Birth Injury Litigation

Birth injuries can lead to serious disabilities that can impact your child's quality of living. The medical treatment they require can be expensive and lengthy.

A competent lawyer can file your birth injury lawsuit as well as investigate the incident, gather evidence, build the case for negligence, and also represent you in settlement negotiations or at trial should it be necessary.

Settlements

In the majority of medical malpractice lawsuits the plaintiff and defendant negotiate a settlement before the case goes to trial. Both parties can avoid the costly and stressful court costs and receive compensation for the plaintiff. If a trial is not possible, a jury decides whether the defendants are responsible to pay compensation and in what amount.

The first step in obtaining financial compensation for birth injuries in your child is to prove the doctor who gave birth to your baby had a professional relationship with you, and birth injury lawsuit that he violated this obligation during the birthing process. This can be accomplished with medical documents and hospital bills. Your lawyer will also need to gather evidence that the breach resulted in the injuries of your child.

Once you have this evidence and your lawyer has it, they will send a demand package to the defendants' malpractice carriers. The document contains a letter detailing the injuries suffered by your child, as well as supporting documentation. The malpractice company will go through the request and either accept or reject it. If the demand is rejected the lawyer will make a claim.

If you are the victim of a successful birth injury lawsuit, your attorney may recommend placing some of the settlement or award in a special needs trust. This will permit your child to have access to future funds for things like medicine or physical therapy as well as home modifications.

Trials

In some instances lawyers will try to negotiate a settlement to settle the issue without having to go to court. A settlement offers an amount of money to the plaintiff and ends in an official agreement that resolves the matter.

An attorney's team will gather evidence to prove that medical professionals didn't meet a high standard of care and caused an injury. Lawyers for defendants will also collect evidence on their own to counter allegations. The attorneys will then sit down with each other to negotiate an amount for settlement. If a settlement isn't reached, then the case will be taken to court.

The trial process could take months, or years to complete. Plaintiffs may be afflicted with pain, stress and risk as they relive their child's birth injury trauma. The winner could be awarded a substantial verdict. The losing party can appeal the decision.

An experienced birth injury lawyer can make a huge difference in your case. A legal professional can ensure the best outcome through every stage of the litigation process, from writing the demand letter to filing the lawsuit as well as settlement negotiations, discovery and trial, or should it be necessary, appeals. They can assist you in obtaining compensation that can change your life and the lives of your family members. Lawyers can also provide a network of expert witnesses to prove your claim. The legal team at Lipsitz Green will investigate your case to determine how the injury occurred and fight for fair compensation.

Statute of limitations

The medical profession has its own set of rules to be adhered to when performing procedures. This includes the statute of limitations which establishes a deadline for filing lawsuits. This limit is set to ensure that claims are filed as long as evidence is still available and witnesses' memories are fresh. A lawsuit filed after the time limit has expired can be dismissed even when it has a solid legal basis.

For victims of birth injuries the statute of limitations may be especially important. A successful lawsuit can offer compensation for the victim's current and future medical expenses, lost wages due to working less to take care of their child, as well as emotional anxiety. In some cases, a jury or judge will also award punitive damages to penalize defendants who have committed a grave inattention to detail.

Victims of birth injuries must have a New York attorney familiar with these kinds of claims. They can investigate the accident and gather evidence, present an argument for negligence and settle the case or go to trial if necessary. In certain cases the defendant could try to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that the statute of limitation has run out. A lawyer will be able to determine quickly when this is the case. If the situation involves a public hospital that is managed by local, state or federal governments, separate and potentially much shorter statute of limitation periods may apply.

Expert Witnesses

Expert witnesses can assist juries and judges understand the evidence and facts of a medical malpractice case. They can also provide expert opinions or inferences to assist them in making a decision. They are permitted to do so because their expertise is more reliable and precise than the knowledge of a layperson or someone without medical training.

A legal representative may retain an expert witness to review medical records, offer a testimony, and assist the lawyer in putting together the case. The expert will then sign an affidavit, and testify in court about their findings. An expert could be a hospital employee or health care professional at the defendant's facility, or an outsider.

The expert's testimony should reflect the current medical knowledge in the case at the time of the hearing. The expert should not criticize any practice that is not in line with generally accepted practice standards or condone performance that is outside of those standards. Experts should be willing and able to send transcripts of depositions and courtroom testimony to their peers to be reviewed. They should not enter into agreements in which the costs for their expert testimony are inordinately high in relation to the time and effort.

Parents of children who suffers a serious birth injury may be able to seek compensation for future care that their child will require and for any previous expenses they have already paid to provide care for the child. An experienced attorney can determine whether negligence was the cause of the child's injuries at birth and obtain compensation that will help ease the financial burden of a family.