Birth Injury Compensation
It can be devastating If your child suffers a birth injury as a result of a doctor's negligence. These injuries usually require lifelong treatment and care, leaving you with immense financial burdens.
Many birth injury cases also involve a tense debate about medical errors versus malpractice. Our attorneys can explain the differences.
Costs of Treatment
Attorneys, insurance companies and judges weigh the severity of the
Birth Injury Law Firms injury and the impact it has on the child's development in determining the amount of compensation to be awarded. For instance, if a child requires an ongoing medical procedure which will raise the value of a claim.
Medical treatment for birth injuries can be extremely expensive. The compensation for a
birth injury lawsuits injury can help families cover the costs. Lawyers often work with experts in putting together a "Life Care Plan," that calculates the total cost of a child's injuries. This includes hospitalization costs or surgical intervention, medical treatment prescriptions, home improvements and equipment, as well as other.
Your legal team will collect medical documents from your child's birth as well as pregnancy as well as firsthand accounts from relatives. They will use these records to show that your child suffered an injury due to medical negligence and to demonstrate the extent of the harm caused.
Many states have established medical indemnity funds which provide financial aid to families of children who suffer
birth injury lawsuits injuries. These funds can either collect the portion of malpractice insurance premiums, or require hospitals and doctors to contribute to the resource pool. In addition to providing financial assistance, these programs could also decrease the necessity for families to make a claim. JLARC staff, however, found that these programs did not always meet their goals and need to be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children with conditions such as cerebral palsy or hypoxic ischephalopathy will require medical attention throughout their lives. These include physical therapy, specialized equipment, and home health. These costs can often be significant.
A life-care plan is a document that outlines the future medical education, in-home, and other costs that a disabled child will incur for the rest of his or her life. These plans are used to calculate the financial portion of the compensation awarded in cases of birth injury. They must be thorough and carefully drafted to meet the strict requirements of evidentiary for legal admissibility in the court.
Life-care planning experts can assist to create these documents with input and formal opinions from a disabled child's doctors, therapists and caregivers. The plans also contain an extensive description of the initial injury and diagnosis. They also explain the root cause of the disability and its long-term consequences.
A medical malpractice attorney must collaborate with a planner for life to draft the best possible plan for their client's specific situation. The aim of the plan is to ensure your child is compensated enough to cover their future expenses and health care. The funds are usually placed in a special needs trust which is administered by an approved administrator. Typically, the amount of funds granted will be adjusted over time to reflect changes in your child's future needs.
Pain and Suffering
In a birth-related injury case, damages are awarded for the plaintiff's past and future pain and suffering. This includes physical and mental stress caused by the injury as well as an inability to engage in activities that are enjoyed by other people.
You may also be able to recover lost earnings if the injury of a victim restricts their career options or prevents them working at all. Families can also receive compensation to care for an injured child.
The verdicts in medical malpractice cases are typically very high as juries are often compassionate towards victims and hold doctors accountable for their errors. Because of this, some hospitals and doctors prefer to settle instead of undergoing a trial, which is expensive and stressful for the parties involved.
During the trial lawyers on both sides will gather evidence to back their arguments. They will share documents in the process known as discovery, which entails deposing witnesses to get their statements under an oath. The defendants may also ask to see the plaintiff's medical records which is permitted in the majority of states.
An attorney with experience in this type of case is required to submit an effective claim for birth injury. A seasoned attorney will analyze the facts of your case, determine if it is in line with the specifications for a lawsuit and make sure you get the best financial settlement that is possible.
Punitive Damages
Certain medical malpractice lawsuits also include punitive damage awards, that are intended as a warning, and also to deter future negligence. They can be granted in cases of serious negligence or where there was negligence on the part of the doctor. However, they are extremely rare in cases of birth injuries.
Once the attorney has identified the appropriate defendants, they need to examine and gather evidence to back up their assertions. They must prove that the injuries sustained by medical professionals did not meet an acceptable standard of care. The legal team also needs to prove the financial losses resulting from these injuries, referred to as "damages." The information can be economic or non-economic in the sense that it is not a loss.
Economic losses are calculated by taking into account ongoing treatment costs including long-term treatment facilities and other services. They can also include lost earnings if a traumatic event caused one or both parents to lose their job.
The legal team will prepare a demand package that they can present to the malpractice lawyers. The document will explain the birth injury and its impact on the child's and family as well as request compensation to pay the expenses of these losses. The attorneys will negotiate with medical professionals until they reach a settlement. During this process, the lawyers will share information about their cases with the other side through discovery, which includes depositions of witnesses who take testimony under the oath.