Questions To Ask A Birth Injury Lawyer If You've Been Affected
Typically, having a baby can be one of the happiest events that can occur in a woman’s life. Women will do everything they can to ensure the welfare of their baby from the formation to delivery. However, you can’t take care of your own flesh and blood at all times, especially in cases when your healthcare provider commits careless mistakes that can lead to birth injuries.
Primarily, birth injuries are injuries sustained by a baby due to medical malpractice by doctors and other healthcare professionals. These health problems can happen for several reasons and, in extreme cases, can affect the mother and the child’s life forever. Fortunately, with the help of a dedicated birth injury lawyer, you’re able to understand your rights and navigate all available legal options to hold the party at fault accountable.
Keep reading this article to learn more about the questions to ask a birth injury lawyer if you’ve been affected.
WHAT TYPES OF BIRTH INJURIES DO YOU HANDLE?
Most lawyers have the necessary knowledge and skills to represent their clients in all legal proceedings. However, not all of them have specific experience in navigating birth injury cases. Some focus on other personal injury cases, while others are good criminal defense lawyers. For this reason, choose someone that takes on the different types of birth injuries. Some of them include:
- Cerebral Palsy – It occurs when your newborn baby sustains brain damage before, during, and immediately after birth. This can cause some physical and mental impairment depending on the extent of brain damage.
- Infant Hematoma – It happens when blood accumulates between the skull and the brain. It usually arises because of a head trauma caused by the doctor’s use of excessive force during delivery.
- Erb’s Palsy – It happens when your baby gets stuck inside the womb during a problematic delivery. As a result, your newborn’s nerves around the neck and shoulders are damaged, causing the arms, hands, and shoulders to be paralyzed.
- Spinal Cord Injuries – These can be caused by the doctor’s excessive pulling of your baby’s neck or back during the delivery, which leaves infants with paralyzed limbs.
By now, you already have an idea of the various types of birth injuries a lawyer can help you with. But, regardless of your baby’s case, make sure they have extensive experience and proven track record in handling birth injury cases. Besides, lawyers who specialize in birth injuries are more likely to recover a higher amount of compensation for clients than those with general practice.
HOW CAN YOU HELP MY BABY AND ME?
If you think you or your baby has been injured as a result of the healthcare provider’s medical negligence, you have every right to legally pursue the responsible party. But to find the right birth injury lawyer to assist with your situation, you need to ask how they can help ensure that you get the justice you rightfully deserve.
Here’s how a birth injury lawyer can help you:
- Filing of a Case – Using their expertise, they will not hesitate to build and file a case for birth injury against the health care professionals who carried out the child delivery. They’ll make sure the lawsuit is filed within the required statute of limitations. Lastly, they will collect pieces of supporting evidence such as medical records and witness testimonies to help you win the case.
- Getting Financial Compensation – This can be the best way a birth injury lawyer can help. Along with the case filed, they will do their best to recover financial compensation for you. This compensation will cover the medical treatments, therapy and rehabilitation, home care services, and many more. For example, if your baby has cerebral palsy, the compensation you receive can be used to fund your baby’s caregiving needs. For more information, check this guide to cerebral palsy care.
HOW LONG CAN YOU WORK ON MY CASE?
Typically, birth injury cases can be a long legal battle. The time taken depends on the severity of the injuries, amount that the other party is willing to pay, and other related factors. For this reason, it might take a while before it can be resolved.
Fortunately, despite being a long process, your birth injury lawyer will handle your case from start to finish. They will utilize the time to make sure you get the best possible outcome for your situation. They will keep striving until everything is done to recover financial compensation for you.
HOW DO YOU CHARGE YOUR FEES?
In most birth injury cases; payment of attorney’s fees isn’t an issue because most lawyers specializing in these matters work on a contingency basis. This means that they get paid if you receive compensation successfully. If the case is still going on, they will continue to work on your behalf until you get a favorable judgment in your favor.
CONCLUSION
Given the long-term effects of birth injuries on you and your baby, it’s a good idea to hire an experienced lawyer. However, finding the right one requires a lot of important considerations, so keep these questions in mind to guide you in making an educated hiring decision.
Remember, the best birth injury lawyers will not hesitate to help you sue for birth injuries and fight for your rights by retrieving financial compensation.
