Injured Newborn Due To Negligence? 3 Things To Know

If the medical professional’s negligence caused your newborn serious birth injuries, it’s important that you know the steps to take to get compensated for all the losses your family and your little one suffered.

Introduction

If you’re a new parent, having a child can be an exciting and joyful experience. But the joy of welcoming your little one can be tainted with frustration when a birth injury happens before, during, and right after the delivery. This usually happens when the doctor who performed the childbirth delivery committed negligence that causes any type of harm to your baby.

For instance, your child can become injured and permanently disabled due to the negligence of others. What’s even worse is the fact that your baby may require life-long care for the treatment of their birth injuries.

Thus, if you want to avoid the emotional, financial, and emotional trauma endured by parents whose baby is injured at birth, below are the three things you should know about birth injuries caused by negligence:

1. You Should Prove That The Doctor’s Negligence Resulted In Birth Injuries

If you believe that the doctor’s negligence has caused the birth injury of your newborn, then you may be entitled to file a medical negligence case to have compensation. However, you can only get a more favourable outcome if you know how to prove that your doctor committed negligent acts that have resulted in injuries to your baby.

For example, if your newborn has a hernia, and a hernia mesh surgery was conducted but it failed due to complications, you need to establish the elements of proof that the surgeon has been negligent when performing the operation. In such a case, you may need a legal professional, particularly a hernia mesh lawyer, to help you prove the doctor’s responsibility for the birth injury.

Typically, the following are the elements your lawyer needs to establish to win your case and obtain compensation:

• Existence of doctor-patient relationship: Make sure you can prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed between you and the defendant. This means that the doctor in question owed a certain degree of professional care to you, as their patient.
• Breach of duty of care: To pursue a medical negligence case against the doctor in question, you should demonstrate that the latter failed to fulfil the medical standards of care required of them. This can be done by using pieces of evidence to support your claim.

Some common examples of breach of duty of care involving birth injuries can include improper administration of medications during pregnancy or delivery, improper use of delivery instruments, failure to properly calculate the size of the fetus, pre or post mature delivery due to improper dating, failure to perform a C-section on a timely manner, and failure to provide oxygen to newborns when necessary.

• Causation: Be sure to show that your newborn’s injuries sustained at birth were the result of the defendant’s breach of duty of care. This can be demonstrated by presenting your baby’s medical records, statements from specialists, and diagnosis as evidence.
• Damages: Make sure to prove that the doctor’s negligent actions caused your family damages. These can include medical bills, disability costs, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and many more.

2. You Can File A Medical Negligence Lawsuit

When your newborn was injured at birth due to negligence, it’s important to know that you may be eligible to file a medical negligence lawsuit to run after the negligent party and recover the right amount of compensation. Once you’ve determined the grounds for your case, the next step is to work with a reliable lawyer and start the filing process.

These can include:

• Submission of paperwork: To officially file a case, the first step is to prepare all the necessary paperwork and have it submitted in court. After receiving all the paperwork, the court will process the lawsuit by sending notices to the defendants concerned and requesting them to reply.
• Discovery: Under this stage, your lawyer can gather more pieces of evidence from the other party in the form of depositions, interrogatories, and many more.
• Settlement: Both parties are now given opportunities to negotiate and reach a settlement. This can be done by persuading the defendant to pay a certain amount of money to you and all the legal actions will be stopped.
• Trial and appeal: During the trial, both the judge and the jury will try the case by hearing arguments from the parties. Once everything is presented, they’ll analyze the arguments and evidence, and then decide the case based on the merits. In the event you lose the case, you can appeal the decision to the higher court to obtain a favourable result on your behalf.

3. You Should Be Aware Of The Statute Of Limitations

Another important thing that you should know is that you should consider the statute of limitations when filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. This usually refers to the time limits you have in order to bring the lawsuit to court.

However, the statute of limitations differs from one state to another. As a tip, consult a lawyer to understand the rules in properly filing a suit within the time limits required by law.

Remember, pursuing legal action after the expiration of the statute of limitations may mean losing your right to sue despite having a valid claim. Hence, if you’ve decided to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, then you should do it as soon as you can. That way, you’ll get a headstart on the legal process and receive financial compensation for the injuries sustained by your baby.

Bottom Line

If the medical professional’s negligence caused your newborn serious birth injuries, it’s important that you know the steps to take to get compensated for all the losses your family and your little one suffered. Luckily, by keeping these things in mind, you can streamline the process of filing a medical negligence case, ensuring a positive outcome in the end.

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