No parent wants their child to suffer, but when an act of medical malpractice occurs, remaining quiet ceases to be an option. So knowing how to file a birth injury lawsuit with legal process.
Birth injuries are never a pleasant topic of discussion because they can have a lasting impact on your child’s life and require constant medical attention. Suppose your child has suffered a birth injury due to the inattention of medical staff or doctors. In that case, the best way to discover the underlying truth is to file a lawsuit. A birth injury lawsuit is an effective way for legal guardians or parents to seek compensation and justice for a child harmed through medical errors. If guided by a professional birth injury lawyer, parents can find an incentive to improve their child’s quality of life.
So, are you aware of the process? If not, here’s everything you need to know about how to file a birth injury lawsuit.
Find a Lawyer
The first step to filing any lawsuit is to find a reliable and experienced lawyer. There are many types of birth injury lawyers. Keep in mind that an injury during birth can be anything; it can be bruising, paralysis, fractures, brain damage, and more. You need to hire an attorney that deals with a specific case of injury. For instance, in the event of a brachial palsy, you can hire an erbs palsy attorney to pursue legal action and receive compensation for your child’s injuries.
Once you file a birth injury lawsuit, your lawyers will build a case against the medical professionals involved in the birth of your child. Both parties will try their best to mediate the situation and come to a conclusion through a settlement. If this doesn’t happen, there will be a trial.
After finding a birth injury lawyer, you will get a chance to establish a client-attorney relationship through a free consultation session. Moreover, the lawsuit process usually consists of creating a case and finalizing some financial terms.
Sending a Demand Letter
Before you even file a lawsuit, there’s a chance that your attorney might try to settle things the easy way – without taking the case to trial. In the process of it, your attorney will send a demand letter to the responsible party.
So, what are demand letters? These letters explain on behalf of the parents. They contain the reasons you believe the doctor committed the injury and how much compensation you need to settle the dispute. Demand letters are handy because if a medical professional admits his mistake and agrees to the terms, you can instantly receive compensation without filing a lawsuit.
On the other hand, if your child demands expensive medical care, the doctor may refuse to pay. In that case, you know what you have to do – file a lawsuit.
Strengthen Your Case
Many instances can occur while filing a birth injury lawsuit. Therefore, if the medical professional doesn’t approve of your demand letter or you refuse to send one, your lawyer will start the procedure of filing a lawsuit.
During the filing process, the lawyer will ask you a few questions, such as the following:
- How, where, and when the malpractice occurred
- Was there a way to prevent the birth injury?
- Who conducted the act?
Answers to these questions will enable your lawyers to create a firm foundation to determine your case’s strength or whether you’ll win or not.
The Big Step: Filing a Lawsuit
According to the court laws, your lawyer will file a lawsuit. Once filed, you become the party that’s taking legal action. On the flip, the medical professionals who may have caused the birth injury become the party that’s getting sued.
The court will process the lawsuit and send a notice to the defendant party, who has some days to come up with a response. If the other party doesn’t respond under the specified timeframe, you win the case.
Collecting Evidence
Your lawyer and his team will collect more evidence to support the claims of medical malpractice. The team will take a close look at the case to make the argument stronger in the court of law. Additionally, your birth injury claim must be strong enough to prove that the medical professionals did not uphold a commendable standard of care.
Moreover, the evidence your lawyer’s team will gather includes:
- Medical documents that contain the details of your child’s injuries
- Medical expense reports and hospital bills
- Other related proof
Similarly, lawyers for the defendants will also collect their own set of evidence to knock your terms down.
Negotiating
Once both parties have prepared their case, they will arrange a formal meeting to discuss a possible solution through a settlement. A settlement offers the part that sues with financial compensation. It results in an official agreement that ends the dispute.
If a solution is discovered, both sides end up in a win-win scenario. The defendant party agrees to pay a specific amount of money to you, and the legal procedures stop.
The majority of lawyers tend to encourage birth injury lawsuit settlements because they allow for a quick solution. In the end, you receive the necessary reimbursement for your child’s injuries. Cases that don’t resolve in a settlement tend to move to a trial phase.
Conclusion
That’s it. These were all the necessary steps to filing a lawsuit.
Remember, if someone robbed your child of having a thoroughly normal life, you need to take action. Filing a lawsuit is the closest way to redemption. Therefore, do what’s right and teach those so-called doctors a lesson so that they may never commit a single mistake during delivery ever again.