Birth injuries can happen for a diversity of reasons, yet in instances anywhere they are caused merit to medical inattention and careless mistakes made by your healthcare provider, you have the opportunity and legal discipline to hold the at fault party accountable.
An experienced birth injury attorney can help you recognize these rights while at the same time work diligently to secure that you have the most exceptional chances in proving your case. Before you get started or settle on a birth injury attorney, it’s a helpful idea to recognize what they do, at which point they can help you, why you need a birth injury attorney, and most importantly, what to look for when choosing the best attorney to represent you.
What Types of Birth Injury Cases Do We Take On?
Erb’s palsy, furthermore known as brachial plexus or begin dystocia
Infant intellectual damage
Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of the Newborn (PPHN)
Anoxia
Hypoxia
Wrongful death
Bone fractures
Cephalohematoma
Perinatal Asphyxia
Facial Paralysis
Spinal cable injuries
Caput Succedaneum
Fetal lacerations
Shoulder dystocia, etc.
Regardless of the types of cases a birth injury attorney handles, the most important thing is have a proven track record and lots of experience in representing clients with birth injury cases.
Birth injury cases are extremely intricate and although they are considered personal injury cases, a general personal injury attorney who takes on all types of personal injury cases might not be the most suitable and knowledgeable enough to give you your best chances in specific case.
What Will We Do to Help You and Your Baby?
If you believe you or your baby were injured due to medical negligence, a birth injury lawyer will first determine if you have a case. We start by going over your case details extensively to ensure your case is valid and worth pursuing. To help the process go more smoothly, make sure to bring in all medical documents and anything else you have that you think will help your case.
Then, an experienced lawyer starts the process of pre-litigation where they will collect more documents, evidence, a witness and expert list, and go through the additional intricate details involved in a birth injury case. While this is happening, it’s not uncommon for us to suggest a settlement amount to the defense, even if it’s not a gaurantee. You will both need to agree on the settlement amount before it happens.
If a settlement wasn’t agreed on, the litigation part of the process begins, in which your attorney will formally file a complaint against the defendant in civil court. Once the complaint is filed, the defense has an allotted amount of time to formally answer. The discovery part of the case most times starts at this point, and the defense has the right to see what evidence, the witness list, and any other details that has been collected by us.
During this time, most defendants will try to negotiate a settlement once they see that it would be easier to settle than to fight the case. But, there are some small times in which a settlement is not negotiated. If this happens, be ready to go to trial. It’s also not uncommon for the defense to agree to a settlement even after a trial has begun. Keep in mind that your case can be settled at any time during the litigation process, even the last week of a trial.