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What Is a Birth Injury Law Firm?
Birth injury law firms are staffed with personal injury attorneys with specialized skills and experience. These lawyers help families affected by birth injuries pursue legal justice for newborns with preventable injuries.
Birth injury cases are often complicated as they deal with complex medical issues and are best handled by birth injury law firms.
Because birth injuries are often severe and can cause children to suffer physical or mental disabilities for the rest of their lives, costly lifelong treatment may be needed to deal with symptoms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that it costs $1 million to care for a child with cerebral palsy throughout their life.
And one advocacy group says it can cost as much as $2.4 million to provide a lifetime of care for a child with an intellectual disability.
Unfortunately, many families find it challenging to pay for necessary medical expenses.
The good news is that a birth injury law firm can step in and seek compensation on behalf of a family to cover the cost of expensive treatments and care. The law firm can also hold any negligent medical practitioners responsible for causing injury to an infant.
A free case review will let you know if hiring a birth injuries law firm is the right move for your family. Even if your child has not been diagnosed with a birth injury or you are unsure if a medical mistake happened during the birthing process, we can help.
What Types of Cases Do Birth Injury Law Firms Handle?
Birth injury law firms have attorneys with the skills and experience to handle a wide variety of birth injury claims.
- Brain damage
- Broken bones
- Cephalohematoma (bleeding under one of the cranial bones)
- Cerebral palsy
- Cesarean section (C-section) injuries
- Erb’s palsy and other brachial plexus injuries
- Facial paralysis
- Fetal distress
- Head trauma
- Hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain)
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Jaundice left untreated
- Nerve damage
- Shoulder dystocia
- Spinal cord injuries
- Umbilical cord injuries
- Wrongful death
Keep in mind that this is not a complete list. Unfortunately, many other birth injuries can cause permanent disability and affect a child’s quality of life.
Birth Injury Law Firms and Medical Malpractice Claims
A birth injuries law firm can help you take legal action when your child is the victim of a mistake that occurred before, during, or after the birth process that could have been prevented if proper medical treatment had been administered.
Birth injuries are often considered medical malpractice or medical negligence. Health care professionals are expected to meet a high standard of care. When they fall short, they can cause severe injury and should be held liable for their negligent actions.
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor or other health care professional, through a negligent action or omission, harms a patient. The negligence can be linked to an error in diagnosis, treatment, or aftercare.
When a newborn suffers a birth injury, the infant’s parents may be able to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor or other medical professionals who delivered the child or both.
After evaluating the facts of your case during a free case review, a birth injury law firm can let you know whether medical malpractice caused or contributed to your child’s injury.
If a health care provider’s negligence played a role in your child’s birth injury, you might be entitled to compensation that can help cover the cost of medical care.
Why Work With a Birth Injuries Law Firm?
Birth injuries law firms have the experience and resources to build a strong case against doctors or health care workers who may have harmed your infant.
Some benefits of partnering with a birth injuries law firm are:
In contrast, a general law firm may not have the experience and specialized skills to win complex medical malpractice lawsuits. And even if they do win a case, they may not recover as much financial compensation as a birth injuries law firm would.
Indeed, much is at stake in a lawsuit involving an injured infant.
According to a report on birth trauma, childbirth claims are among the highest verdicts and settlements in the United States and can exceed $200 million.
Let LawFirm.com connect you with a birth injury law firm in our national network.
What Can You Expect from Birth Injuries Law Firms?
The first thing that you can expect after contacting a birth injuries law firm is a free case review. Remember that you do not need a birth injury diagnosis to obtain a free case evaluation.
If the free case review indicates that you may be entitled to financial compensation, an attorney from a birth injuries law firm can meet with you, explain your legal options, and collect information about your child’s injury. Then, if you have a valid case, the law firm can file a medical malpractice lawsuit on your behalf.
The firm will assemble a legal team to handle all the tasks of filing a lawsuit. Your team will include skilled lawyers, paralegals, medical experts, and support personnel.
Your legal counsel will keep you updated as your birth injury lawsuit moves through the litigation process.
The Birth Injury Lawsuit Process
Once a decision has been made to file a lawsuit, here is what will happen:
- Filing a lawsuit: Your birth injury law firm will file a complaint against the medical professionals and/or hospital responsible for your child’s injury and request financial compensation. You will become the plaintiff in the case, and the health care practitioners will be the defendants.
- Discovery process: Each party will collect evidence to build a strong case. For example, your lawyers may use medical records from your pregnancy and birth, witness statements and testimony from top medical experts to establish medical malpractice.
- Settlement: Most lawsuits end in a settlement, a legal agreement to end the case. If your birth injury attorneys prove that your baby’s injury was caused by medical malpractice, the defendants will likely agree to a settlement to pay for your child’s medical expenses.
- Trial: If the parties fail to reach a settlement, the case will be tried. This means that each side will argue its case to a judge or jury. The judge or jury will then decide the winner of the lawsuit. However, the parties can still settle during the trial or even after a verdict has been decided.
According to The Law Dictionary, 95% of personal injury lawsuits result in a payout without going to court.
Law firms often favor birth injury settlements over trials as trials can add time to the litigation process and are risky as you are not guaranteed any compensation.
What Kind of Birth Injury Compensation Is Available?
If you suspect your child sustained an injury before, during, or after birth, you may be entitled to financial compensation for their medical care.
Doctors, nurses, and other medical practitioners are expected to follow a certain standard of care when treating patients, including during the birthing process. However, when medical professionals make medical mistakes, birth injury law firms can step in and hold them accountable.
A birth injury law firm may be able to help your family obtain compensation for your child’s:
- Assistive technology
- Physical therapy
- Special education
- Speech therapy
- Transportation equipment
- Other medical costs
Call (888) 726-9160 today for a free case evaluation and learn how LawFirm.com may be able to help.
How Can a Birth Injury Law Firm Help Me Obtain Compensation?
A birth injury law firm’s legal team will look over the facts surrounding your child’s birth injury and determine whether your nurses, doctors, or obstetrician provided proper medical care during the delivery process.
If not, the firm’s personal injury lawyers may be able to file a claim against the medical professionals who delivered and injured your child.
Your attorneys will calculate the amount of compensation that you deserve. Birth injuries can take a financial and emotional toll on families, and you should be compensated fairly.
Next, your birth injury lawyers will work to obtain compensation by legal settlements or a trial verdict.
Choosing a Birth Injury Law Firm
Parents should look for a firm with specific characteristics when selecting a birth injury law firm.
The best birth injury law firms have these qualities:
The birth injury law firms in our network have these characteristics. Contact us today so that we can put you in touch with one for a free case review.
Finding a Birth Injury Law Firm Near You
Hiring a birth injury law firm is an important decision that will probably affect the care you can provide your child, and finding one near you can make things easier.
LawFirm.com can connect you with a birth injury law firm in our national network that has:
- A proven track record of winning cases for families like yours
- Essential resources, including respected medical experts
- No upfront or out-of-pocket costs
Our birth injury law firms have the experience and resources to take on complicated cases and win. They will handle all aspects of your case so you can focus on what is truly important — caring for your child.
FAQs About Birth Injury Law Firms
When should I contact a birth injuries law firm?
It is crucial that you reach out to an experienced birth injuries law firm as soon as possible if you believe something may have happened to your baby before, during, or after birth. Even if you do not have an official diagnosis, we might still be able to help with your case.
The firms in our network have on-staff registered nurses with many years of labor and delivery experience who can help you understand what may have happened. You might be entitled to compensation if a medical error contributed to your child’s injury.
Birth injury cases are time-sensitive, so it is in your best interest to contact a law firm as soon as you suspect your child was harmed.
How much do birth injury law firms cost?
The best birth injury law firms work under a contingency arrangement. That means there are no upfront costs. Instead, the law firms in our network only get paid if you win your case.
How do I find a birth injury law firm near me?
LawFirm.com has a national network of experienced birth injury law firms that may be able to help your family.
Speak with a birth injury law firm near you to learn more about your legal options.