Short of a child’s death, there are few tragedies greater for parents than having a child suffer a severe birth injury. There’s a crucial difference between a birth injury and a birth defect. The former occurs during delivery or because of treatment during pregnancy, while the latter is generally hereditary. A child with a birth injury would have developed normally had the incident not happened. The entire situation was avoidable. That is not the case with a child with a birth defect.
Birth Injuries
While no amount of compensation may be able to reverse the damage and make your child healthy, a birth injury lawsuit and settlement may enable you to properly care for your child for the rest of his life. A settlement often helps with the considerable financial burden accompanying a child with a birth injury. Beyond special care and equipment, it is common for one parent to give up a career to become the child’s caregiver. Your child’s individual needs are taken into consideration during the settlement process.
Not Always Obvious
A birth injury is not always obvious from the time the baby is born. Your child may be several months old before certain birth injuries become apparent. That is commonly the case with cerebral palsy, one of the most common birth injuries. Cerebral palsy often occurs because the infant did not receive sufficient oxygen during delivery. Other birth injuries may result in:
- brain damage
- chronic seizures
- blindness and other disabilities resulting from oxygen deprivation or other factors.
Depending on the severity of the birth injury, it might take years before your child is definitively diagnosed with cerebral palsy or other birth injury-related conditions. If your child appears developmentally delayed in any way, keep good records of his or her medical appointments, tests, and your financial outlay.
Birth Injury Lawsuits
Whether or not you have a birth injury claim depends on whether the situation was avoidable had the doctor, hospital or other health care practitioners’ negligence not been a factor. A birth injury lawsuit is, in essence, a medical malpractice suit. It is possible that other families went through a similar situation because of the doctor’s incompetence, and by filing a lawsuit you may help prevent others from enduring the pain your child and your family are going through. In a birth injury lawsuit, your attorney must prove that the health care practitioners or hospital made mistakes while caring for or delivering your baby. The attorney must further prove that those mistakes caused your child’s injury. Obtaining evidence and expert witnesses is a time-consuming process, and it is imperative that you use a law firm experienced in birth injury cases for a successful outcome.
The Goldwater Law Firm
If your child suffers from a birth injury, call the Goldwater Law Firm today. You may be entitled to compensation for medical expenses and pain and suffering. Our attorneys will evaluate the details of your case and make sure you understand your rights and options before moving forward. Contact the Goldwater Law Firm for a free and confidential consultation about your case.