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One of the most common wishes among all expecting parents is for their child to be born healthy; in fact, rarely do you hear a parent say anything else. It is for this reason that birth injuries and defects are particularly devastating; however, there is a significant difference between a birth injury and a birth defect, and the variation between the two could mean the difference between seeking compensation on your child's behalf or not.
Birth injuries are those that arise from complications that are experienced during pregnancy and /or delivery. Because the injury was caused by a complication that could have been avoided, the situation becomes one that requires legal intervention because the child and parent were both put in danger by one or more of the medical professionals in whom their wellbeing was entrusted. When a child suffers from birth injury, a personal injury attorney from our firm should be involved immediately.
Birth defects, on the other hand, are somewhat different. While a birth injury is said to result from the mistake of a medical professional, a birth defect is believed to be out of the doctor's control. Generally, defects are symptomatic of a hereditary or environmental factor that was inherent in the mother prior to the child's birth. As such, birth defects are not believed to be the fault of a medical professional and are thus ineligible for a medical malpractice claim.
An important element of your medical malpractice case as it relates to a birth injury is to determine what caused the grievance in the first place. As some reports indicate, approximately 5 babies per every 1,000 are born with some kind of birth injury, resulting from doctor negligence.
Injury at birth can result from the improper use of a medical device; from an obstetrician's misuse of a medical field technique; from misjudged timing on the delivery, and so much more. Therefore, you must be certain of the cause of a birth injury before you attempt to make a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit.
At Mesa Law Firm, we can help you determine the best course of legal action for the situation in which you have found yourself. After your child has been born with a birth injury, and the doctors have identified the cause of the injury, you have every legal right to take legal action, and we can help you do exactly that.
Birth injuries can be minor, such as skin irritations, or can include serious injuries, conditions, and complications. To help you determine whether or not you have a case for a birth injury claim, our Coral Gables personal injury lawyer lists the most common injuries below:
A child that is born with a defect will often require extensive medical treatment and operations, including life-long check-ups and care.
When physicians fail to monitor a mother and her child during a pregnancy or during a delivery, when a baby is deprived of oxygen during a delivery, when forceps are used improperly during a delivery or when a physician chooses to do a natural birth when he/she should have conducted a C-section, injuries can result. Factors, such as if a baby is especially large, requires a C-section, as traveling down the birth canal could be especially risky for both the child and the mother.
Physicians are trained to recognize fetal distress, and when they do not respond to these signs or don't respond fast enough, the results can be devastating. Different conditions, such as when an umbilical cord gets twisted or when a baby turns into a breached position, can prove deadly to a child, if the necessary action is not taken immediately. Obstetricians receive special training and when they do not follow this training, they violate a patient's trust and their duty of care. Hospitals must be set up to monitor, detect and treat conditions that endanger both mothers and children.
Unless you can prove that the birth injury from which your child suffers was actually caused by a doctor's negligence or mistake you will not be awarded the compensation that you rightfully deserve. Therefore, it is extremely important that you align yourself with a qualified personal injury attorney whose skillful experience can inarguably help you uphold the legal rights that are due to both you and your injured child.
Crucial to your birth injury case will be your ability or prove that a medical provider or pharmaceutical company failed to live up to the duties expected of them, thus creating injury to your child at birth. Essentially, you must be able to prove that the medical care and / or advice that you and your child needed to remain healthy were not delivered during your pregnancy. A medical professional can only be held at fault if you can show that his or her conduct fell below the standard of conducted expected of such a position.
Proving a birth injury case will involve several different elements, all of which should be fully understood by the plaintiff (you) before the case is actually brought to the attention of a judge and jury. To better prepare you for the elements of a medical malpractice claim such as this, we detail the factors involved in bringing a claim against a medical provider or medical facility, which include proving that:
The act of establishing that a birth injury was in fact the cause of medical professional's negligence will depend on a number of factors, including the use of expert witnesses. When another professional in the medical field can provide commentary and interpretations of the medical procedures that were used during the delivery of your child, the birth injury claims being made will carry much more validity in court.
If you're looking for effective legal representation that can help you confidently make a birth injury claim in the state of Florida, then do not hesitate to contact a Miami personal injury lawyer from our office. Backed by 15 years of professional experience, we are fully prepared to handle the details of your case.
Consultations with our Coral Gables birth injury attorney are provided completely free of charge. Call now!