Childbirth is supposed to be a joyous and memorable moment for the expectant parents, but it can also become a tragic event in an instant if the baby comes out with a birth injury that’s not your fault. No one wants their baby to come out with a birth injury caused by the negligence of a doctor. But if this is what happened to you, know that you have the right to take some legal actions against the parties responsible for the birth injury of your baby.
How Do Birth Injuries Occur?
There are a lot of reasons why birth injuries to baby can occur, but the most common of them is the negligence of a medical professional. Doctors might know everything about labor and delivery, but they are still prone to making mistakes during the procedure. Here are some common mistakes that doctors often commit during the delivery procedure:
Twisting or pulling the baby aggressively during the delivery procedure.
Wrong use of birth assisting tools.
Wrong medicine or dosage given during delivery.
Failing to perform an emergency cesarean section even though it’s already clear that you can’t deliver the baby the usual way.
Failure to provide full attention to the delivery procedure performed.
Still performing a child delivery procedure even though the baby is clearly not okay.
Taking over a high-risk child delivery procedure even though the medical practitioner is not skilled or experienced enough to do it.
Legal Actions to Take If Your Baby Has a Birth Injury
Yes, you can file a lawsuit with the help of medical malpractice attorneys against the doctor that’s responsible for the birth injury of your baby, but you have to have proof of the medical malpractice or negligence.
You can only file a lawsuit against the medical professional that you had a doctor-patient relationship with.
Take note that you can only file a lawsuit against your attending physician that supervised your childbirth.
As such, you must address your medical malpractice lawsuit to your attending physician only since he/she was the one that you had a doctor-patient relationship with from when you were still pregnant.
You are not allowed to include the other medical professionals that assisted during your delivery in your lawsuit, as you didn’t have any doctor-patient relationship with them.
Your attending physician was negligent during delivery.
Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare professional deviates from the standard medical care that they should supposedly provide.
You have to show proof that your attending physician was negligent during delivery.
Keep in mind that all medical professionals are really not required to do their best when they do their job. They just need to do their job with reasonable skill and care.
The medical negligence of your attending physician caused the birth injury of your baby.
You will only have a real chance of winning your lawsuit if you can prove that your baby’s birth injury was caused by the medical negligence of your attending physician during delivery. When looking for support, birth injury lawyer Baltimore can help.
Keep in mind that if you already had pregnancy complications before childbirth, you may not be able to sue him/her for medical negligence or medical malpractice.
To prove that birth injury of your baby was a direct result of your doctor’s negligence during delivery, you have to consult with a more knowledgeable or skilled medical expert. This should help prove that your doctor has indeed made a mistake or was being negligent during your child delivery procedure.
Show proof that your baby has suffered significantly because of the birth injury that resulted from the negligence of your doctor.
You also need to show proof of your baby’s birth injury that resulted from the negligence of your doctor and how your baby has been affected by it. If you can’t prove this to the court, your medical malpractice lawsuit will never win.
If you can prove to the court how your baby has suffered because of the birth injury that he/she has obtained due to the negligence of the doctor during delivery, you’ll be eligible for compensation for the damages caused by the said birth injury.
Although you have the right to file a lawsuit for the responsible medical professional, you have to make sure that you submit your claim within your states’ statute of limitations for medical malpractice. Because if you don’t, you’ll miss the chance to make the negligent doctor accountable for his/her mistakes
Childbirth is indeed one of the most important moments that an expecting parent can experience in their life. But if your baby came out with injuries that’s not your fault, know that you have the right to take legal action against the medical professional that harmed your baby during the child delivery procedure.
Disclaimer: This article is meant for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. Kindly refer to a licensed attorney with ample knowledge and experience on these legal matters to help you with your situation.
Irene Wall has been writing about law for more than a decade. She writes pieces on various law topics that she hopes could help the common reader with their concerns. She enjoys playing basketball with her sons during her free time.
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