Expectant parents want their children to be born healthy without any injuries. However, birth injuries often happen due to complications and carelessness in the labor room and during delivery. A birth injury may result in permanent disability and damage to a newborn child such that the parents and the baby have to deal with it throughout their life.
Here are some standard eye-opening statistics about birth injuries.
- In the United States, out of every 1000 infants, 6-8 of them are born with a birth injury.
- Every hour, three infants are born with a birth injury.
- Twenty percent of fatalities in infants are related to birth injuries.
What does a birth injury lawsuit mean?
A birth injury lawsuit is a legal course of action taken by the parents against negligent healthcare providers whose acts of negligence have caused harm to their baby. A lawsuit is filed to get adequate compensation to help pay for the medical treatment and healthcare expenses for the baby at present and in the future.
Also, a birth injury lawsuit helps parents and the baby get justice and peace of mind by holding the negligent medical professionals accountable for their wrongdoings.
Compensation from a birth injury lawsuit can help pay for surgery, occupational therapy, medical equipment, medications, hospitalization, speech therapy, consultation fees, and other related medical expenses.
Did you know? The average settlement value of birth injury lawsuits involving neurological birth injury of an infant is more than $1 million.
The Birth Injury lawsuit Process
Every birth injury lawsuit case is unique and different from the others. Being a parent, the preparation for a birth injury lawsuit can be a daunting task. Having an expert birth injury lawyer in Knoxville by your side can help seamlessly navigate the entire process with minimal hassles.
For a medical malpractice case, the doctor can breach their duty of care in several ways. Some of these include:
Step 1: Free Case Evaluation
Go to any birth injury lawyer in Knoxville and you will get a free case evaluation. Before filing a birth injury lawsuit, it is crucial to determine whether you are eligible for it or not. A birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can help evaluate how strong your case is and how much compensation would be needed depending on the extent of your baby’s injury.
Step 2: Gathering the Required Evidence
The birth injury lawyer in Knoxville needs to prove that the injuries caused to your baby were due to an act of negligence from the medical professionals. For this purpose, it is important to gather all the necessary and relevant evidence relating to the birth injuries.
Some of the evidence and information that may be needed include:
- Medical records of the mother before and after delivery
- Medical records and reports/scans indicating the injury of the baby
- Testimony from eyewitnesses including other junior doctors, nurses, medical attendants.
- Testimony from other experts and experienced medical professionals like pediatricians and gynecologists.
Step 3: Filing the Lawsuit
Once all the evidence is collected, the birth injury lawyer in Knoxville will file the lawsuit. When you file a lawsuit, you become the plaintiff, while the medical practitioner/s or hospital being sued become the defendants.
The lawsuit will be registered in court. The defendants get a time of 30 days to respond to your case. If the response received denies payment of the compensation amount, they need to mention the reasons for the denial. If there is no response received from their end, you automatically win the birth injury lawsuit.
Step 4: Discovery of Additional Proof
To respond to the defendants, your birth injury lawyer in Knoxville will gather additional information, call for witnesses in court, and present a more in-depth report in court. Statements from medical experts, you and your loved ones, and witnesses will be taken.
Step 5: Trials or Settlement
Ninety-five percent of the birth injury lawsuits end in a settlement out of court. This is because going into trials is highly tedious and time consuming for both parties. In case of a birth injury settlement, the defendants agree to pay a lump sum amount to the plaintiff.
If the settlement does not go through, the case moves to a trial in court. During the trial, the judge listens to the arguments from both sides and finally presents the verdict based on the evidence presented.
Speak to a Specialist Birth Injury Lawyer in Knoxville
A birth injury lawsuit can take a lengthy amount of time to resolve. In most cases you can expect a minimum of one year, but it is not unusual for cases to stretch to 3 or 4 years before a settlement is reached. Working with a professional birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can help speed up the claim settlement process. An expert and experienced birth injury lawyer in Knoxville can help you avoid common mistakes related to a birth injury lawsuit, save money, and get the right results that you are looking for.
If you or any of your loved ones have gone through the trauma of a birth injury, it is a wise decision to speak to a birth injury lawyer in Knoxville about it and get professional advice.
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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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