What to Do if You Suspect Birth Injury

If you think that you are not being provided adequate or prompt care when you are in the hospital delivering your baby, speak up. You might be able to prevent a birth injury. If the birth has already happened, make sure to check on your baby frequently. If the child seems at all injured or not behaving in a normal manner, alert the nurses and doctors. Keep notes of what is going on and what the medical staff is doing to take care of your baby. Once you and your baby come home from the hospital, think about the care you were given. If you believe that the hospital or medical staff did not take care of your child correctly, or were incompetent in any way, think about contacting a birth injury attorney. They will be able to help you in pursuing those who took care of your baby in a legal fashion and let you know if you have a case against them.

Health Insurance's Role in Birth Injury

When a child is born, healthy or not, you must make sure to contact your health insurance provider immediately. This will open the baby's policy and make the child a dependent on your plan. It can also be helpful if you are going to pursue a case in court for birth injury, as all of the medical bills submitted will be recorded. The copays that you have to pay to the insurance company will probably be covered if there is a judgment in your favor in court, as the doctor's (or hospital's) malpractice insurance will have to cover your medical bills.

Going to a Meeting With a Birth Injury Lawyer

Before you get ready to meet your birth injury attorney, you may want to get together some information about your case. You should know what you feel was done incorrectly in your child's birth, as well as what the baby's injury is. The lawyer will then be able to help you get the proper information from your doctors, any other witnesses, and insurance companies. A lawyer will also be able to prepare you for the next steps in your case. Be sure to ask any questions you have of the lawyer at this first meeting.

Finding a Birth Injury Lawyer Online

If you don't have any people available around you to refer you to a good lawyer, you might be able to find one that you feel comfortable with online. Often a birth injury attorney will have set up a Web site with information about his/her practice and beliefs, and this can make you feel more at ease when you set up an appointment with them. Birth injury attorneys with websites online also give you a chance to "preview" the type of law that they practice, that way you can get to know the lawyers before choosing one.

Parent's Rights in Birth Injury Cases

If you suspect that something has gone wrong in your child's delivery, don't panic. There are many laws in effect that protect you as the patient (and patient's parent). Most hospitals have a Patients Bill of Rights that attest to that fact. You have the right to be present when any treatment is being performed on your child, as well as having the right to copies of any medical records your child has. If you suspect that there is a problem, make sure to be there for treatment as well as getting those records copied. A birth injury lawyer will need to see them to find out if you have a case.

What is Birth Injury?

Birth injury affects seven out of every 1000 births in the United States, and happens when a mistake, either accidental or neglectful, occurs during a baby's delivery. These injuries can range from minor bumps and bruises from rough handling of the newborn, to severe disabling conditions if proper care was not taken in the baby's delivery. If you think that your baby might have been injured during birth, you should consult your doctor and contact a birth injury lawyer.

Birth Injury Case Procedure

Many birth injury cases will be settled out of court. The lawyer will contact the doctor, and his malpractice insurance carrier will negotiate with your lawyer. You might not have to appear in court, instead giving a deposition in a conference room or something similar. There is no way to know ahead of time whether your specific case will be handled this way, so it is best to talk with a birth injury lawyer to find out exactly what will happen.

More on Birth Injury Attorneys

When you retain, or hire, a birth injury lawyer, he/she will often work on contingency. This means that you will not have to spend any money on the lawyer's services up front, rather he/she will take a percentage of any money you win in your court case. This is good because if you do not win, the birth injury lawyer will not charge you any attorneys' fees. It is also a good idea because there is really nothing to lose by bringing a birth injury case to court - you should be compensated for your injuries without having to feel as if you must spend a lot of money.

How Doctors Can Cause Birth Injury

The doctors or nurses who deliver your baby can can cause a birth injury. If they use too much force when helping to deliver your child with forceps or vacuum, they can cause bruising or bone fractures. If they delay the birth by allowing too long of a labor, the baby can be born with cerebral palsy or other brain damage. Other problems can be caused by trying to vaginally deliver a baby that is too large and should be delivered by Cesarean section. Birth injuries are too common, so you should stick up for your rights when you're delivering your child to make sure proper care is taken and any need for a cerebral palsy lawyer is avoided.

A Doctor's Role in Birth Injury - After the Birth

Although a doctor can be the direct cause of birth injury, they can also be your child's most important ally. Make sure that you alert your doctor if you believe there is a possibility your child was born with an injury, and let them know that you want your child to have a full evaluation. Push for all the tests that you feel need to be done to be completed, such as hearing, x-rays and blood work. Also be sure to ask for copies of all the results. The doctors are usually going to be willing to help you in any way possible, and if a doctor refuses, ask for a second opinion.

Finding a Birth Injury Lawyer

Often the best way to find a lawyer of any type is to get personal referrals. Talk to people you know that have been through the same situation you have. You can meet people at support groups and they might be able to refer you to a great birth injury lawyer. A birth injury attorney will have experience dealing with these types of cases and will be able to help you with the court process.

Birth Injury Lawyers

After you have found a good birth injury lawyer, they will be able to take all of the information from you, your child's doctors, and your health insurance company and be able to make a judgement about whether you have a good case. Often, if the case against a specific medical institution or practitioner is good, the birth injury lawyer can sue this party in order to recover medical bills (both past and future) as well as money for pain and suffering. Only a birth injury attorney will know how much they can help you win, so it's important to contact one as soon as you have your information about the birth injury gathered.