The effects of a birth injury can cause a lifetime of unexpected medical treatment, expenses, and caregiving for you or your child. If a mistake by a medical professional, such as a doctor or nurse, led to your or your child’s birth injury, you may have a legal claim against all responsible parties.
A Joliet birth injury lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, can assess your situation, present your options, and build a case for compensation.
Common Forms of Evidence We Gather in Medical Malpractice Cases
We start our cases by interviewing you about the circumstances that led to the birth injury to your child. We also will interview anyone who witnessed the situation as it unfolded. We will thoroughly review medical records to get a clear understanding of the events that occurred in your case.
Next, we consult medical experts to determine exactly how the birth injury occurred and its likely cause. These experts will review the actions taken by the medical professionals attending the birth of your child to see if they were reasonable under the circumstances. In medical malpractice cases, such as those that involve birth injuries, expert testimony can be critical to establishing fault for the injury to your child.
For a free legal consultation with a birth injury lawyer serving Joliet, call (844) 998-2554
Establishing Proof of Fault in a Birth Injury Case
All medical professionals owe a duty of reasonable care to their patients. This duty requires them to act reasonably and according to the standards of their profession, given the situation. If another doctor would have acted similarly if faced with the same situation, then their actions likely met the required duty of care.
In some cases, however, a doctor or other medical professional does or fails to do something that violates the duty of care. The doctor may fail to properly monitor a child during birth or not act quickly enough to perform a Caesarean section. If the actions of the doctor during that situation were unreasonable according to another doctor, then the doctor likely breached the duty of care and may be at fault for the resulting injuries.
Finally, you must prove that the breach in the duty of reasonable care directly led to the child being injured. If the doctor had not acted in a certain way, then the birth injury likely would not have occurred. Proof of these elements is necessary to maintain a successful birth injury case against the responsible medical professionals.
Joliet Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me (844) 998-2554
Understanding Potential Financial Awards in Birth Injury Cases
The types and amounts of any financial award in your birth injury case depend on several different factors, including:
- Whether the injury causes a permanent impairment
- The severity of any impairments or injuries
- The presence of any scarring or disfigurement
- The loss of enjoyment of life due to disability
- Any increase in the risk of future harm due to the injury
- Any preexisting conditions that contributed to or worsened the injury
A lawyer from our firm who handles cases in Joliet can evaluate the birth injury to determine the type and extent of damages available in your case. As the parents of a child with a birth injury, your family may be eligible to collect various items of compensation, such as:
- Medical expenses to treat the birth injury, both now and in the future
- Home health and personal care costs
- Expenses for medications, medical assistive devices, and modifications to homes and vehicles to accommodate disabilities
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of regular life activities for your child
- Loss of income if a parent must remain a full-time caregiver for your child
Birth injury cases can be complicated. All birth injuries are devastating. However, while some are the result of medical errors, others are not preventable. Our legal team collectively has years of experience in handling medical malpractice and birth injury cases just like yours. Together, we will work to get compensation for your injuries where merited.
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Paying for Our Legal Services
Consultations with our office are free and at no risk to you. By having a case review with our office, you are making no commitments to our law firm. You can tell us your story and ask some questions at no risk to you.
If we decide to work together on your case, you still pay us nothing out of pocket, so your lawyer will get started on your case right away with no money down. They will get paid out of the settlement award that you receive in your case.
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Knowing the Deadlines to File Your Case in Court
Most medical malpractice victims typically have two years from the date that they suffered their injuries to file a lawsuit in court. Likewise, if a birth injury proves fatal, surviving family members only have two years from the date of death to file a case in court.
Medical malpractice lawsuits for minors under the age of 18, however, are different. Under 735 ILCS 5/13-212(a), minors generally have eight years after the act of medical malpractice that injured them to bring their claims in court. As a result, a birth injury would give parents of the injured child eight years to file their case in court.
Working with You to get Compensation for the Birth Injury to Your Child
A birth injury can be devastating, physically for your child, emotionally for you, and financially for your family. Fortunately, a Joliet birth injury lawyer with Ben Crump Law, PLLC, is available to help. With our legal assistance, we can work to hold negligent medical personnel accountable for harming you and/or your child.
The attorneys and staff of Ben Crump Law, PLLC, pride themselves on providing legal services to those who need our help during challenging times in their lives. We are proud to extend legal representation to families whose children have suffered birth injuries to seek compensation for their losses. Call (844) 998-2554 for a free consultation today.
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