5 Birth Injury Case-Related Lessons From The Professionals
Birth Injury Compensation
It could be devastating when your child suffers birth injury due to negligence by a doctor. These injuries may require lifetime treatment and care. You will be left with massive financial burdens.
Many birth injuries cases require a lengthy debate on medical errors versus malpractice. Our lawyers can help you understand the differences.
Costs of Treatment
Attorneys, insurance companies, and judges consider the severity of the birth injury as well as the impact it can have on the child's life in determining the amount of compensation to be awarded. For instance the child who suffers from a medical condition requires constant medical attention that will increase the value of an claim.
Medical treatment for birth injury law firms injuries can be very expensive. Compensation for birth injuries could aid families in covering these costs. Lawyers often collaborate with experts to create an "Life Care Plan" which calculates the lifetime costs incurred by a child's injury. This includes hospitalization costs, surgical intervention, specialized medical treatment prescriptions, home renovations and equipment, and more.
Your legal team will collect medical documents from the pregnancy and birth of your child, along with firsthand accounts from relatives. These records will be used to prove that your child was injured due to medical malpractice, and also to prove the extent to which the injury occurred.
Many states have passed medical indemnity funds to provide financial assistance to families of children who suffer from birth injuries. These funds collect some of the malpractice insurance premiums, or require hospitals and doctors to contribute to an asset pool. In addition to providing financial assistance, these programs may also help reduce the necessity for families to pursue a lawsuit. However, JLARC staff found that the programs don't always achieve their goals and should be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children who suffer from conditions like cerebral palsy and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy will have long-term medical needs. These include physical therapy, specialized equipment, and home health. These expenses can be significant.
A life-care plan is a document that outlines the future medical education, home-based, and other costs the child with disabilities will be liable for throughout his or her life. These plans are used to calculate the financial amount that is awarded in the event of birth injury. These plans must be thorough and carefully drafted in order to comply with the strict requirements for admissibility.
Life-care experts can assist in the preparation of these documents using information and the opinions of a child with disabilities' doctors as well as therapists and caregivers. The plans contain a thorough description of the initial injury and its diagnosis. They describe the underlying causes of the disability as well as the long-term effects.
A medical malpractice lawyer must work with a life planner to draft the most appropriate plan for their clients' situation. The aim of the plan is to ensure that your child receives enough compensation to cover all future costs and expenses. The funds awarded are typically placed into a special-needs trust which is administered by an approved administrator. The amount of money awarded is typically adjusted every few months to reflect changes in the future needs of your child.
Pain and Suffering
In cases involving birth injuries that result in damages, the court will compensate the plaintiff for future and past discomfort and pain. This includes physical and mental discomfort caused by the injury as well as the inability of the plaintiff to take part in activities that other people could be able to do.
It is also possible to recover earnings if the injury of a victim limits their options professionally or stops them from working at all. In addition, families can be compensated if required to provide care for the child who is injured.
The verdicts in medical malpractice cases tend to be very high as juries tend to be sympathetic towards victims and hold doctors accountable for their errors. Many hospitals and doctors prefer to settle rather than risk an expensive trial and difficult for all parties involved.
During the lawsuit, lawyers for both sides will gather evidence to prove their points. They will share documents through a process known as discovery, which is the process of deposing witnesses to get statements under swearing. The defendants can also ask to examine the medical records of a plaintiff and are legal in all states.
A successful birth injury lawsuit requires an experienced lawyer in these types of cases. An experienced attorney will review your case to determine whether you are entitled to a lawsuit and work to obtain the most favorable settlement.
Punitive Damages
Some medical malpractice suits also include punitive damages, which are intended to serve as a warning, and also to discourage future negligence. They are awarded in cases that involve grave negligence or when there was willful misconduct on the part the medical professional. However, they are very rare in cases of birth injuries.
After the attorney has identified proper defendants, they must collect and analyze evidence to support their assertions. They must show that the injuries caused by medical professionals failed to meet an acceptable standard of care. The legal team must prove the losses that were incurred with the injuries, also known as "damages." These damages could be economic or non-economic.
Economic losses are calculated by making estimates of ongoing treatment costs including long-term treatment facilities and other services. These may also include lost earnings if a traumatic event caused one or both parents to lose their job.
The legal team will prepare the demand package which they will present to the malpractice insurance providers. This document will describe the birth injuries and the impact they have on the child as well as the family, and request compensation for these losses. The lawyers will negotiate with the medical providers until an agreement is reached. During the discovery process, lawyers will exchange information with other party on their case. This may include depositions of witnesses who take oath testimony.