Physicians have a tremendous power in their hands. They can save a life, they can end a life by negligence, and sometimes they can cause serious birth injuries that will affect a person’s quality of life.
When they commit medical malpractice, they can (and should) be held liable for their negligence. It wasn’t your fault, so why should the financial burden fall to the victim and their family?
How Negligence is Determined
Medical malpractice is defined as care which falls below the accepted standard of practice in the medical community (i.e., something that any normal doctor in their position would know to avoid, know to check for, etc).
It may mean that they fail to deliver a necessary treatment in time or that they provide substandard treatment that causes more harm than good. Either way, if they did not uphold their duties to you as a patient and you suffered financial or physical harm as a result, it can be construed as negligence.
Your attorney determines if the case is worth pursuing, but only a jury will have the final say in whether or not negligence is what caused the problem that led to your child’s cerebral palsy. Not every case makes it to trial though; most are actually settled out of court.
What Your Lawyer Looks For
When a child is diagnosed with CP, there is an investigation launched to determine the cause of that condition. This is one of the places that your lawyer will look for evidence of negligence. They’ll also consult with experts and use other resources to make the determination as to where negligence may have been an issue.
Your lawyer will look for instances where your doctor delivered incompetent care or where they failed to deliver needed care. Most of the lawyers who handle cases related to cerebral palsy in infants usually have a lot of expertise in medical malpractice cases in general. Helping parents sue over a birth injury is only one of the services that they can provide.
There are some instances where it is difficult to determine whether or not you have a chance of winning a lawsuit. You can still call on an attorney for assistance in these cases. Ask for a free consultation. This is where the attorney sits down with you and goes over your case to determine the exact nature of the situation. If they find that you do, in fact, have cause to sue, they will explain your options moving forward.