There are some attorneys who do a lot of work representing families who have a child with a birth injury. A Dallas birth injury lawyer will be familiar with Texas law, the obligations of doctors and healthcare facilities and birth injuries itself enough to determine whether or not pursuing a lawsuit would be worth your effort. Your lawyer, however, will only be able to help in certain cases. Some of the common lawsuits over birth injuries include cases where:
- The doctor was responsible for the birth injury through negligence
- The healthcare facility was negligent in some regard
- The condition could have been prevented by action that wasn’t taken
- The Cerebral Palsy was the result of the wrong medical treatment
There are plenty of instances where doctors are the proximate causes of birth injuries because of their actions or their inaction. In these cases, the attorney will file a lawsuit against the doctor for damages. These damages can be sought on the part of the child, the parents or both.
Healthcare facilities and, sometimes, even medical equipment manufacturers, can be held liable for negligence, as well. For example, certain types of infections can result in brain injuries that cause cerebral palsy. When this is the case, the attorney may be able to file a lawsuit against the agency responsible.
Your attorney will help you to reach a figure that you want to seek in damages. This can be tough. You may find yourself wondering how you place a price tag on someone having a birth injury, but here are some items that are usually included in the calculation of the award being sought:
- Previous, current and future medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- The cost of equipment such as wheelchairs
The lawyer you hire will usually meet with you for free the first time. This is because they need to determine if they can even help you. If they work on contingency, they don’t get paid unless they win your claim, so there’s no motivation for them to pursue a case if they think it’s going to lose.
The consultation should be sought out as soon as possible. There are limitations on how long you have to file a lawsuit, so you’ll want to ask an attorney how long you have remaining. If you decide that you’re interested, the attorney will want to get together and see if they’re the right person to represent you and your family in court.