Individuals ascertain during pregnancies that their soon-to-be-born children don’t come across any harm (congenital disability). So, such parents will ensure the well-being and development of these unborn people with utmost dedication. However, the healthcare practitioner’s negligence may cause your newborn to suffer from birth injury/trauma. How do we define birth injuries? These are damages sustained by babies after, during, or before delivery. Unfortunately, different unashamed misconceptions have prevented parents from seeking justice after a birth injury. You can explore many legal options to punish the guilty party and receive compensation for your suffering. Let us discuss the procedure of seeking justice here.
How to take legal action in case of birth injuries?
Remember that congenital disabilities aren’t the same as birth injuries since the former are caused by pregnancy-resulted infections, exposure to harmful medicines, or even chromosome-related problems. It’s believed that genetic problems are mostly responsible for congenital disabilities. Birth injuries, however, arise from some complications after, during, or before childbirth. It’s also suspected that many babies are injured due to a doctor’s carelessness. For instance, some doctors overuse vacuum extractors, thereby damaging a newborn. These birth injuries often manifest themselves with different symptoms (floppy muscles and learning disabilities). Parents can explore various legal options to make sure that justice is served.
Now, what are some of the most common birth-related injuries? These injuries include cranium fracture, brain/nerve damage, and other problems. Many newborns also suffer from Erb’s palsy and cerebral palsy during delivery. Statistics indicate that 10,000+ babies are born each year with cerebral palsy. Now, you can hold negligent healthcare professionals accountable for their actions. Read this cerebral palsy guide to learn how to seek compensation. We’ve explained some vital steps of this legal process here for your know-how. Follow our below-mentioned strategies to get justice for your newborn. We’ll discuss some types of lawsuits you can file against your doctor. Here’s the process to claim justice for birth trauma:
- Understand statute of limitations:-
You’re allowed some time to bring a lawsuit against the guilty party after your child’s sustained birth injuries. These timelines are established differently in our states. Some states require you to file the claim some years after the date of injuries, while others allow folks to seek justice certain years after discovering injuries. In California, for example, the deadline expires a couple of years from when the injuries were made. But you have three years to get justice if the child dies due to birth injuries. A lawyer understands how different states have different demands. So, they may advise you to file a claim in two or more states. Hence, consult your birth injury attorney to file the claim right on time.
- Types of birth injury lawsuits:-
In 2018, some 21,000 infants died in the United States. It’s estimated that 134 out of 100,000 babies pass away because of birth injuries, and many of these deaths are caused by negligence/malpractice. You can imagine now why there are two kinds of birth injury lawsuits in the country. If your child has survived birth injuries, you may file a medical malpractice lawsuit in which you accuse the doctor of deviating from standard medical practices. If your newborn’s passed away because of a preventable birth injury, you should file a wrongful death lawsuit. Consider these two variant legal options if you wish to seek justice on your baby’s behalf. But the process defined below applies to both of them.
- Contact your healthcare provider:-
You shouldn’t file a claim without informing the healthcare provider responsible for your newborn’s injury/death. They may agree to compensate you for their wrongdoings. So, we suggest you write a “letter of demand” in which you will explain how the provider’s negligence caused birth trauma, due to which you’re liable for payment. If the doctor agrees with your demands, there’s no need to file a claim at all! But it’s doubtful for a doctor to admit their mistake and submit to your requests.
- Build your lawsuit:-
If the “letter of demand” gets rejected, you can start building your case. Your birth injury lawyer shall collect, evaluate, and present the relevant information to make a sustainable argument in your favor now. What will the lawyer do while preparing your case? They shall describe the following matters:
- The birth injury was preventable
- How, when, and where did this injury take place
- The healthcare practitioner’s responsible for this injury
- Gather the evidence:-
The attorney shall struggle to gather the required evidence for proving your claims. We can describe it as the “discovery phase,” during which you’ll focus on collecting the relevant information to make your case stronger. The evidence may include depositions, hospital bills, and medical documents. This paperwork will show that the healthcare practitioner did deviate from standard practices. So, a plaintiff must prepare to gather this information and stay thorough while investigating everything.
- File your claim:-
Now, you should file the claim in the country where this incident occurred. Again, you must file your claim before the statute of limitations expires. Now, plaintiffs must submit a “certificate of merit” issued by another healthcare practitioner that verified the veracity of their claims. Therefore, claims filed without these affidavits are readily dismissed. So, consult your lawyer to contact doctors to review your case and issue this certificate. That’s how you proceed with your birth injury lawsuit.
- Record your damages:-
How much compensation do you deserve? It depends on the nature of injuries sustained by the child during delivery. Don’t forget that the eventual payment’s determined after considering many factors, including permanent disabilities associated with birth injuries. In all medical malpractice lawsuits, an individual plaintiff must record their suffering and document the damages that have occurred due to birth trauma. It helps convince a jury that your case calls for attention and deserves compensation. Now, it’s estimated that 90% of all lawsuits reach out-of-court settlements. Thus, it’s likely that your case will also get settled. Only accept the guilty party’s offer/s after consulting with your lawyer.
- Negotiate a settlement:-
In a settlement agreement, nobody loses anything! Both parties decide to settle by one party paying the other for their suffering. You stop taking legal action against the defendant by accepting a lump sum of money. Lawyers usually suggest plaintiffs accept these offers since settling your case is more convenient than taking it to trial. So, how much compensation may you get in birth injury lawsuits? Experts have estimated that the average payout in these lawsuits will amount to $1 million.
Conclusion
Birth trauma’s not common in the United States, but 7 out of 1,000 newborns are injured during delivery mostly because of a doctor’s mistake. How can parents seek justice for their child’s suffering? We believe that parents should employ the services of birth injury lawyers to file these claims. Understand which types of lawsuits are filed in such cases, and don’t forget about the statute of limitations. Moreover, you must gather evidence to support your claims (with your lawyer’s assistance). Record your damages while expecting a settlement offer. Most birth injuries lawsuits reach out-of-court settlements. But if the case goes to trial, your compensation depends on different factors. That’s how you secure some payment.
