The Work of a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
Unfortunately, many mistakes made by doctors in the delivery room result in severe birth injuries for newborns. These injuries can result in an entire lifetime of medical costs and medical care, which could cause financial hardship for families.
Like all malpractice claims, birth injury cases need to prove that the medical professional breached their obligation to provide reasonable medical treatment. This is a difficult task.
Prepare a Claim
The legal procedure for a birth injury case starts with a review of the medical records of your child. These documents contain a wealth of information that could show that the doctor was negligent. A competent lawyer will be able to determine the most crucial evidence, and also collect documents can be used to prove your claim.
The attorney will also collaborate with one or more expert medical witnesses to establish that the doctor fell below the standard of care that should be expected by a medical professional in the same field. An expert's testimony can help the jury understand how the doctor's actions, or inaction led to the injuries suffered by your child.
If a medical professional is able to show that the injuries suffered by your child resulted from a doctor's negligence the next step is to determine what damages your child could be liable for. This includes past and future medical costs, lost earnings throughout the course of their lives and suffering and pain.
Based on the extent of your child's injuries, you could be legally entitled to punitive or exemplary damages. These additional damages are designed to punish the at-fault medical professional for their recklessness or disregard and deter others from committing the same actions.
Medical errors that occur during the delivery of a baby are the cause for numerous birth injuries. These errors can happen anytime during pregnancy, but they tend to occur during the labor and delivery. Medical malpractice can lead to permanent and serious injuries to both mother and child.
Some of the most common birth injuries include shoulder dystocia, brain damage, spinal cord injuries, and Erb's paralysis. Erb's Palsy is a form of nerve damage which causes arm paralysis. It is usually caused by trauma in the delivery of the brachial-plexus. The condition is usually preventable with the correct treatment and intervention.
New Mexico law has strict statutes of limitations that impose a limited time period during which you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Your attorney will determine if your claim is eligible for an exemption to these deadlines. If the statutes of limitations have expired the case will be dismissed, even if have a strong case. It is critical to speak with a New Mexico birth injury attorney immediately to ensure the timely filing of your lawsuit.
Prepare for trial
The preparation for a trial starts prior to the trial date and the legal teams review the evidence and formulate their theories. Then, they must identify all witnesses and prepare questions for them. They will also need to gather all exhibits which will be used during the trial. They must also prepare jury instructions. All of this preparation is essential for presenting a successful claim and obtaining compensation for the victims.
A birth injury caused by an error by a medical professional can cause life-altering effects for the entire family. Children who suffer such injuries will need medical services and treatment throughout their lives. Families may need help paying for treatments, therapies, and specialized equipment. A skilled New Mexico birth injuries attorney can help families recover compensation to cover these costs.
To bring oklahoma city birth injury attorney against a birth injuries, the family must show that the doctor or medical provider did not provide the treatment that a reasonable medical professional under similar circumstances would have offered. This is referred to as medical malpractice. To prove medical malpractice, the victim must establish four elements such as breach of duty, causation and damages.
Many of the medical mistakes that cause birth injuries are based on simple errors, like incorrect diagnosis or treatment of prenatal complications. Some are more complex, like shoulder dystocia which can result in complete or partial arm paralysis. Some birth injuries are only apparent later in childhood, when children begin to miss developmental milestones.
Contacting a birth injury attorney as soon as you can following the injury is crucial as otherwise, the initial statute of limitations (SOL) may expire. There are some exceptions to the SOL which may extend the time limit to file a lawsuit. A knowledgeable birth injury lawyer can explain the SOLs that apply to your situation and suggest a timeline to file a lawsuit.
Expert testimony is usually required to show that the doctor's treatment was not in line with the standards for their specialty. Miller Weisbrod Olesky is an experienced medical malpractice firm that works with highly regarded experts across the nation to prove this in a birth injuries claim.
How to File a Claim
Birth injuries can have a lasting and life-altering effect on the child, parents and the family. A successful claim could provide compensation for medical expenses and income loss, as well as suffering and pain. It could also help pay for the cost of specialized equipment and therapies. However an effective claim requires expert medical evidence to prove that the doctor, nurse, or any other healthcare provider did not fulfill their duty of care and caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer can assist families in obtaining the justice they deserve through an action against the accountable healthcare provider or medical facility. It is important to keep in mind that medical malpractice claims have strict statutes. A lawyer can go over the specifics of the case and determine the date when the statute of limitations was set to expire, so that legal action can be taken before the statute of limitations expires.
In some cases, doctors can be held accountable for birth injuries even if medical negligence wasn't present at the time of delivery. This kind of negligence could be caused by an inability to diagnose a maternal condition or not properly using forceps to deliver the baby, or even the failure of a Caesarean.
Other causes of birth injury are an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain during labor or a prolonged labor. A New Mexico birth-injury lawyer can examine the facts of a case to determine the possible accountable parties, including doctors, nurses or hospitals. Often these lawsuits are filed against the facility where the negligent healthcare professional was employed.
It is not unusual for defendant to claim that there are other reasons for the baby's injuries, such as genetic defects or fetal developmental issues. A New Mexico birth injuries attorney can help the victim's family to counter this argument by proving that there was evidence of medical malpractice and that the actions of the doctor and his inaction directly resulted in the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer at Miller Weisbrod Olesky can investigate the case and hire one or more expert medical witnesses to establish that a health care provider's actions or inability to act fell short of the standard of care in a similar situation and resulted in the child's injuries. A successful claim could result in compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost income, discomfort and pain, as well as other damages.