A child being born should bring a family joy, but the reality is that not every delivery goes as it should. For some families, the result is a birth that comes with serious, sometimes lifelong complications and a child who has been injured and needs medical care.
If your child was injured during birth because of medical negligence, you may have a chance to bring suit against a number of potential defendants. In addition to scheduling a consultation with top birth injury lawyers, here are the important steps you need to take to get started:
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
The initial step after the discovery of a birth injury is to obtain targeted medical attention. Certain birth injuries (cerebral palsy, for example) may not present at birth or may not be diagnosed for years.
The injury itself, however, has already occurred and no amount of “appropriate medical care” can undo what’s been done. The best thing you can do at this point is to get a quick and accurate diagnosis and to begin a proper care plan ASAP.
Obtain and Review Medical Records
The medical records of your child are vital in establishing whether they suffered an injury due to medical negligence. Obtain duplicates of every record from the hospital or birth facility covering the time from before your child’s birth, through labor, and after their birth. These documents may serve as the pivot point upon which any legal actions you take will turn.
Determine Liability and Establish Negligence
You must show that medical personnel fell short of the standard of care to have a legal claim that wins. That failure must be linked directly to the injury of your child. To achieve that, top birth injury lawyers will consult with medical experts to score an understanding of what went wrong in your child’s delivery.
They will assess, first and foremost, whether contributing medical mistakes of some kind were made.
File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
When negligence is established, your attorney might suggest filing a medical malpractice suit against the responsible parties, which could be any of a number of doctors, nurses, or the hospital itself. Each state has its own statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims; yours might be as short as one year. So act swiftly.
Consider Settlement vs. Trial
Numerous birth injury cases are settled before trial. Your attorney negotiates with the defendants. If they reach a settlement, the case is closed. If, however, the attorneys and defendants do not reach a settlement, the case may go to trial, where a jury will determine if the defendants are liable.
Always Consult with the Top Birth Injury Lawyers Before Deciding Your Next Step
Managing a birth injury can be burdensome, but taking the right legal steps can provide needed financial relief to parents and secure the infant all the resources necessary for a better future. Following the steps presented here today can ensure those responsible for the injury are held accountable and that you receive not only fair compensation, but also justice.
