The Work of a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
Unfortunately, many medical mistakes in the delivery room result in severe birth injuries for newborns. These injuries can cause an ongoing medical bill and care, which can take the financial burden off families.
Like all malpractice lawsuits, birth injury cases need to prove that the medical professional violated their obligation to provide reasonable medical care. This is a complicated undertaking.
Preparing a Claim
The legal process of a birth injury lawsuit begins with a review of your child's medical records. These documents contain a wealth of information that could demonstrate that the doctor's negligence was at fault. A qualified attorney can identify the key pieces of evidence and also gather other documents that can be used to back your claim.
The lawyer will also work with one or more medical experts to establish that the doctor fell below the standards of care that would be expected from medical professionals in the same specialty. A medical expert will help the jury understand how the doctor's actions, or inaction led to your child's injuries.
If a medical professional can establish that negligence on the part of the doctor caused the injuries to your child the next step would be to determine the damages your child is entitled to. This includes past and future medical expenses and lost earnings over a lifetime as well as suffering and pain.
You may be entitled to damages for punitive or exemplary depending on the severity of the injuries your child sustained. These additional damages are meant to punish the medical professional at fault for their reckless negligence or disregard, and deter other people from acting in a similar way.
Medical errors that occur during the birth of a child are responsible for numerous birth injuries. These errors can happen anytime during pregnancy, but they tend to occur during the delivery process. If a medical professional commits error, it can lead to severe and permanent injuries to both the mother and child.
Erb's palsy, shoulder dystocia, and brain damage are just a few of the most common birth injuries. Erb's Palsy is one of the forms of nerve damage that results in arm paralysis. It is typically caused by a trauma during birth to the brachial-plexus. Most often the problem can be avoided with proper treatment and intervention.
New Mexico law has strict statutes that limit the time you have to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice. The lawyer will determine if your case qualifies for an exception to these deadlines. Even the case is strong, it will be dismissed in the event that the statute of limitations has expired. It is imperative to get in touch with a New Mexico birth injury attorney promptly to ensure the timely filing of your lawsuit.
Prepare for birth injury attorney near me of preparing for a trial begins before the trial date, when legal teams review the evidence and establish their theories about the trial. They must then identify all witnesses and formulate their questions. They must also gather all evidence that will be used in the trial. They will also need to prepare jury instructions. All of this preparation is crucial for presenting a successful claim and obtaining a fair amount of compensation for victims.
A birth injury caused by the negligence of a medical professional could result in life-altering consequences for a family. Children who suffer from such injuries require an entire lifetime of medical treatment and assistance. Families may require assistance to pay for therapies, treatments, and specialized equipment. An experienced New Mexico birth injuries attorney can help families recover compensation to cover these expenses.
In order to file a lawsuit for birth injuries, a family must prove that the doctor or medical provider didn't provide the kind of care a reasonable medical professional in similar circumstances would have given. This is referred to as medical malpractice. To prove this, the victim must prove four elements: duty of care, breach of this duty, causation, as well as damages.
Many medical errors that cause birth injuries are merely mistakes like misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of prenatal problems. Other complications are more complicated such as shoulder dystocia. This is a condition which can result in total or partial paralysis of the arm. In some instances birth injuries, they only become apparent later in childhood, as the child starts missing developmental milestones.
Contacting a birth injury attorney as soon as you can after the injury is crucial in order to avoid the time frame when the initial statute of limitation (SOL) could run out. However, there are some exceptions to the SOL that can extend the time for filing lawsuits. A skilled birth injury lawyer can explain the SOLs that are applicable to your situation and suggest the best time frame to file a lawsuit.
Expert testimony is usually required to demonstrate that the doctor's care fell below the standard for their specialty. A medical malpractice company that is certified such as Miller Weisbrod Olesky is able to work with highly-regarded experts around the country to prove these facts in an injury claim involving birth.
How to File a Claim
A birth injury can have a lasting and life-altering impact on the child, parents, and family. A successful claim could offer compensation for current and future medical expenses, income loss, and suffering and pain. It can also help to cover the costs of equipment and therapies that are specialized. However the claim must be backed by expert medical testimony to establish that the nurse, doctor or other healthcare provider violated their duty of care and caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer can assist families to receive the justice they deserve by filing a lawsuit filed against the responsible medical provider or healthcare facility. It is crucial to remember that medical malpractice lawsuits have strict statutes. A lawyer can review details of the case to determine when the statute started to run, so that legal action can be taken before the statute expires.
In some cases, doctors can be held responsible for birth injuries even if medical negligence was not committed at the time of delivery. This kind of negligence could result from an inability to diagnose an illness in the mother, or incorrectly using forceps to deliver the baby or even an unsuccessful Caesarean.
Other causes of birth injury include the lack of oxygen to the brain during labor or prolonged labor. A New Mexico birth injury lawyer can review the facts of a case to identify potential responsible parties, including doctors, nurses and hospitals. These lawsuits are typically filed against the institution in which the healthcare professional who was negligent worked.
It is not unusual for defendant to claim that there are other causes for the baby's injuries, for instance, the genetic defect or fetal development issues. A New Mexico birth injury attorney can help the family of the victim counter this argument by establishing that there was evidence of malpractice and that the medical professional's actions or inability to act directly caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer at Miller Weisbrod Olesky can investigate the case and employ one or more medical experts to establish that a health care provider's decision or failure to act fell short of the standard of care in a similar circumstance and caused the child's injuries. A successful claim could result in compensation damages, which can include future and past medical expenses as well as loss of income as well as pain and suffering and other damages.