Welcoming a new baby into the family should be one of the most joyful days of your life. However, in approximately 7 out of every 1000 births in the United States, a birth injury occurs, and most of them are actually preventable. If you find yourself in this position, a birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can help you to file a lawsuit.
A birth injury is considered a type of personal injury, and it can fall under the umbrella of medical malpractice. When your obstetrician fails in their duty of care to you and your infant during delivery, it can have a lifelong impact on your family. Not only will there be immediate distress and financial cost associated with complications at the delivery, but if the infant is left with a permanent disability, there are also going to be future medical costs and other expenses to consider in order to support that child through life. A birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can help you to recover the financial settlement you need to cover those costs for your child.
Statutue of Limitations
Some birth injuries may not be immediately apparent at the time of birth. Statistics show that around 7% of birth injuries are diagnosed within the first year, but another 14% are not diagnosed until they reach school age. Cognitive and developmental injuries are more likely to be diagnosed later than physical injuries caused at birth. So, what does this mean for a lawsuit, given the statute of limitations in personal injury cases is usually one year?
Your birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can offer you advice, but speaking in general terms, when the birth injury is discovered at the time of birth, you have the standard one-year statute of limitations to raise your lawsuit. However, if the injury does not become apparent until later in the child’s life, you can still submit a lawsuit within one year of discovering the birth injury.
Birth Injury Fatalities
Statistics indicate that 20 percent of all infant fatalities result from a birth injury, approximately 134 birth injury deaths for every 100,000 children born. The majority of these deaths can be put down to medical malpractice or negligence at the time of birth. This means that your birth injury lawyer in Knoxville will need to prepare for a wrongful death lawsuit.
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Butler, Vines and Babb is a leading law firm in Knoxville, TN, with extensive litigation experience in Medical Malpractice Law, Birth Injury Law, Trucking Accident Law, Personal Injury Law, and Business Law. Contact us today at www.bvblaw.com or call 865-637-3531.
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