Notes

A Guide To Birth Injury Case From Start To Finish
Birth Injury Compensation

It can be devastating when your child suffers birth injury due to an error by a medical professional. These injuries can require lifelong treatment and care. You'll be faced with huge financial costs.

In addition, many birth injury cases involve a complex argument over medical malpractice versus medical errors. Our lawyers can explain the distinctions.

Costs of Treatment

Attorneys, insurance companies and judges weigh the severity of the birth injury as well as the impact it has on the child's development when determining the amount compensation to be paid. If a child needs extensive medical treatment which continues over time the value of the claim will rise.

Medical treatment for birth injuries can be extremely expensive. Compensation for birth injuries can aid families in covering these costs. Lawyers often collaborate with experts to put together a "Life Care Plan," which estimates the lifelong cost of a child's injuries. These costs include hospitalization, surgery, specialized medical treatments prescriptions, home improvement and equipment, among others.

Your legal team will gather medical records from the pregnancy as well as the birth of your child, as well firsthand reports from relatives. These records will be used to show that your child was injured as a result of medical malpractice, and to show the extent to which the injury occurred.

Many states have enacted medical indemnity funds to provide financial assistance to families of children suffering from birth injuries. These funds collect a portion of malpractice insurance premiums or require doctors and hospitals to contribute to the pool of resources. These programs can help families with financial assistance and lessen the need to file a lawsuit. JLARC staff, however, found that these programs did not always meet their goals, and could be improved.

Life Care Planning

Children suffering from conditions like cerebral palsy and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy will face ongoing medical requirements. These needs include physical therapies, specialized equipment, and home health care. These costs can be substantial.

A life-care planning document one that lists the future medical, educational home, and other costs that a child with disabilities is likely to be liable for throughout their life. These plans are typically used to help calculate the financial portion of damages awarded in a birth injury case. These plans must be comprehensive and meticulously drafted to meet the strict requirements of admissibility.

Life-care experts can assist in the development of these documents based on the input and the formal opinions from a child's doctors, therapists, and caregivers. The plans include a comprehensive account of the injury and the diagnosis. They describe the underlying causes of the disability as well as its long-term consequences.

A medical malpractice lawyer must work with a life planner to come up with the most appropriate plan for their clients' situation. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that your child receives the proper compensation to cover the cost of all of his or her future medical expenses and care. The funds are usually placed in a special needs trust which is administered by an approved administrator. The amount of money awarded is typically adjusted every few months to reflect the changing needs of your child.

Pain and Suffering

In a case where birth injuries are involved, damages are awarded to compensate the plaintiff for future and past pain and discomfort. This includes physical and mental distress from the injury, and also an inability to engage in activities normally enjoyed by others.

It is also possible to recuperate for the loss of income when an individual's disability restricts their career options or prohibits them from working at all. Families could also be compensated to care for an injured child.

The verdicts for medical malpractice cases are often extremely high because juries tend to be sympathetic to patients and hold doctors accountable for their errors. Many doctors and hospitals settle rather than risk a trial that is expensive and stressful for all involved.

During the litigation lawyers on both sides will collect evidence to prove their points. They will share documents in the process of discovery, which includes deposing witnesses to get their statements under swearing. In many states, defendants are able to request to view the records of the plaintiff.

A successful birth injury lawsuit requires a lawyer with experience in these kinds of cases. A seasoned attorney will analyze the facts of your case to determine if it satisfies the specifications for a lawsuit and ensure the highest settlement for your financial needs.

Punitive Damages

Certain medical malpractice lawsuits also include punitive damage awards, that are intended as a warning and to deter future negligence. They are awarded in cases involving particularly serious negligence or where there was negligence on the part of the medical professional. They are not common in cases of birth injury.

Once the attorney has identified the appropriate defendants, they have to find and analyze evidence to back up their claims. They must prove that the injuries caused by the medical professionals did not conform to the a high standard of care. The legal team also has to provide evidence of the financial losses resulting from these injuries, also known as "damages." The information could be either economic or non-economic in nature.


The economic losses are usually calculated by estimation of the cost of a child's ongoing treatment, including long-term care facilities and other services. They may also factor in the loss of earnings if the injury has caused one or both parents to quit their jobs.

The legal team will prepare a demand letter to be presented to the malpractice insurers. The document will detail the birth injury , its effects on the child and their family as well as request compensation to cover the costs associated with these losses. The attorneys will negotiate until a settlement is reached with medical professionals. During this negotiation, the lawyers will share information regarding their cases with the other side through discovery, which includes taking depositions from witnesses who testify under an oath.

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