What’s the difference between a birth injury and a birth defect?
A birth injury refers to a complication that occurred during labor and delivery, resulting in injury to the newborn. Birth defects generally indicate some sort of problem during pregnancy development that resulted in permanent physical or mental impairment.
How do I know if my child suffered a birth injury?
If your child is diagnosed with certain conditions known to result from birth injury, like cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy, you may want to hire a birth injury attorney to help you investigate the procedures that were followed during the birthing process. If no medical diagnosis has been made but you observe certain signs of physical development dysfunction, you may want to have your child examined by a new physician. An experienced birth injury attorney can provide you with a variety of resources on birth injuries, including respected medical experts that can provide thorough physical examinations.
What can I do if I suspect medical malpractice?
In cases where malpractice is suspected, it may be unwise to go straight to your obstetrician, especially if you feel he or she may have been responsible for the injury. First talk to a skilled birth injury lawyer in your area who knows how to best approach the situation to protect your rights and to obtain the important details that can make for a strong case.
How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit?
Every state has a certain statute of limitations on medical malpractice and birth injury cases, which means the amount of time you have to file a claim against a doctor or hospital is limited. If you suspect a mistake was made during delivery, don’t hesitate to have a lawyer get the ball rolling on your case.
How do I know who is responsible for my child’s birth injury?
Often in birth injury cases, the true story regarding what happened to cause a child’s birth injury usually begins as a hunch on the part of the parents. Discovering what really happened takes time, resources, finesse, and careful strategy. It helps immensely if you can find a legal team you trust, one that will pull out all the stops to get answers for your family.