Lawyers specializing in birth injuries elaborate on their professional practices and the safeguarding of your legal rights.
When faced with the challenge of a birth injury, families are often left grappling with the emotional and financial burdens that come with it. In such trying times, the guidance of experienced birth injury attorneys can prove invaluable.
These legal professionals are well-versed in the complexities of the judicial system, enabling them to present a comprehensive case while minimizing unnecessary expenses during litigation. They negotiate with insurance companies or the legal representatives of healthcare providers, aiming to secure a just settlement based on the actual damages experienced by the family.
Understanding the Negotiation Process
It is crucial for families to understand that insurance companies often aim to minimize payout amounts in the negotiation phase. As such, it is advisable not to accept an initial offer. Instead, families should work with their attorneys to build a strong case, ensuring a fair settlement.
The Litigation Process
If a fair settlement cannot be reached, birth injury attorneys are prepared to take the case to court. The litigation process involves filing a complaint against the negligent party and arguing the case on behalf of clients. Throughout this process, families must remain involved, often testifying about the impact of the birth injury on their lives.
Building a Strong Birth Injury Case
To build a strong birth injury case, families should gather comprehensive medical records and evidence. This includes prenatal records detailing the mother’s health and any pregnancy complications, delivery room notes describing the labor and delivery process, fetal monitoring strips showing the baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels during labor, postnatal care documentation detailing the baby's initial condition and immediate medical treatments, medical diagnoses, test results, and therapy notes related to the child’s injuries and ongoing care, photographs of the baby’s condition after birth to visually document injuries, witness statements from medical staff or others present to confirm details and timing of events, and expert medical testimony from healthcare professionals who can explain how the injury occurred and if the standard of care was breached.
Common Birth Injuries
Birth injury cases typically involve nerve injuries (e.g., Erb’s palsy), brain injuries (e.g., cerebral palsy, Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy), bone fractures, and complications from maternal infections.
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement and muscle coordination due to brain damage occurring before, during, or shortly after birth.
- Erb’s palsy is a type of brachial plexus nerve injury causing weakness or paralysis in the affected arm, often due to shoulder dystocia during delivery.
- Brachial plexus injuries are damage to the nerve bundle in the shoulder area resulting in varying degrees of arm dysfunction.
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during birth, leading to physical and cognitive impairments.
- Brain injuries are resulting from interrupted oxygen or blood supply, which can cause permanent disabilities.
- Bone fractures are most commonly clavicle (collarbone) fractures related to difficult vaginal deliveries with shoulder dystocia.
- Birth asphyxia is lack of oxygen to the baby at birth potentially causing severe brain damage.
- Conditions linked to maternal infection such as brain damage, hearing loss, lung damage, vision problems, or cerebral palsy from infections like CMV, GBS, or chorioamnionitis.
Engaging an experienced birth injury attorney early allows for timely collection, review, and preservation of all relevant evidence to support a legal claim effectively. With their expertise and guidance, families can navigate the complexities of the legal system and seek justice for their child's injuries.
- As families build a strong birth injury case, they should also be aware that various neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy and Erb's palsy, may result from birth injuries.
- In the negotiation phase with insurance companies or healthcare providers' legal representatives, it's essential to aim for a settlement that covers both medical-conditions and health-and-wellness expenses, including possible treatments for mental-health issues and ongoing care for neurological disorders.
- To secure a just financial compensation for the lifelong impact of birth injuries on their child's life, families should work closely with their attorneys to gather evidence, present a comprehensive case, and ensure their voices are heard in both the negotiation and litigation processes.
