Most expectant parents understand that complications can arise during labor and delivery. However, these individuals also put a great deal of trust in the healthcare providers – their obstetricians, nurses, anesthesiologists, other medical team members, and the hospital itself. Patients trust that these professionals will uphold high standards of care and properly manage any situation that might arise to threaten the baby or mother.
When actions and capabilities fall short of these standards of care, birth injuries can occur. If a preventable medical mistake caused you or your child to suffer a birth injury, the party whose negligence caused the injury should pay for medical treatments and other damages. A Dover birth injury lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can help you fight for that compensation.
Birth Injuries Generate Multiple Types of Recoverable Damages
The amount of compensation you could recover in your case depends on the unique factors of the birth injury you have suffered. Birth injuries range widely in terms of their severity and permanence. Common types of birth injuries include:
- Brain injuries
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Shoulder dystocia
- Spinal cord injuries
- Asphyxia
- Infant hematoma
- Umbilical cord strangulation
- Bone fractures and breaks
- Facial paralysis
The type of birth injury you have experienced dictates the subsequent financial losses, which in turn determine the economic damages for your claim.
Common Economic Damages Following a Birth Injury
In terms of economic losses, your recoverable damages could include the following:
- Hospital stay
- Surgeries
- Home medical equipment
- Fees for specialists
- Fees for regular visits with your doctor
- Physical therapy
- Prescription medications
- At-home care
- Transportation needs
- Mobility devices, like wheelchairs
- Home modifications, like ramps
Our birth injury lawyers fight for your damages and can work with medical, economic, and occupational therapy experts to determine your losses. These could include not only the economic losses you have already experienced but also those you will incur in the future.
You Might Be Eligible for Non-Economic Damages in Dover
Our attorneys will also consider the less concrete losses this birth injury has caused you and your child. Although subjective in nature, these types of damages often represent the greatest, most troubling consequences of birth injuries. If your case goes to trial, a jury will decide on an appropriate amount to award for non-economic damages.
Some of the non-economic losses juries consider include the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish
- Diminished enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
For a free legal consultation with a birth injury lawyer serving Dover, call (844) 998-2554
What Our Birth Injury Lawyers Can Do to Help You
The legal team at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, understands that besides financial relief, you need time to adjust your home and your family to certain aspects of a birth injury that you probably did not anticipate.
Our lawyers are here to take the legal process off your shoulders so that you can focus on the pressing matters at home. We will handle every aspect of your case so that you do not suffer further damage as a result of someone else’s negligence.
Our attorneys will:
- Investigate your case
- Gather all medical records related to your pregnancy, labor, and delivery
- Obtain statements from witnesses
- Collect photos and videos
- Review hospital safety records
- Work with medical experts
- Calculate your damages
- Negotiate with the insurance company
- File a lawsuit on your behalf, if necessary
- Represent you in court if your case goes to trial
We will build a strong case based on compelling facts and evidence.
Working with the Insurance Company
Most birth injury cases are settled out of court via settlements with insurance companies. Insurers would much rather settle a case than risk the outcome of a sympathetic jury determining how much to award a plaintiff. This preference does not mean the insurance company will make things easy for a claimant. The insurer’s entire business model is based on selling policies and paying as little as possible for claims.
Our birth injury lawyers will fight to get you the settlement you deserve. We will calculate your damages, craft a demand letter, and present it to the insurer. If the insurer refuses to agree to a fair settlement, we will file a lawsuit and take the matter to a civil court where a jury could decide the case.
Because we work on contingency, you pay our legal fees only when and if we win a settlement or jury award on your behalf.
Dover Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me (844) 998-2554
The Statute of Limitations Means You Have Only so Much Time to Sue
Most states impose a time limit on how long you have to take legal action in a birth injury lawsuit. Keep in mind that a lot must happen to prepare your case for a trial. You do not want to wait until the last minute to file a lawsuit and find that the statute has expired.
Generally, birth injury lawsuits in Dover must be filed within two years of the date that the medical malpractice occurred, as per Delaware Insurance Code § 6856.
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Who Might Be Liable for a Birth Injury?
The last few decades have seen a consistent decline in birth traumas that lead to birth injuries, according to StatPearls. This decline is attributable to great advancements in medical technology. However, birth injuries still occur.
Sometimes a birth injury results from a difficult childbirth. In other cases, though, the injury results from the negligence of health professionals.
How Birth Injuries Happen
Doctors and other medical professionals are held to a high standard of care. When they fail to meet this standard and their negligence causes a birth injury, they could be held liable for damages. There are many opportunities for a physician and/or other healthcare providers to meet this standard of care during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
The following is a list of some of the ways negligence on the part of these professionals can cause an infant to suffer birth injuries:
- Failing to properly use vacuum or forceps
- Failing to monitor the fetus’ heart rate
- Failing to promptly handle delivery complications
- Failing to detect signs of the baby being in distress during the pregnancy or during labor
- Failing to recognize abnormal birth circumstances
- Failing to seek help from a supervisor
- Failure to follow proper medical procedures
- Failing to admit a pregnant woman who is reporting serious problems
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Our Birth injury Lawyers Serve the People of Dover
If you are enduring the trauma of a birth injury, we understand the overwhelming financial and emotional stress that has been thrust on you.
Let our attorneys relieve you of some of this burden. We work hard to get our clients the results they deserve when other people’s negligence causes injury. Call Ben Crump Law, PLLC, today for a free, no-obligation consultation: (844) 998-2554.
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