Birth Injury Compensation

If your child suffers a birth injury as a result of the negligence of a doctor or wrongful action, it can be devastating. These injuries can require ongoing treatment and care. The family will be left with huge financial costs.

Many birth injuries cases involve a tense debate about medical errors versus malpractice. Our lawyers can explain the differences.

Costs of Treatment

When determining how much to decide on a settlement for a birth trauma, insurance companies attorneys and judges consider the severity of the injury and its impact on the child's quality of life. For instance in the event that a child requires extensive ongoing medical treatment that will increase the value of the claim.

Medical treatment for birth injury attorney injuries can be very expensive. The compensation awarded for a birth injury can help families pay for these expenses. Lawyers and experts often work together to develop a "Life Care Plan" which estimates the costs of a child's injuries over the course of a lifetime. These costs include hospitalization, surgery, medical treatments and prescriptions, home improvements and equipment, etc.

Your legal team will gather medical documents from your child's pregnancy and birth as well as firsthand accounts from relatives. These records will be used to prove that your child suffered an injury as a result of negligence by a medical professional, and to demonstrate the extent of the harm caused.

Many states have medical indemnity funds that provide financial assistance to families of children with birth injuries. These funds are a source of a portion of malpractice insurance premiums, or require hospitals and doctors to contribute to a pool of resources. In addition to providing monetary assistance, these programs could also decrease the requirement for families to bring a lawsuit. JLARC staff however found that these programs didn't always achieve their goals and could be improved.

Life Care Planning

Children who suffer from conditions like cerebral palsy and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy are likely to have lifelong medical needs. These include physical therapy, specialized equipment and home health. These costs can often be substantial.

A life-care plan is a legal document that defines the future medical, educational, in-home and other costs that a disabled child will incur for the rest of his or their life. These plans are typically used to calculate the financial portion of the damages awarded in a Birth Injury Law Firms injury lawsuit. They should be comprehensive and carefully drafted to meet the strict requirements of evidence for legal admissibility in court.

Life-care planning experts can assist in the creation of these documents in accordance with input and formal opinions from a disabled child's doctors as well as therapists and other caregivers. The plans also contain a detailed account of the injury that caused it and its diagnosis. They describe the underlying causes of the disability as well as its long-term consequences.

A medical malpractice lawyer should work with a life care planner to come up with the most suitable plan for their clients' situation. The aim of the plan is to ensure that your child is provided with adequate compensation to cover the cost of all of their future care and expenses. The money is typically put into a trust account for special requirements, which is managed by an administrator approved by the trustee. Typically, the amount of funds allotted will be re-adjusted periodically to adjust to any changes in your child's requirements.

Pain and Suffering

In cases that involves birth injuries and damages are awarded to compensate the plaintiff for past and future pain and discomfort. This includes physical and mental suffering caused by the injury, as well as the inability of the plaintiff to engage in activities that others could be able to do.

It is also possible to recover income if an injury affects their work options or prohibits them from working all. Families can also receive compensation to care for an injured child.

The verdicts for medical malpractice cases tend to be extremely high because juries are often sensitive to the victims and hold doctors accountable for their errors. Many doctors and hospitals choose to settle instead of risking a trial that is expensive and stressful for all involved.

During the course of the lawsuit lawyers from both sides will collect evidence to back their arguments. They will share documents in a process called discovery, which entails deposing witnesses to get their statements under oath. The defendants can also ask to review the medical records of the plaintiff, which is legal in all states.

An experienced lawyer who has handled this type of case is required to file a successful claim for birth injuries. An experienced lawyer will evaluate your case to determine if you have a valid lawsuit and will help get the best settlement.

Punitive Damages

Some medical malpractice suits also include punitive damage awards which are meant as a warning and to prevent future negligence. They are awarded in cases involving particularly grave negligence or when there was willful misconduct on the part the medical professional. However, they are very rare in birth injury cases.

Once the attorney has identified the proper defendants, they must find and analyze evidence to support their claims. They must demonstrate that the injuries sustained by medical professionals did not comply with an acceptable standard of care. The legal team must also be able to provide evidence of the damages resulting from these injuries, known as "damages." This information can be both economic and non-economic in the sense that it is not a loss.

Economic losses are typically calculated by taking into account the cost of the child's ongoing treatment, including long-term care facilities as well as other services. They may also include lost earnings if an injury has caused both parents to lose their job.

The legal team will prepare an offer package that they will present to malpractice insurance providers. The document will outline the birth injuries and their effects on the child and family, and request compensation for the losses. The lawyers will negotiate until a settlement is reached with the medical providers. During this process, the attorneys will discuss their cases with the opposing side through discovery, which includes depositions of witnesses who are required to testify under oath.