetrician fails to provide appropriate medical treatment and the mother or baby suffer injuries or death as a result. Obstetrical negligence can result in stillbirth, cerebral palsy, infection, loss of fertility, death of the baby, or death of the mother.
As with all medical negligence claims, a birth injury alone is not necessarily enough to support a medical malpractice claim. In order to prove obstetrical negligence or other type of medical malpractice, you must be able to show the following:
Because a medical malpractice claim involves a complicated legal and factual analysis, it is highly recommended that you contact a birth injury attorney to learn more about your legal rights and options for obtaining money damages for a birth injury.
Cerebral Palsy and Other Common Birth Injuries
One of the most common types of birth injuries is cerebral palsy. In fact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy occurs, on average, in 1 in every 323 children. Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affects the brain and nervous system. It affects each child in different ways and to varying degrees, but in many cases, cerebral palsy causes significant movement problems.
Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage or an abnormal development of the brain. In some cases, cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain or traumatic head injury.
Cerebral palsy can be difficult to detect so if you have any suspicions about whether your child might have cerebral palsy, you should seek medical attention or a second opinion as soon as possible. Since cerebral palsy can be caused by medical error, you may also wish to consult with a cerebral palsy lawyer as well.
One of the main signs that a child might have cerebral palsy is a delay in reaching motor or movement milestones (such as rolling over, sitting, standing, or walking). Other common signs include: stiff legs, lop-sided crawling, or difficulty bringing hands together.
In addition to cerebral palsy, other common birth injuries include:
Because it is sometimes difficult to determine the cause of cerebral palsy or other birth injury, it is highly recommended that you contact a cerebral palsy attorney or birth injury attorney as soon as possible for help collecting and analyzing medical records in light of various legal standards.
Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit
Birth injuries are especially traumatic for a family. Not only might you be confused about your legal rights, but you are probably also dealing with serious emotional distress and struggling to get the appropriate care for your child. A birth injury attorney can help you deal with the legal aftermath of a birth injury and put you in touch with the appropriate medical professionals so that you can get the care that you and your child need.
Parents who have experienced a birth injury often have a number of questions about their legal rights, and wonder whether it makes sense to file a birth injury lawsuit. It is important to understand that a birth injury or medical error alone is not enough to amount to medical malpractice. Similarly, it is not enough to show that a different doctor may have provided different treatment to you or your child. Rather, in order support a birth injury lawsuit, you must prove that the medical provider (whether an obstetrician, midwife, doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider) failed to provide medical treatment according to medically accepted standards of care. You must also be able to prove that the birth injuries are directly related to the defendant’s failure to provide the appropriate medical care.
If you choose to file a birth injury lawsuit, there are a number of steps that go into the process. For instance, a birth injury lawsuit will involve the following:
Although pursuing a birth injury lawsuit may seem overwhelming, a birth injury lawyer will guide you through the process, help you understand your rights and options, and fight to get you money damages.
Money Damages for Birth Injuries
If you choose to file a birth injury lawsuit and are successful you may be able to recover the following money damages on behalf of your child:
Unfortunately, some states limit the amount of money you can receive for some damages, such as emotional distress or pain and suffering. These limits can prevent you from getting the money you deserve. A birth injury lawyer in your state can help you understand whether your case would put a limit on the amount of money you can receive.
In a limited number of birth injury lawsuits, parents may also be able to recover damages to punish the medical provider for what happened. These damages are intended to punish the medical provider to prevent other people from being hurt or killed, but certain states prohibit these damages in medical malpractice cases.
Get Money for Fatal Birth Errors
If your child dies as a result of medical malpractice, you as the parents may be able to get money in a wrongful death lawsuit. Although no amount of money can bring back your child, money damages can help ease the financial burden caused by the death and hold the negligent obstetrician, midwife, doctor, or hospital responsible. A wrongful death lawsuit may provide money for the following: medical bills, funeral expenses, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. As discussed above, some states limit the amount that can be recovered in a wrongful death lawsuit so you will want to discuss any damages laws with your birth injury attorney.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
It is important to contact a birth injury law firm as soon as possible if you think your child’s birth injuries were the result of medical negligence. Because there are strict time limitations on when an injured person can file a medical malpractice lawsuit, it is important to talk to a birth injury lawyer as soon as you can. The time in which a person may file a medical malpractice lawsuit varies state by state and a birth injury attorney will be able to determine the applicable time period and help you file a timely claim.