Most parents in the U.S. who have had a child with birth injuries due to medical negligence of the hospital staff can seek medical compensation for their troubles and for the treatment that the newborn will have to undergo for its injuries.
Yet, not every parent may know what steps to take if a child has a birth injury because of malpractice. You may have several questions about how to go about filing for a negligence or malpractice claim, or about the treatment options for birth injuries.
Seek help from an attorney
If your newborn, or the newborn of one of your loved one, has had a birth injury, you may be entitled to compensation for injuries. Birth injuries can have long-term effects on the child and the family. These injuries are most often the result of medical negligence.
All that means is that the medical staff can be held liable for their negligence or malpractice. If you suspect that you or your newborn are victims of medical negligence, you should immediately contact these birth injury attorneys to ensure that you get the compensation amount as soon as possible. The sooner you can start treating your newborn, the better it is for its long-term health.
A lawyer with birth injury litigation experience can assist victims and their families in collecting the necessary evidence and building a case. If you are having trouble getting birth records from hospital staff, contact the state social services department for help.
If you feel that your child’s birth injury was caused due to medical negligence, consider speaking with an attorney about filing a lawsuit. A lawyer with experience in birth injury cases can help you get compensated for all of your expenses related to the injury and its treatment.
What is medical negligence during childbirth?
When doctors or the hospital staff do not follow proper medical protocol in treating patients, causing avoidable harm to the patients, then a medical negligence claim is the recommended option to pursue against the medical facility. Often negligence cases occur due to a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose.
A doctor is negligent if they fail to meet the standard of care expected of professional doctors. If a doctor fails to pursue standard care and the patient gets hurt as a result, they may be liable for medical malpractice.
How to assess medical negligence in pregnancy?
Medical negligence during pregnancy can occur under the following circumstances:
- Failure to diagnose or treat maternal conditions that affect the fetus
- Failure to properly monitor the fetal heartbeat during labor and delivery
- Failure to intervene when there is a problem with the fetus’ heartbeat during labor and delivery
- Failure to perform an emergency cesarean section when necessary
- Delay in performing a cesarean section when necessary
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors during delivery
- Improperly breaking the sac of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby
Injuries caused by these types of medical negligence may include cerebral palsy, erb’s palsy, brain damage, and other physical and developmental disabilities.
How to seek legal help in case of childbirth injury?
To get legal help for birth injuries caused by medical negligence, you will need to prove that the doctor and other medical providers failed to act in accordance with standard procedures when providing treatment.
To do this, you will need to:
- Prepare a list of all the medical professionals involved in the treatment
- Gather all your medical records from the providers
- Collect all treatment invoices, bills, and receipts
- Obtain documentary evidence from witnesses as to how your child’s condition developed
- Compile any other evidence that can help with building a case against the negligent provider(s)
Once you have all the information gathered, it is time to consult a lawyer. Your lawyer can then review all the documents and decide whether or not there is a strong case against the negligent provider(s). If you have enough evidence to incriminate the negligent provider(s) in the case, your lawyer will start preparing arguments for court proceedings.
Filing a lawsuit for childbirth injury
Many people mistakenly believe that legal action for birth injuries due to medical negligence can only be pursued if the infant dies. But that is not true. In fact, many types of birth injuries can be compensated through a medical malpractice claim.
Filing a successful birth injury lawsuit can be complicated and challenging. To give your claim a greater chance of success, it’s important to take the following steps:
The first step in filing a successful claim is to seek experienced legal guidance. An experienced attorney will be able to evaluate your case and determine whether or not you have grounds to file a lawsuit against the negligent party or parties.
If a lawsuit is warranted, your attorney will know how to best pursue compensation on behalf of your child. Keep an accurate record of all the expenses related to the treatment. It’s important to keep detailed records of all expenses associated with your child’s condition, including doctor visits, lab tests, hospitalizations, and medications.
This information will help build up a strong case that can lead toward convincing a judge or a jury of the negligence of medical staff. Once negligence has been proved, beyond any doubt, you will get compensated for all damages related to the birth injury caused to your infant, which should not only cover for the damages incurred at the time of delivery but also should cover the treatment expenses for the child.
Conclusion
Birth injuries can be devastating for the parents of the newborn. While most women know that it’s essential to get prenatal care throughout the year before they give birth, few realize that negligence in obtaining prenatal care can lead to a birth injury as well. Maternal negligence claims are very similar to other types of medical malpractice claims in that they are incredibly complex and require legal assistance from attorneys who are well-versed in the area.
