As a parent, seeing your child suffer through any sort of injury is one of the worst things imaginable. Even something like a colic baby can cause strong emotional reactions.
The bottom line is: your child’s safety is of tantamount importance.
Most injuries occur outside of doctors’ offices, but too many results from medical errors. While medical professionals go through years of training and medical systems use redundancies, medical mistakes happen.
When they do, people get hurt. Infants, in particular, are at increased risk for such injuries because they are more fragile than adults.
While not all medical mistakes rise to the level of medical malpractice, some do.
If your child’s injury was caused by medical malpractice, you can claim and recover damages in connection with your child’s injury.
We put together this page to explain some of the basics of medical malpractice and how an attorney for birth injury can help.
How Do I Know If My Child Was Injured By Medical Malpractice?
Without a medical examination and investigation that gets to the root of what caused or continues to cause your child’s injury, it’s impossible to recover damages. Why?
Because injuries can occur for many reasons. Thus, you need to first figure out what the connection is between your child’s injury and medical malpractice.
Then, with the help of your birth injury attorney and birth defects law firm, you can start to build your medical malpractice claim.
First, think about when and how the injury occurred. Did it occur recently? Has it existed since birth? Did it occur shortly after medical treatment?
While doing this, whether or not you suspect medical malpractice, get your child any necessary medical care as soon as possible.
When you go to the doctor, ask about the cause. Also, ask them if they suspect medical malpractice. If they do, they should tell you outright.
However, you may have to ask some extra questions. If your child’s doctor is overly defensive or takes serious offense to the mere mention of medical malpractice, seek a second opinion.
Furthermore, at this point, you should get in touch with a birth defects law firm as soon as possible. They can help connect you with the right medical professionals to help with your case.
Medical Malpractice Is A Negligence Liability Claim
Medical malpractice claims are a type of negligence-based liability. Proving medical malpractice typically involves demonstrating four elements:
- The existence of a duty of care, i.e., a doctor-patient relationship;
- A breach of that duty of care on the part of the medical professional;
- Real damages; and
- A causal relationship between the breach of the duty of care and subsequent damages.
Proving a causal relationship between a breach of duty of care and an injury in a medical malpractice case can be very difficult. It almost always requires the testimony of a medical expert.
What Makes Medical Malpractice Claims More Complex?
The main reason that medical malpractice claims are typically more complex than other negligence liability claims is the nature of the medical field.
Medical professionals go through years of training. Many of them have very specific training.
Lawyers, judges, and juries don’t have the right training to decide whether medical malpractice has occurred without the assistance of medical professionals.
We call these expert witnesses: they offer their testimony as to whether or not a doctor handled the given situation correctly or whether they acted negligently.
Since the defense will have their own expert witnesses, it is critical for you and your lawyer to find the right ones. Sometimes this can take some time.
What Types of Birth Injury Cases Exist?
There are quite a few different birth and infant injuries that can give rise to medical malpractice claims. Here are just a few of them:
- Failing to properly monitor an infant’s vitals;
- Dropping an infant;
- Skull fractures or brain bleeds;
- Deprivation of oxygen; and
- Failing to diagnose maternal diseases.
These are just a few of the injuries that can give rise to infancy medical malpractice claims. If you don’t see your child’s specific injury here, don’t hesitate to pick up a phone and call our birth injury attorneys. We can help.
Recoverable Damages
As with other liability cases, the main damages you can recover are split into two categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are those that have an objective monetary value like medical bills, lost wages, and the cost of in-home care. Noneconomic damages are different.
They are real damages, but they lack a set monetary value. No one can deny the pain and suffering your child is going through, nor can they deny your own emotional trauma.
These types of suffering qualify as non-economic damages. If they apply, your birth injury attorney will include them in your claim for damages.
If You Suspect Medical Malpractice, Call The Law Offices of Theodore A. Naima
At The Law Offices of Theodore A Naima, we have the skills and experience necessary to help you and your child seek justice.
The way we see it is simple: if someone else caused the injury, you shouldn’t have to pay for it. That’s our bottom line, and that’s what we will fight for.
With nearly two decades of trial experience, Theodore A. Naima is ready to take your case wherever it needs to go. All that matters to us is getting you justice.
Don’t wait; call us for a free consultation as soon as possible!