BIRTH INJURY LAWYERS ~ BIRTH INJURY LAW
Understanding Birth Injury Law
Birth injury law falls under the category of medical
malpractice. Birth injury law has been legislated for the
purpose of protecting and compensating the parents of children
who has been victims of birth injuries because of medical
negligence and malpractice. Every year, 2.7% of all babies are
born victims of birth injuries that could’ve been avoided.
Surprisingly, only a small portion of these cases gets reported
much less filed against the hospital or the medical
institutions. The reason behind this may be the lack of
awareness of the existence of such law, the lack of
understanding of the symptoms and causes of birth injuries as
well as the lack of knowledge of the litigation process.
The Litigation Process
One thing you have to consider when filing a birth injury case
is the time limitations allowed for such a case. The time
limitations, termed as statute of limitations, in legal
terminology, states that only a certain amount of time will be
given for the parents of the injured child to file such a case.
The allowable time to file a birth injury case differs from
state to state and thus you would need the services of birth
injury lawyers to see to it that you file your case in the
allotted time.
The litigation process starts when your birth injury lawyer
files the birth injury case against the hospital, doctor or any
other party involved in the birth injury of the child. The
defendant in this case will receive notification and consult
their medical malpractice defense attorneys or insurers in
turn. The lawsuit then kicks off with both sides collecting as
much information as possible about the other party. The
defendants then will ask for your child’s and even your own
medical records, financial records and any other information
that may help them in their case.
The birth injury lawyers then concentrate on getting the
depositions of all the parties involved in the case. They do
this by interviewing or interrogating all the persons involved.
To confirm some facts about the case, your child may be asked to
undergo an independent medical examination. This is to ensure
that both the defendant and the prosecuting party will be fully
prepared for what is going to happen in the trial.
Most birth injury cases however, stops at this point and never
reaches trial. This is because by this time, both parties have
a relatively concrete idea of who is going to win the case and
if the case is strong against the defendants, then this is the
time that they will be offering you a settlement. Preventing
the birth injury lawyer from getting the case into the trial
court not only ensures that the defending party avoids any bad
publicity such news will inevitably attract but also shelters
them from taking their chances with a jury.
The decision to settle however, is entirely yours. But keep in
mind that by agreeing to settle, you are forfeiting your right
to file the same case against the same defendants in the
future. If you decide to settle, then the case if then
effectively closed. If both sides cannot reach an agreement
however, then the case then proceeds to trial.
Of course, by going to trial, you bear the weight of having to
prove that it was the birth injury was the defendant’s fault.
In this situation, a good birth injury lawyer will be a great
help since he will have connections to people in the medical,
legal and insurance field. Furthermore, a good birth injury
lawyer will also be able to minimize the trauma the parents as
well as the child are going through.
The Litigation Alternatives
On some cases where the parents of the injured child are
hesitant to file a case against the responsible parties,
mediation or arbitration can be explored as alternatives. In
fact, some insurance companies include these alternatives in the
insurance plans and thus has to be followed before going to
court. Settling the dispute by mediation or arbitration means
that the birth injury claim will not be handled by the court and
settling it through this alternative means that the case is then
effectively closed.
The advantages of settling the birth injury claim through these
alternatives are faster resolution and lower legal costs.
Whatever the case may be, using a birth injury lawyer to help
settle the birth injury dispute is always a wise move.
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