We entrust our medical providers to treat us with the utmost standard of care. Unfortunately, they can come up short, and we end up suffering the repercussions of this carelessness.
Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can help you with a medical malpractice case if you or your child suffered a birth injury due to medical malpractice. Our Atlanta birth injury lawyers can help you seek compensation for medical bills and more.
Damages We Can Seek If Your Child Suffered an Injury During Labor or Delivery
You and your family shouldn’t have to shoulder the financial burden of a birth injury on your own. When you file an insurance claim or sue the liable party, you can request compensation for the following damages:
- Current and expected medical treatment, whether it’s for the mother, the child, or both
- Lost wages, if you needed to take time off work to take care of your child
- Lost earning potential, if you can’t ever go back to work since your child needs around-the-clock care
- Pain and suffering, for the pain and discomfort the birth injury has caused you and/or your child
- Mental anguish, if the effects of the birth injury have taken a toll on your mental and emotional well-being
- Scarring and disfigurement, if the injury has temporarily or permanently changed the way you or your child will move and look
In the event the child or mother died as a result of the birth injury, you can recover wrongful death damages, which usually involve:
- Final medical bills
- Burial and funeral costs
- Loss of care, consortium, or companionship
For a free legal consultation with a birth injury lawyer serving Atlanta, call (844) 998-2554
What Causes a Birth Injury?
According to Merck Manual, complications during labor and delivery, such as premature birth, lack of oxygen, and prolonged labor, among other things, can result in birth injuries, including, but not limited to:
- Bleeding around and in the brain
- Facial nerve injuries
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Erb’s palsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Prenatal asphyxia, which can result in heart, lung, brain, liver, and kidney problems
Sometimes, the complications that result in birth injuries are not preventable. Other times, injuries occur due to a lack of response or incorrect response by your physician. When that happens, it may constitute medical malpractice.
Atlanta Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me (844) 998-2554
Our Birth Injury Attorneys Can Help You Prepare Your Case for Damages
It is important for you to spend time with your child, not pursue a birth injury case. Leave that to us.
We can take on the following tasks on your behalf:
Gathering Evidence That Link the Birth Injury to Malpractice
We will obtain your medical records and speak with eyewitnesses who observed your care. In addition, for medical malpractice cases, we are to file an “affidavit of merit,” according to O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1. This document is a sworn statement from a legal expert affirming their belief that at least one act of negligence caused your child’s birth injury. We can help you locate someone to make this statement on your behalf.
Determining Liability in a Birth Injury Case
If your provider did not recognize, respond, or treat complications according to the standard of care, we can help you prove medical malpractice.
In doing so, we will use the evidence listed above and apply the four tenets of negligence:
- Duty: Your healthcare provider owed you a duty to provide you with the highest standard of care.
- Breach of duty: Your healthcare provider failed to follow protocol or overlooked a complication.
- Causation: This negligence led to a birth injury.
- Damages: You and your family now have to deal with medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
We might find that a nurse, doctor, ultrasound technician, or the healthcare facility itself contributed to your and/or your child’s suffering.
You do Not Have to Get Bogged Down with Insurance Claims
The insurance claims process can be stressful, and the insurance companies do not work for you. Their goal is to pay out as little in claims as possible, so there is no incentive for them to help you. In fact, quite the opposite. They will look for reasons to deny or decrease your settlement.
We can take care of every aspect of your claim. We will submit the required paperwork, communicate with the insurance companies, and negotiate a settlement. Our end goal is to get you the compensation you need as quickly and efficiently as possible.
If Negotiations don’t Work, We Will File a Lawsuit
We will work to settle your case without pursuing a lawsuit, but if we cannot get the money you deserve, we are prepared to go to trial. Legal action is subject to Georgia’s statute of limitations.
According to O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71, you typically have two years from the time a birth injury occurs or you discover the injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. You generally have two years to file an action for wrongful death, according to O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33.
Adhering to your applicable timeline is an asset to getting compensation. As such, failure to file in time might mean that you are barred from collecting any. Therefore, if you let our personal injury attorneys know about your case soon enough, we can help make sure we file your lawsuit before the deadline expires.
Click to contact our Atlanta Personal Injury Lawyers today
Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, to Learn More About How We Can Serve You
Our Atlanta lawyers are dedicated to helping victims seek justice after a birth injury. Ben Crump Law, PLLC, believes that everyone’s voice deserves to be heard. We do not want your financial situation to prevent you from holding negligent parties responsible and getting the compensation you need.
Our firm works on contingency, meaning you pay us nothing out of pocket. We only collect a fee if we win a settlement or verdict for you. We have a track record of multimillion-dollar results, including malpractice settlements in excess of $1 million. Call (844) 998-2554 for a free consultation.
Call or text (844) 998-2554 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
