If your child is injured while being born or while in the hospital just after being born, the hospital will conduct an investigation to determine how that injury occurred. There will be cases where parents will find out that the injury was the direct result of physician negligence of some sort. It may mean that the physician used an inappropriate treatment, that the physician delayed a treatment that was necessary long before it was delivered or that the physician failed to notice something that should’ve been addressed during childbirth.
This puts parents in a very tough situation. One of the hardest things about dealing with any type of medical malpractice is quite simply the fact that most people don’t really have any medical expertise of their own. Most parents are going to find themselves having to take the word of whomever conducted the investigation and will have their hands full dealing with the consequences of the injuries. For example, new parents may find out that their child has cerebral palsy because of the injuries and that means that the child’s medical needs are going to be a lot more sophisticated and demanding than the medical needs of a child born without any injuries.
Options
You may have options presented to you as a result of the birth injury. For example, the insurance company for the hospital or the physician may offer you a settlement designed to take care of your child’s injuries. Unfortunately, you have to realize that the settlement will have been calculated to be as low as possible while still persuading you to not pursue a legal claim against whomever was responsible. If you have one of these settlements presented to you as an offer, you want to get an attorney before you sign anything. Without an attorney, you can’t be sure what you’re giving up in terms of your right to pursue compensation.
Birth injuries from medical mistakes sometimes allow the families to sue successfully for damages. This money is oftentimes awarded to the child themselves, which ensures that the child has the financial wherewithal to provide for themselves when they get older. Many people who suffer birth injuries when they’re born have injuries that make it nearly impossible for them to hold a job or even take care of everyday tasks. Without this money, the child may be in real trouble once they get older, but pursuing a lawsuit may alleviate that concern.