The Work of a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
Unfortunately, many mistakes made by doctors during the delivery can lead to serious birth injuries in newborns. These injuries can cause an entire life of medical costs and treatment that drain families' budgets.
Like all malpractice claims, birth injury cases require proving that the medical professional violated their duty to provide fair medical care. This is a difficult task.
Preparing a Claim
The legal procedure for a birth injury case begins with a review of the medical records of your child. These documents may contain valuable information that proves the doctor was negligent. A competent attorney can determine the most crucial evidence and also gather other documents that can be used to support your claim.
The lawyer will also work closely with one or more medical experts to prove that the doctor did not meet the standard of care expected by a professional in the same field. Using an expert can help the jury understand how the doctor's actions, or failure to act caused your child's injuries.
If the medical expert can show that the injuries suffered by your child were caused by the doctor's negligence the next step is determining what damages your child could be liable for. This includes future and past medical expenses and lost earnings over a lifetime, as well as suffering and pain.
Based on the severity of your child's injuries you could be legally entitled to punitive or exemplary damages. These additional damages are intended to penalize the at-fault medical professional for their recklessness or disregard and deter others from acting similarly.
Medical mistakes made during the delivery of a baby are the cause for numerous birth injuries. These mistakes can happen at any point during the pregnancy but are more likely to occur during labor and birth. When a medical professional commits error, it can lead to serious and lasting injuries to both the mother and child.
Erb's shoulder dystocia, palsy and brain damage are some of the most commonly occurring birth injuries. Erb's palsy is a type of nerve damage that results in partial or complete arm paralysis, and is usually caused by trauma to the brachial plexus during birth. In most cases this condition can be prevented with appropriate treatment and intervention.
New Mexico law has strict laws that limit the time you have to bring a lawsuit relating to medical negligence. Your attorney will determine if your case qualifies for an exemption to these deadlines. If the statutes of limitation have expired, your case will be dismissed, even if you have a strong case. To ensure that your lawsuit is filed in time, it is important to speak with a New Mexico attorney for birth injury as soon as you are able to.
Preparing for Trial
Preparation for a trial begins before the trial date itself when the legal teams review the evidence and develop their theories. Then, they have to identify all witnesses and prepare questions for them. They must also gather all exhibits that will be used during the trial. They must also prepare jury instructions. All of this is vital for presenting a successful claim, and win compensation for the victims.
A birth injury that is the result of an error by a medical professional can cause life-altering effects for families. Children who suffer from these injuries require a lifetime of medical care and treatments. Families may require assistance to pay for treatments, therapies and specialized equipment. An experienced New Mexico birth injuries attorney can help families obtain compensation to cover these costs.
In order to bring a birth injury lawsuit the plaintiff's family must prove that their medical provider or doctor failed to provide the treatment that a reasonable medical professional would have offered under similar circumstances. Medical malpractice is exactly what it is. To prove medical malpractice, the victim needs to establish four elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Many of the medical errors that result in birth injuries are caused by simple errors, like the wrong diagnosis or inadequate treatment for prenatal complications. Some are more complex such as shoulder dystocia, an issue that can lead to partial or total paralysis of the arm. In some instances birth injuries, they only become apparent later in childhood, as the child is unable to complete developmental milestones.
Contacting a birth injury attorney as soon as you can after the injury is essential in order to avoid the time frame when the initial statute of limitation (SOL) could expire. There are some exceptions to the SOL which can prolong the time frame to file a lawsuit. A knowledgeable birth injury attorney can provide specific SOLs that apply to your situation and suggest an appropriate time frame for filing a lawsuit.
Medical malpractice claims involving birth injuries typically involve experts to prove that the doctor's treatment fell below the standards of care for their specialty. Miller Weisbrod Olesky is an experienced medical malpractice firm which works with highly respected experts from across the country to establish this fact in a birth injuries claim.
How to Claim a Claim?
If a birth injury happens it could cause permanent and life-altering damages to the child parents, child, and family members. A successful claim may provide reimbursement for medical expenses and income loss, as well as pain and suffering. It can also cover the cost of specific therapies and equipment. However an effective claim requires medical expert testimony to prove that the nurse, doctor, or any other healthcare provider violated their duty of care and caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer can assist families in obtaining the justice they deserve through a lawsuit against the accountable medical provider or healthcare facility. It is crucial to understand that medical malpractice claims are subject to strict statutes of limitations. An attorney can look over the specifics of the case and determine the date when the statute of limitations began to run to ensure that legal action can be initiated prior to the expiration date.
In some instances doctors may be held accountable for birth injuries even though medical negligence was not present at the time of delivery. This type of negligence may result from a delay in diagnosing or treating a maternal condition or a mishap with forceps during delivery, or a failed Caesarean section.
Other causes of a birth injury include a lack of oxygen to the brain during labor or a prolonged labor. A New Mexico birth-injury lawyer can analyze the case's details to identify possible responsible parties, such as doctors, nurses, or hospitals. In most cases these lawsuits are brought against the hospital in which the healthcare professional who was negligent was employed.
It is not uncommon for a defendant or their attorney to argue that there are other reasons for the injuries of a baby. birth injury claims include genetic defects or fetal developmental issues. A New Mexico birth injury attorney can assist the family and the victim counter this argument by establishing that there was evidence of negligence and that the medical professional's actions or failure to act on their own directly caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury lawyer at Miller Weisbrod Olesky can investigate the case and appoint one or more expert medical witnesses to establish that a health care provider's actions or inability to act fell short of the standard of care in a similar situation and resulted in the child's injuries. A successful claim could result in compensatory damages, which include past and future medical expenses as well as loss of income and pain and suffering and other damages.