Having a child is the most special time in any parent’s life. Unfortunately, children are not always born healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of every thirty-three babies will suffer some type of birth defect in the United States. While some defects cannot be attributable to the fault of any person, others are related to medical negligence.
In these cases, it is your legal right to hold all who were involved in the birthing process responsible for their negligence. If you or someone you know has questions about legal liability relating to infant birth injuries, contact a Davidson County birth injury lawyer. Speak with a qualified medical malpractice attorney to learn about this area of law.
Who is Responsible for Birth Injuries?
In cases involving a birth injury or birth defect, the doctor is the first person many lawyers look to for answers. But this is just the beginning. In addition to the doctor, hospitals, medical staff, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, anesthesiologists, and healthcare facilities can also be held responsible. A Davidson County birth injury lawyer’s role is to name any person who could potentially be liable in the lawsuit. It is then the defendant’s responsibility to research the law and determine whether they should be held accountable or not.
In many of these lawsuits, the insurance company behind the scenes is the entity that will ultimately be responsible for providing financial compensation. This helps to protect victims by making financial compensation available for the mistakes, accidents, errors, and omissions of medical professionals.
What Must be Proven in a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Davidson County?
Birth injury cases are typically concerned with allegations of medical malpractice, while birth defect lawsuits generally involve products liability causes of action. In both cases, the basic principles of negligence are examined by a court of law.
Duty
The wrongdoer, also referred to as the tortfeasor, must have owed some type of responsibility, or duty, to the injured party. Hospitals and support staff generally have a contractual obligation to provide certain services to patients under their care. Doctors generally have a duty to operate in the manner that a reasonably prudent doctor under similar circumstances should act or a standard of care. This prevents some completely unrelated party from being wrongfully sued.
Breach
The tortfeasor must have failed to uphold their duty to the injured party. Examples of this breach include:
Causation
The breach of duty must be the proximate cause of the injury. This can sometimes be confusing to understand. For instance, if a doctor failed to administer a certain drug, that could be negligence. But, it must also be proven that this negligence caused the injury. If the defense can prove that the negligence was unrelated to the injury, the claim could potentially be dismissed.
Damages
This element requires that the victim actually suffer harm. In some cases, damages are easy to measure or quantify. But in a case where the doctor, hospital, anesthesiologist, and nurse are all sued because a baby was born with cerebral palsy as a result of a lack of oxygen during labor – how should damages be quantified? Jurors often struggle with these types of complex legal issues.
Contacting a Davidson County Birth Injury Attorney
If you have questions about your case, contact a Davidson County birth injury lawyer to learn more about filing a suit to protect your legal interests. An attorney can work with you to discuss your legal rights, help you to learn about your options, and work to obtain justice for you and your loved ones.
The insurance company has a legal team. You should too.
