Marion County Birth Injury Lawyer
A birth injury occurs when a child suffers an avoidable injury during the delivery process. A mistake is made that causes physical harm to the baby during the delivery birthing process. There are many different injuries associated with the delivery process.
Birth injury cases are unique because there are many risks inherent in the delivery process and the injured patient cannot communicate his or her injury. There is no history of what the child was like before he or she was born.
If your child suffering injuries during the delivery process, reach out to a compassionate Marion County birth injury lawyer. Our medical malpractice attorneys could help you recover the compensation you deserve.
Types of Birth Injuries
There are two main categories of injuries in birth injury cases. The first and more severe category involves brain injury cases where the infant is deprived of oxygen or suffers trauma to the skull.
Another type of birth injury involves orthopedic injuries. Sometimes a shoulder is pulled out of joint or a major joint or bone is damaged by the medical professional’s methods during the delivery process. Other injuries include cuts that cause infection or the baby ingesting fluids that harms the lungs or causes other problems.
Brain injuries could occur when the delivery takes too long and the doctor should stop and choose another method such as a C-section. When a doctor uses instruments to assist the baby through the birth canal and does harm to the head, brain injuries may occur.
Using instruments could damage the skin and causing cuts that lead to infection. Orthopedic injuries occur when the medical professional uses physical force to assist the baby through the birth canal causing the birth injury of an orthopedic nature to the joint or bone.
Establishing Negligence in Birth Injury Cases
To bring a birth injury case, the family of the injured child must prove negligence from the doctor, the nurses, or the hospital in some way. The claimant must prove that an individual failed to do what he or she should have done or did something he or she should not have done and that caused the injury to the baby. Negligence is at the core of a birth injury case.
To prove a medical professional failed to act within the legal standard of care, one must prove the:
- Specific injury
- Cause of the injury
- The legal standard of care concerning the causation
- Medical practitioner failed to meet the standard of care
The legal standard is what reasonable doctors in this community do. The parents must prove that the doctor failed to meet the standard of care and failed to act in a way that measures up to the way other doctors in this community practice.
Proving the connection between the negligence of the doctor and the injury to the child may be difficult. Fortunately, an experienced birth injury lawyer in Marion County could help with establishing negligence.
The Role of Expert Witnesses in Birth Injury Cases
Expert witnesses are indispensable to a birth injury case. A person cannot bring a case or even file a lawsuit without having an expert review the case to verify there is a legitimate claim. A judge will not allow a claimant to have a jury trial unless he or she produces expert witnesses that verify the doctor made a mistake that caused the injury. Reach out to a knowledgeable lawyer for more information.
Birth Injury Damages
Damages for the child who is injured include all of the losses he or she will experience for however long those losses last. When a child has special needs that require assistive devices such as a wheelchair, that is part of his or her damages. Recoverable damages could include pain and suffering. In addition, the individual might receive compensation for his or her past, current, and future physical discomfort, mental anguish, and embarrassment.
The ability to develop a profession to earn a living may be decreased or eliminated due to the child’s birth injury. The wages he or she would have been able to earn without the injury are also recoverable in a birth injury case.
The family can recover their own medical expenses and other types of treatment expenses they incur. If the family has to provide extraordinary care or round-the-clock care, they could receive compensation for that factor.
A Marion County Birth Injury Attorney Could Help
If you believe your child suffered injuries in the delivery process due to the negligence of a medical professional, you might be eligible for compensation. A Marion County birth injury lawyer could advocate for you and help you recover damages. Call our team today and schedule a consultation.
