Demonstrating medical negligence in a birth injury case may be one of the toughest challenges a family will ever encounter.
It’s gross. It’s heartbreaking. And it’s filled with medical terms most people have probably never heard of in their life. But hear this out…
A competent birth injury attorney will understand how to cut through all of the noise and piece together a case to hold negligent doctors and hospitals responsible. By following due legal process, families can:
- Get compensation for medical bills
- Pay for long-term care and therapy
- Hold negligent medical staff responsible
Here is how a birth injury lawyer does it…
Here’s what’s inside:
- What Is Medical Negligence In A Birth Injury Case?
- The 4 Elements A Birth Injury Lawyer Must Prove
- How Lawyers Gather The Evidence
- Common Types Of Medical Negligence During Birth
What Is Medical Negligence In A Birth Injury Case?
Medical negligence occurs when a doctor, nurse or hospital fails to take reasonable care as would have been taken by another prudent medical professional in similar circumstances.
That’s a mouthful, right?
Okay… Consider this… If Doctor X (with identical training) would have done something differently and that would have avoided the injury… That’s negligence.
Birth injuries impact thousands of families annually. The CDC reports that approximately 7 in every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. experience some type of birth injury. This equates to nearly 30,000 children each year.
And here is the scary part…
Many of these injuries could have been avoided entirely. Hiring an experienced birth injury law firm in Fort Lauderdale is the first step to determining whether your child’s injury was caused by medical negligence. A skilled birth injury attorney will know how to conduct an investigation, ask the right questions, and establish negligence in court.
Medical malpractice can occur during pregnancy, labor/delivery or immediately postpartum. It’s important to identify the signs early and seek legal assistance promptly.
The 4 Elements A Birth Injury Lawyer Must Prove
There are 4 essential elements in every birth injury claim. If you don’t have all 4 you have no claim.
Let me break them down:
Duty Of Care
This is the easiest one to prove.
As soon as a doctor or nurse begins to care for a patient, they owe a duty of care. If a pregnant woman arrives at the hospital to give birth, the medical staff owes a duty of care to both her and the baby as soon as she walks through the door.
Breach Of Duty
This is where things get tricky.
To win a birth injury case, the birth injury lawyer must show that the doctor or hospital violated their duty of care. Basically, they did something (or didn’t do something) that another reasonable doctor wouldn’t have done.
Common examples include:
- Ignoring signs of fetal distress
- Using forceps or vacuum extractors incorrectly
- Waiting too long to perform a C-section
- Failing to diagnose maternal infections
Causation
Causation links the breach of duty directly to the injury.
Here’s what’s important… Because a doctor made a mistake doesn’t necessarily mean they caused the birth injury. The attorney must show that the particular mistake CAUSED the particular injury.
Say a nurse neglected to check fetal heart rate, and the baby was deprived of oxygen and developed cerebral palsy. The attorney has to prove that.
Damages
The final element is damages.
The family must prove that the injury resulted in actual damages. This can be medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering and future care.
The national average payout for medical malpractice on babies less than one month old is over $1 million according to attorneys. Awards can be significantly higher for severe, lifelong injuries.
How Lawyers Gather The Evidence
Now for the part most people get wrong…
You can’t simply show up to court and proclaim “the doctor was negligent.” You must have evidence. Solid, documented evidence. Here’s how a birth injury lawyer constructs it.
Medical Records Review
A lawyer begins by obtaining all medical records associated with the birth. This includes prenatal care notes, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, nurse’s notes of observations, etc. Everything is reviewed. An expert eye will notice omissions, inconsistencies, and indicators of negligence.
Fetal Monitoring Strips
Fetal heart rate monitoring strips are gold in birth injury cases.
Why? Because they document the baby’s heart rate during labour. Birth injury attorneys will search for decelerations in fetal heart rate, abnormal patterns, indications of oxygen loss, and time stamps of delayed reaction.
If the medical team missed obvious warning signs, that is strong evidence of negligence.
Expert Witnesses
Truth about birth injury cases… You can’t win one without a great expert witness. Medical malpractice cases are technical and the jury wants someone to tell them, in layman’s terms, what happened.
They review the records, and testify that the doctor or hospital didn’t meet the standard of care. If you don’t have them, it’s just one person saying something against another.
Common Types Of Medical Negligence During Birth
Malpractice does not cause every birth injury. However, there are certain types of mistakes that occur repeatedly in birth injury lawsuits.
The most common include:
- Failure to monitor — Failure to adequately monitor the baby’s heart rate during labour
- Delayed C-section — Waiting too long to do a cesarean because the baby is having difficulty
- Improper use of tools — Mishandling forceps or vacuum extractors
- Medication errors — Giving the wrong drug or dose during labour
- Failure to diagnose — Missing conditions like preeclampsia or gestational diabetes
OB-GYN doctors are sued for malpractice more frequently than any other medical specialty. According to research, over 60% of obstetrician-gynecologists have been sued at least once during their career. Keep in mind, that statistic illustrates just how often these mistakes occur.
Bringing It All Together
Establishing medical negligence in a birth injury claim is challenging. However, with the right attorney, it is possible. Let’s review:
- A birth injury lawyer must prove duty, breach, causation, and damages
- Medical records and fetal monitoring strips are critical evidence
- Expert witnesses make or break the case
- Most cases settle out of court without a trial
If you believe your child was injured due to medical negligence, do not hesitate. Each state has what is known as a statute of limitations and you only have a certain window of time to file a claim.
The earlier you talk to a birth injury attorney, the better chance you have at getting justice for your family.
