Tips for finding the best birth injury malpractice lawyer near you
All parents hope and pray for an easy delivery and a healthy baby. Throughout the pregnancy and the delivery, parents place a tremendous amount of trust in healthcare professionals. While medical knowledge and technology have increased significantly in the last few years, preventable birth injuries are still very much a reality.
Such birth injuries are sometimes the result of a healthcare professional failing to take due diligence. This medical negligence results from doctors failing to follow what are known as “standards of care.” These standards are put in place to provide patients with the highest level of care and prevent injuries.
When a healthcare professional fails to follow what is considered to be a reasonable standard of care, they may be held legally accountable when their negligence results in a birth injury.
If your child experienced a birth injury and you are looking for the best birth injury lawyer, it’s important to know how to find the best attorney to handle your case.
What does a birth injury lawyer do?
A birth injury lawyer specializes in handling cases in which a child experienced a birth injury resulting from the negligence of a medical professional. In addition to doctors, such cases may involve allegations against other healthcare workers as well as hospitals.
When searching for an attorney to handle your case, it’s important to seek out an attorney who specializes in representing such cases. Birth injury cases can be particularly complex. In fact, they are often even more complex than regular medical malpractice cases, which are complicated in their own right.
The job of your attorney will be to prove the standards of care to which medical professionals should have adhered, prove that such standards of care were not followed and that your child’s birth injury was a direct result of that negligence.
What types of cases do birth injury lawyers take?
Unfortunately, each year children suffer from a variety of different types of birth injuries. First, you should understand that birth injuries differ from birth defects.
A birth defect refers to a type of health condition that occurs while the child is still developing within the womb. Such defects are often the result of genetics. These conditions may include cleft lip, clubfoot, Down syndrome and other conditions.
A birth injury, by comparison, refers to an injury that occurs either at or near the time of birth. Such injuries are not the result of genetics. Sadly, many such injuries could be prevented and are typically the result of negligence or medical error.
Some common birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Nerve damage
- Spina bifida
- Seizures
- Hypoxia (lack of oxygen)
Tragically, birth injuries can also result in death.
Among the most significant issues in determining whether a case is considered viable is the severity of the injury. It can be extremely expensive to take a birth injury malpractice case. Therefore, the injury must be severe enough in nature in order to justify the expense involved.
For instance, if the injury is mild enough that it can be treated and resolved on its own, it may not be worth the financial expense of pursuing a legal case. Of course, this doesn’t dissolve the trauma of the injury, but it simply may not be severe enough to justify the time and expense that would be involved in bringing such a case to trial.
How to locate a good birth injury lawyer
In understanding how to find a good malpractice lawyer, know that this field is highly specialized. While you could enter a search online for “birth injury lawyer near me” and find plenty of options, it’s important to do some research and find out precisely what you should be looking for in such an attorney.
The most important element involved in locating an experienced birth injury attorney is to find a lawyer with a verifiable track record when it comes to successfully representing birth injury lawsuits.
Pay careful attention to what previous clients have to say about the injury. Furthermore, find out how many birth injury cases the attorney has represented. Of those cases, how many have concluded in a successful verdict or settlement?
How much does it cost to hire a birth injury attorney?
Naturally, new parents may wonder how much it costs to hire a birth injury attorney. The last thing you want to do is take on more costs when you are probably already facing expensive medical bills related to labor and delivery.
Here’s the thing:
It shouldn’t cost anything for you to hire a birth injury attorney.
This is because birth injury attorneys typically work on what is known as a contingency fee basis. With this fee structure, the attorney will represent your case and even pay for all of the expenses associated with the case on their own.
The attorney will receive a payment if they are able to obtain a settlement or award for your cases. That payment will amount to a percentage of the total payment award. In the event that you don’t receive a financial award for your case, you will not owe your attorney anything.
If you are in need of an experienced birth injury attorney, contact Brown Trial Firm today. We have an excellent track record of winning birth injury cases, and we’re willing to fight for you and your child’s rights. What’s more, we serve clients nationwide.
Contact us today for your free consultation.
- Cerebral Palsy
- Caput Succedaneum and Cephalohematoma
- Neonatal Intracranial Hemorrhage (Childbirth Brain Bleeds)
- Hydrocephalus (Extra Fluid in the Brain Cavity)
- Cervical Dystonia
- Hemiplegia (Brain or Spinal Cord Injury)
- Hemorrhagic Stroke
- Neonatal Stroke
- HIE
- Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) Brain Injury
- Infant Seizures
- Spastic Diplegia (Spasticity in the Legs)
- Top Risks for Birth Injuries
- G-Tubes for Newborns
- Medical Errors
- Cesarean Section & Birth Injury
- Negligence in Brain Cooling Treatment
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Fetal Intolerance to Labor
- Jaundice (Kernicterus)
- Breech Position
- Placental Complications
- Placental Problems
- Umbilical Cord Problems
- Uterine Rupture
- Cervical Incompetence (Insufficiency)
- Blighted Ovum
- Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) - Intestinal Inflammation
- Cephalopelvic Disproportion
- Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
- Amniotic Fluid Embolism
- Birth Injury from Premature Delivery
- Developmental Delays
- Abnormal Cord Insertion
- Infections at Birth
- Chorioamnionitis Bacterial Infection
- Premature birth
- Oxygen Deprivation
- Listeria
- Birth-Acquired Herpes
- Obesity Related Birth Injuries
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction
- Blood Clots During Pregnancy
- Ectopic Pregnancy Misdiagnosis
- Myths & Facts About Birth Injuries
- Bacterial Vaginosis
- Gestational Diabetes
- Maternal Mortality Risk
- Oligohydramnios (Low Amniotic Fluid)
- Infections During Pregnancy