Filing a birth injury claim is a complex legal process. It’s much like navigating a maze while wearing a blindfold. Sure, childbirth injury settlements are often in the millions of dollars.
But the road to obtaining them is paved with potholes—and traps set by insurance companies who will do anything to avoid a payout.
What is a Birth Injury Claim?
A birth injury claim is the legal way to hold a negligent health care worker accountable for malpractice that took place during childbirth.
Birth injuries can result from a variety of factors. These include errors made by healthcare providers during prenatal care, labor, or delivery. Birth injuries can have long-term or even lifelong consequences for the child (and/or mother). They may require extensive medical treatment and care.
Childbirth injury settlements can pay for this care. Such a payout can relieve family members from huge financial burdens.
Basic Steps for Filing a Birth Injury Claim
If you believe that a healthcare provider’s negligence or medical malpractice led to a birth injury, you may be eligible to file a birth injury claim. Below, we’ll give you the general steps to follow:
Consult an Attorney
Did you know that you’re much more likely to win your case if you work with an attorney? Going back to the maze illustration, think of it like taking the hand of someone who already knows the way out. It’s much easier than fumbling blindly around the labyrinth yourself.
You’re also much more likely to get a larger childbirth injury settlement with an attorney’s help. But don’t call just any attorney. Consult one with expertise in birth injury claims.
Gather Your Records
Proof, proof, and more proof. That’s what you need to win your birth injury claim. Any and all records are crucial for establishing the negligence of a healthcare provider. Collect all medical records and documentation related to the birth injury. This includes prenatal, labor, and delivery records, as well as postnatal records.
Investigate the Case
Don’t worry, it won’t be your job to play detective. Your attorney will thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the birth injury. They may also consult medical experts to determine if there was medical negligence or a breach of the standard of care.
Pinpoint the Responsible Party
Sometimes it’s easy to tell who messed up—like in this clear-cut case where nurses held a baby’s crowning head inside a woman for six excruciating minutes. The ordeal left her with a severe, permanent nerve injury. That case turned over one of the largest childbirth injury payments of its kind: a whopping $16 million.
Other cases are more obscure. In some cases, it’s more than one person´s fault. Your attorney will help you identify the parties responsible for the birth injury, which may include doctors, nurses, hospitals, or other healthcare providers.
File Your Complaint
Your attorney gives you the green light. You have a viable case. So what’s next? They will file a complaint in court against the responsible parties. This document outlines the allegations and the relief you are seeking.
Discovery Phase
Next is the discovery process, where both sides gather evidence, exchange information, and depose witnesses. Your attorney will work to build a strong case by obtaining additional medical expert opinions and evidence.
Negotiation and Settlement Phase
Did you know that most birth injury claims are settled out of court? At this stage, attorneys negotiate with defendants to reach a fair settlement. If a settlement is reached, the case is resolved without a trial. Childbirth injury settlements can save both parties a lot of time and money.
Go to Trial
Let’s say the responsible party offers a pittance of a settlement. It’s not nearly enough to cover your injured child’s medical expenses. Or, perhaps they offered you no settlement at all. In any case, if there’s no settlement agreement, the case will go to trial. Your attorney will present the evidence and arguments in court, and a judge or jury will make a determination.
Receive Damages
If the court rules in your favor, you may be awarded damages to compensate for medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other losses related to the birth injury. If either party is dissatisfied with the court’s decision, they may choose to appeal the verdict.
Do I Have a Viable Birth Injury Claim?
Your baby’s been injured. Now you’re considering heading down the path of legal action. But there’s one question you need to answer first. Is it worth it?
A birth injury claim is only worth your time, energy, and resources if it’s viable. So the first thing you have to determine is whether your circumstances meet the legal requirements for filing a claim. Then you have to decide whether the amount of damages you can recover will exceed lawsuit costs.
But don’t worry, you don’t have to figure all of this out yourself. Make a call to a birth injury lawyer. They will be able to point you in the right direction. If it appears you do have a case, you can schedule an initial consultation. Most firms will review your case for free.
In general, here’s what you need in order to be eligible for a birth injury claim:
- A diagnosis of a birth injury.
- Evidence that a professional’s negligence caused the injury.
- Time. The time limit set by statute of limitations can’t have expired. In most states, you only have 2-3 to file a claim. Usually, the clock starts ticking from the time the injury occurred.
What are the Different Types of Birth Injury Claims?
There are two major types of birth injury claims:
- Medical malpractice
- Wrongful death
If your child has an injury due to negligence, you would file a malpractice claim. If your baby died from a birth injury, you would file a wrongful death lawsuit.
Here are some examples of how medical malpractice can lead to a birth injury claim:
- Failure to monitor. Healthcare providers might fail to properly monitor the mother and baby during labor and delivery. They can miss signs that something’s wrong, and cause an injury.
- Improper use of instruments. Doctors might apply excess force while using vacuums or forceps to aid delivery.
- Medication errors. Incorrect dosage of medication can cause a birth injury, or even be fatal.
- Inadequate prenatal care. Prenatal care must involve proper monitoring, testing, and health management. Otherwise, both the mother’s and baby’s health are in jeopardy.
- Failure to perform a timely cesarean section (C-section). Emergencies can happen during delivery. One example is placental abruption. During emergencies, a C-section is often needed to prevent birth injuries. In some cases, it’s the only way to save a baby’s life.
Get a Fair Settlement with Your Claim
Has your hospital offered you money to “buy your silence?” We’re not fortune tellers by any stretch. But we can already guess that the insurance company isn’t offering you a fair settlement.
Often, the only way to get fair compensation is through filing a lawsuit. We know this is a difficult process. But it’s the best way to get the funds you need to give your child a better life. If you’re ready to discuss your case with an experienced birth injury lawyer, we’re ready to listen. Contact us here.