The Work of a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
Unfortunately, many medical mistakes in the delivery room cause serious birth injuries for newborns. These injuries can result in the need for ongoing medical costs and treatment which drain families' funds.
Like all malpractice lawsuits, birth injury cases must prove that the medical professional breached their duty to provide fair medical treatment. This is a difficult task.
Prepare a Claim
The legal process for a birth injury case starts with an evaluation of the medical records of your child. These documents contain a wealth of information that may demonstrate that the doctor's negligence was at fault. A qualified attorney will be able to determine the most crucial evidence and gather documents that you can use to support your claim.
The lawyer will also collaborate with one or more expert medical witnesses to prove that the doctor did not meet the standard of care that would be expected by a medical professional in the same field. An expert's testimony can assist the jury in understanding how the doctor's actions, or inaction led to the injuries your child sustained.
If the medical expert can show that the injuries suffered by your child resulted from a doctor's negligence the next step is to determine what damages your child could be liable for. This includes past and future medical expenses, lost earnings throughout a lifetime and suffering and pain.
Depending on the severity of your child's injuries you may be legally entitled to damages for punitive or exemplary injuries. These additional damages are intended to punish the medical professional at fault for their utter carelessness or negligence and to deter others from acting in the same manner.
Many birth injuries are caused by medical errors during the birth of an infant. These mistakes can happen at any time during the pregnancy, but are more likely to occur during labor and delivery. Medical malpractice can lead to serious and long-lasting injuries for both the mother and child.
The most frequent birth injuries include shoulder dystocia, brain damage spinal cord injuries, and Erb's paralysis. Erb's palsy is a type of nerve injury that can cause partial or complete arm paralysis, and is typically caused by trauma to the brachial plexus in delivery. The condition is usually preventable with the right treatment and intervention.
New Mexico law has strict laws that limit the time you can file a lawsuit for medical negligence. The attorney can determine whether your case is eligible for exemptions to these deadlines. Even even if your case is a strong one, it will be dismissed when the time limit has passed. It is imperative to contact an New Mexico birth injury attorney immediately to ensure the timely filing of your lawsuit.
Preparing for Trial
Preparation for a trial begins much earlier than the date of trial when the legal teams analyze the evidence and formulate their theories. Then, santa fe birth injury attorney must identify all witnesses and write questions for them. They must also gather all exhibits which will be used during the trial. They also have to prepare jury instructions. All of this preparation is crucial to presenting a winning claim and obtaining compensation for the victims.
A birth injury that is the result of a medical professional's mistake can have life-altering consequences for the entire family. Children who suffer from such injuries require the ongoing care of a medical professional and services. Families may need assistance paying for treatments, therapies and specialized equipment. An experienced New Mexico birth injury attorney can assist families in obtaining the financial compensation needed to help pay for these needs.
In order to file a lawsuit for birth injury, a family must show that the medical professional did not provide the treatment a reasonable medical professional in similar circumstances would have given. This is known as medical malpractice. To prove medical malpractice, the victim must establish four elements: duty, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Many of the medical mistakes that result in birth injuries are caused by simple errors, like misdiagnosis or improper treatment of prenatal complications. Others are complex, such as shoulder dystocia. This is a condition that can cause complete or partial arm paralysis. In some instances birth injuries, they only become apparent later in childhood, as the child begins missing developmental milestones.
Contacting a lawyer for birth injuries as soon as you can after the injury is essential in order to avoid the time frame when the initial statute of limitation (SOL) may expire. There are exceptions to the SOL which may extend the time period for filing a suit. A skilled lawyer for birth injuries can explain the SOLs that apply to your situation and suggest the best time frame to file a lawsuit.
Medical malpractice claims involving birth injuries usually require experts to prove that the doctor's care fell below the standard of care they provide in their specialization. Miller Weisbrod Olesky is a medical malpractice firm that is certified which works with highly respected experts from across the country to prove this fact in a birth injuries claim.
How to Claim a Claim?
If a birth injury occurs it could cause permanent and life-altering damages to the child parents, the child, and the family. A successful claim may provide compensation for medical expenses and income loss as well as pain and suffering. It may also help pay for the cost of specialized equipment and therapies. A successful claim will require an expert medical opinion that proves the doctor, nurse, or any other healthcare professional did not fulfill their duty of care and caused the child's injuries.
A New Mexico birth injury attorney can help families get justice by making a claim against accountable healthcare providers or medical facility. It is important to note that medical malpractice claims have strict statutes. An attorney can look over the specifics of the case and determine the date when the statute of limitations was set to expire, in order for legal action to be initiated prior to the expiration date.
In some instances doctors may be held liable for a birth injury even if the medical error did not occur at the time of birth. This type of negligence could be the result of a delay in diagnosing or treating a maternal problem or a mishap with forceps during the delivery or a failing Caesarean section.
Other causes of birth injury could be an insufficient supply of oxygen to the brain during labor or prolonged labor. A New Mexico birth injury lawyer can review the facts of a case and identify the parties who could be responsible, such as doctors, nurses, and hospitals. In most cases the lawsuits are brought against the hospital in which the negligent healthcare professional was employed.
It is not uncommon for defendant to claim that there are other reasons for the baby's injuries, for instance, the genetic defect or fetal development issues. A New Mexico birth injuries attorney can assist the family of the victim to counter this argument by establishing the existence of evidence of medical malpractice, and that the actions of the medical professional and their failure to act directly resulted in the child's injuries.
Miller Weisbrod Olesky, a New Mexico birth injury attorney will examine the case. They can also employ one or more medical experts to prove that the healthcare provider's actions or inactions fell below the standard care for a similar situation. This is what led to the child's injuries. A successful claim can recover compensation damages, which can include future and past medical expenses and income loss, pain and suffering, and other damages.