Everyone wants to deliver a healthy baby without complications. We expect the moment our child is born to be a joyful celebration, but unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way for everyone. While it’s fairly rare, statistics show there are approximately one in every 9,714 babies born in the U.S. with a birth injury, or 28,000 each year.
While in some legal situations, defendants can successfully represent themselves, when an infant is injured during childbirth it’s recommended that the victim’s family promptly obtain a birth injury lawyer so that they have proper legal representation – these are just five of the major benefits of doing so.
Evaluation of the Injury to Determine
A birth injury attorney will evaluate the type of injury that the infant suffered from to differentiate between birth defects and injuries. As most defects are natural, there is no “blame” involved, but in a birth injury medical professionals can be held liable for mistakes facilitated by failure to perform their due diligence. In some cases, doctors may claim that an injury is a defect to avoid taking responsibility, but a lawyer will look over the case with a close eye to assess the many factors involved to provide a fair report.
Analyzing Potential Long-Term Effects
As well as looking at the type of injury the infant suffered, the lawyer will analyze how it might affect the child over the long term. For example, will the child have to have future surgery or treatments? Will the injury prevent them from being able to do things that other kids do? Will it limit the child’s ability to live a normal life in their later years?
Could the Injury Have Been Prevented?
When you have a birth injury lawyer, he or she will be able to tell you whether or not the injury could have been prevented, and most of these injuries can be prevented.
File a Claim and Gather Evidence
If you and your birth injury lawyer believe you have a legitimate claim, the attorney will help you file that claim – doing so on your own can be complicated and significantly decrease your chances of winning the claim and/or getting a fair settlement. Many documents relevant to the case will have to be collected to prove the injury in court, such as medical records that indicated pregnancy, delivery and birth injury, medical bills, eyewitness and expert testimony. Some of the documents are relatively easy to gather, but it can be very difficult to get official witness statements without the assistance of a lawyer.
Answer Questions and Provide Some Relief
In most cases, parents have lots of questions when considering whether to file a birth injury claim. An experienced, expert lawyer can be at your side to answer all of those questions and walk you through the process. While they can’t make the injury go away, they can help parents get compensation to take care of those medical bills and ensure the injuries are treated.