missoula birth injury law firm Injury Litigation

Medical negligence during the delivery process or labor can lead to severe birth injuries to infants. These injuries can have a lasting impact on the infant as well as their families.

A successful lawsuit can pay for future and ongoing medical expenses as well as lost wages and other damages. However it can take years to obtain.

Compensation

Despite incredible medical advances, childbirth can be risky. Mothers and babies alike expect that doctors behave professionally and avoid errors that could result in long-lasting harm. If your baby was injured due to negligence of a hospital or doctor You may wish to consult an New York birth injury lawyer to determine the legal recourse you have.

A successful claim for birth injuries results in financial compensation. This could include current and future medical expenses as well as lost wages, emotional stress, and other potential damages. In certain instances juries or judge may also award punitive damages in the event of unacceptable conduct.

Your attorney will work with a group of expert witnesses to determine what occurred and define the standard of care that is accepted. They will go through your records and review the actions of the medical staff present during your delivery. This information will help you build a strong argument and maximize your chances of success.

Before bringing a suit, your lawyer will generally attempt to negotiate with the malpractice insurer. This will require submitting an itemized list of demands that includes a full statement outlining your family's losses as well as the medical evidence to justify the claims. The malpractice insurance company will respond with an offer. If there is no settlement the case will proceed to trial.

Damages

The amount of damages a plaintiff is awarded may be economic (such as medical bills) or non-economic (such as pain and suffering). In a lot of cases, juries will award both. The amount of damages that an individual victim will be awarded will depend on how the accident has affected them, as well as their previous and future losses. Certain states limit the amount of non-economic damages that a jury may award.

In order to be eligible for compensation, you must prove that the defendant violated their duty of caring. This is accomplished by the use of medical records, expert testimony, and depositions. Medical experts are people who have specialized knowledge in a particular area of medicine. They review all evidence and can be able to testify in court, if needed. In birth injury cases, the expert will help establish that the defendant's actions fall in a way that is not consistent with the standard of care expected from an expert in medicine with similar training and experience under the circumstances of the case.

In addition to medical experts, attorneys also interview anyone who has a relevant story or insight. These are sworn declarations which are not in court and permit attorneys to ask witnesses directly what happened. Depositions can be conducted over the phone or through a video conference, however most are held in a courtroom. These depositions are often challenging and stressful, yet they are essential to building a strong case for clients and obtaining the highest possible amount of compensation.

Statute of Limitations

In New York, as in most states, medical malpractice claims must be filed within the statute of limitations window. Parents have a maximum of two and a half years to file a lawsuit after the date of a negligent act, birth injury lawyer omission or failure that they believe caused the injuries of their child.

Your attorney can review the medical records of your child to determine which obstetricians, nurses, and other hospital staff might have played a role in your son's or daughter's birth. The attorney will seek any documents or information that pertains to the injuries of your child.

In order to prove the malpractice, your lawyer must prove that the defendant was bound by a duty and breached this duty by failing to meet the standards of care required in similar circumstances. To prove this, your lawyer will work with medical professionals to compare the actions of the medical professional to accepted procedures and practices.

A lawyer can also assist you to find witnesses to testify on your behalf. They can provide valuable insight into the process used by doctors to make decisions and what caused your child's birth injuries. This evidence can be used by your lawyer to support your compensation claim. A successful medical malpractice lawsuit involves two distinct legal claims: one for the child who has been injured and one for the parents.

Expert Witnesses

With the right support, families can obtain compensation to cover medical expenses and lost income due to absence from work, rehabilitative treatments and therapies and the cost of long-term medical care. The most important factor to win a birth-injury case is having the most skilled experts as your witnesses.

They can also review evidence and provide a professional opinion on the extent to which a medical professional breached their duty of caring by performing an act that could have resulted in injuries to an infant. They can also explain complex medical terms to make them easier for judges or jury to understand.

The role of an expert witness is to offer an objective medical opinion that reflects the current state of knowledge as of the date of the event. This means they must not omit any relevant information to develop an opinion that is more favorable to either the plaintiff or the defendant.

Experts should also study the relevant medical records as well as contemporaneous publications with enough depth to enable them to form an informed opinion. In some instances, an expert may be required to provide an oath in court. These sessions are intimidating but they are a crucial part of preparing for birth injury lawyer a case. Your attorney can prepare you for these sessions and ensure that you are treated fairly.