Birth Injury Compensation
If your child suffers
birth injury lawsuits injury because of a doctor's negligence or wrongful action, it can be devastating. These injuries typically require lifetime treatment and treatment, which can result in huge financial burdens.
Many birth injuries cases involve a complex debate over medical malpractice versus medical errors. Our lawyers can help learn the distinctions.
Costs of Treatment
Attorneys, insurance companies and judges consider the severity of the birth injury as well as the impact it has on the child's development when determining the amount of compensation to be awarded. If a child requires extensive medical treatment which continues throughout the course of time, the value of the claim will rise.
The medical treatment for birth injuries can be very expensive. Compensation for birth injury can help families pay for these costs. Lawyers and experts frequently collaborate to create a "Life Care Plan" which calculates the cost of a child’s injury over the course of a lifetime. This includes hospitalization costs including surgical interventions, specialized medical treatment prescriptions, home renovations and other equipment, and many more.
Your legal team will gather medical documents from the pregnancy and birth of your child, as well as firsthand accounts from relatives. These documents will be used to prove that your child was injured as a result of medical malpractice, and to show the extent to which the injury occurred.
Many states have passed medical indemnity funds to offer financial aid to families of children who suffer from birth injuries. These funds either collect part of malpractice insurance premiums, or require hospitals and doctors to contribute to an asset pool. These programs can provide families with financial support and reduce the need to file a lawsuit. JLARC staff discovered that these programs didn't always meet their objectives and could be improved.
Life Care Planning
Children with conditions like hypoxic ischephalopathy or cerebral palsy will require medical treatment for the rest of their lives. These requirements include physical therapy, special equipment, and home health. These expenses can be very expensive.
A life-care planning document a document which outlines the future medical, educational home, and other costs a child with disabilities will have to pay for throughout his or her lifetime. These plans are commonly used to help calculate the economic portion of damages in a
Birth Injury law firms injury lawsuit. The plans must be precise and meticulously drafted to satisfy the strict requirements of admissibility.
Life-care planning experts can help in the creation of these documents using information and formal opinions from a disabled child's doctors as well as therapists and other caregivers. The plans also include a detailed narrative of the injury's initial diagnosis. They also explain the root cause of the disability and its long-term effects.
A medical malpractice lawyer must collaborate with a health care planner to create the most suitable plan for their clients' situation. The plan's purpose is to ensure that your child receives adequate compensation to cover all future expenses and health care. The money is typically put into a trust for children with special needs, which is managed by an approved administrator. The amount of money given is typically adjusted every few months to reflect the changing needs of your child.
Pain and Suffering
In a birth-related injury case there are damages awarded for the plaintiff's past and future pain and suffering. This includes the physical and mental discomfort caused by the injury as also the inability to participate in activities that others can do.
It is also possible to recover for income loss if an individual's disability restricts their career options or prevents them from working in any way. In addition, families may be compensated if required to help care for the child who is injured.
The verdicts in medical malpractice cases are usually extremely high because juries are often sympathetic to victims and hold doctors responsible for their actions. Many doctors and hospitals settle rather than risk an expensive trial and difficult for all parties involved.
During the course of the lawsuit lawyers from both sides will collect evidence to justify their arguments. They will share documents during a process called discovery, which entails deposing witnesses to get statements under an oath. The defendants can also ask to examine the medical records of a plaintiff, which is legal in many states.
A successful birth injury claim requires a lawyer with experience in these kinds of cases. An experienced attorney will review your case to determine whether you have a valid claim and will work to find the most effective settlement.
Punitive Damages
Some medical malpractice lawsuits also contain punitive damages. These are designed to communicate a message to prevent future negligence. The award of these damages is made when there is a high level of malice or negligence on the part of the doctor. However, they are rare in cases of birth injuries.
After identifying the defendants the attorney needs to gather and analyze the evidence to support the claim. They must prove that the injuries caused by medical professionals were not up to a high standard of medical care. The legal team should also prove the losses that were incurred with the injuries, also known as "damages." These damages could be economic or non-economic.
Economic losses are figured out by estimating ongoing treatment costs, including long-term care facilities and other services. These may also include the loss of earnings if an injury resulted in both parents to lose their job.
The legal team will create a demand package that they will present to malpractice insurers. The document will explain the birth injuries and their effect on the child and family, and request compensation for the loss. The lawyers will negotiate until a settlement has been reached with the medical professionals. During this process, lawyers will share information regarding their cases with the other side by way of discovery, which may include depositions of witnesses who take testimony under oath.