One of the expectant parent’s worst nightmares is that their child will suffer an injury during childbirth. While childbirth is not the danger that it once was given all the advancements in technology and medical science, we are still living in a time that comes with its fair share of dangers.
When a baby is injured during childbirth, a parent may sue the hospital, the physician overseeing the birth, or any other hospital employees who may have contributed to the injury.
The Hospital Isn’t Always Liable
It is almost needless to mention that adhering to professional standards of care usually ensures a safe birth, however, not everyone has the financial possibility to do so.
Moreover, even some of the most prestigious medical institutes can show malpractice. It is important to know that there are cases where one could be unable to sue the hospital. Many doctors are not actually employees of the hospitals where they work. Instead, they are independent contractors who simply work out of the hospital.
In this case, if the fault lies solely with the doctor and not with other hospital staff or equipment, then the hospital may not have any liability in your case.
When the Hospital Is Liable
Nevertheless, the hospital is liable for a birth injury and open to a lawsuit anytime that sole responsibility does not lie with an independent contractor and any of the following conditions are met.
- Improper use of birth-assisting tools.
- Failure to detect and treat fetal distress.
- Failure to perform an emergency cesarean section.
- Failure to monitor and control oxygen intake.
- Failure to properly diagnose anemia.
- Failure to properly diagnose maternal infections.
- Failure to properly diagnose maternal diabetes.
- Failure to properly diagnose preeclampsia.
- Failure to properly diagnose placental issues.
- Failure to properly diagnose prolapsed umbilical cord.
- Failure to properly diagnose Rh incompatibility.
- Failure to properly diagnose a uterine rupture.
- Failure to properly diagnose fetal abnormalities.
Costs From a Birth Injury
Birth injuries can be fairly mild. They can also represent major issues that complicate the lives of you and your child forever. The financial costs could be massive if your child ends up requiring medical treatment and specialized care for the rest of their lives.
Most people cannot afford the costs associated with a severe birth injury on their own. Because of this, even if you are not a particularly litigious person, you will need to pursue legal action to be able to afford your child’s care.
Providing your child with all of the tools that they need to live their best life possible is one of a parent’s primary responsibilities.
Some birth injuries are not fully evident at the time of childbirth. Cerebral palsy is often caused by a birth injury, but it may take until the child is two years old before this condition is recognized and diagnosed.
Cerebral palsy is a group of permanent movement disorders. It can easily become a mild condition that affects the movement of a single arm, or a severe condition which causes different types of paralysis throughout the entire body, seizures, and cognitive disabilities. This will require a well-tailored treatment plan that can go on for years and years to come.
In some of the most serious cases, a child may need to be in a fully supportive wheelchair for their entire life with full-time care.
There are many technological tools that are used as aids for people with cerebral palsy, and many more being developed all the time. Some of the aids are assistive, while others are aimed at lessening the severity of the condition. Most of these aids do not come cheap, so a substantial settlement is needed.
An Experienced Lawyer Can Make All the Difference
Hiring an experienced lawyer with a long history of working on birth injury lawsuits is essential to ensure that you get fair compensation when bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital and medical staff.
Hospitals typically have a whole team of lawyers with years of practice fighting against medical malpractice suits. It’s important to make sure that you have representation on your side that is up to the task of taking on Goliath.
When looking for a medical malpractice lawyer, the two most important things that you need to consider are the lawyer’s history of winning medical malpractice lawsuits and your own comfort level with the attorney representing you.
Your lawyer will be working for you on one of the most important battles of your life. You need to be able to trust the person next to you in the foxhole.
