Should You Seek Legal Help If You've Had A Birth Injury?
If you have a baby born with a birth injury, this could lead to complications or even disabilities such as cerebral palsy. There may be someone at fault. A lawyer who is knowledgeable and experienced in handling birth injury cases can help you take the legal steps needed to seek compensation and justice for your child. This article… Read More »
If you have a baby born with a birth injury, this could lead to complications or even disabilities such as cerebral palsy. There may be someone at fault. A lawyer who is knowledgeable and experienced in handling birth injury cases can help you take the legal steps needed to seek compensation and justice for your child.
This article summarizes the importance of consulting with a birth injury lawyer to address the issue of compensation for a birth injury.
1. Seek Legal Help to Know the Best First Course of Action
Birth injuries are a type of personal injury that could be a result of medical negligence. If a newborn has a birth injury, a birth injury lawyer is one of the best persons who would know the best first course of action to take.
If you suspect that your baby has suffered from a birth injury, the first thing you have to determine is whether your baby has long-lasting health problems because of it.
The most common birth injuries include facial paralysis, intracranial haemorrhage (cephalohematoma), and spinal cord injuries. The improper use of medical devices or equipment to assist in difficult childbirth can cause birth injuries. For instance, caput succedaneum or swelling of the scalp’s soft tissues and brain injury could be a result of improper forceps-assisted delivery.
Many things that can happen at birth may be demoralizing or may even make you feel helpless. When you contact a personal injury law firm with a birth injury team specializing in handling medical malpractice and birth injury cases the initial consultation, your discussions should include all details of what had happened. This can help and determine if the physical problems of the baby can result in lifelong issues, and if there are ways to mitigate or alleviate the stressors.
2. Seek Legal Help to Gather Substantial Evidence
While you may not be in the best position to gather compelling evidence, you can have the birth injury team with the best experience to do this for you. Brain injuries and nerve damage can cause permanent problems, so it’s best to consult a lawyer early on to follow your baby’s progress and recovery.
Here’s how a birth injury lawyer can help when gathering evidence to prove your case:
- Your lawyer may send a spoliation letter to the opposing party, in which it insists that all medical records should be maintained and preserved. A spoliation letter even mentions specific pieces of evidence to preserve so that no documents are destroyed or lost.
- Parents are not in the right legal position to gather evidence, so they are expected to seek legal help. For instance, your lawyer may recommend taking photos or videos immediately if these cannot be duplicated at a later time.
- Your attorney can advise you to get all payment offers in writing. It’s not advisable for you to take payouts before consulting a birth injury lawyer.
3. Seek Legal Help to Ensure Early Filing of Birth Injury Case
How long can you sue after medical negligence or a birth injury has occurred? Different states have different statutes of limitations, which is the length of time within which you can file a personal injury case to seek compensation for your losses or damages. Typically, the statute of limitations for medical negligence is two years.
For a birth injury case, the lawsuit can be filed until the child reaches seven years of age when developmental problems can be detected. However, you have to file the medical bill within two years of the injury’s occurrence. In an ideal setting, a birth injury case must be filed immediately if the medical bills will be part of the recovery.
4. Seek Legal Help For Proper Advice About Payouts
Taking any form of payouts may be an easy escape for the party at fault. Before entertaining any payout from a medical provider or hospital, it’s crucial to seek legal consultation and avoid later regrets. Here are some expert tips when handling payout offers:
- If you’re being offered any form of payment, get everything in writing.
- The written records should include the requirements that must be completed for you to get that payment.
- Never sign anything without your lawyer knowing about it.
- Be careful that you don’t sign away your right in filing a birth injury case against the parties involved because there could be release terms at the back of the cheque.
Takeaways
If you suspect that your baby has suffered from a birth injury, it is important to seek legal help. You don’t want to end up releasing your right to file an injury case just because you sign a payout form without fully understanding the terms and consequences. A birth injury lawyer can provide sound legal advice about the next steps that you can take. Evidence should be preserved, and your lawyer will ensure that no documents will be lost or intentionally destroyed. Most of all, you and your child will be helped attain justice and rightful compensation for all damages.
