Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injury Legal Help

FAQ: Birth Injury Lawyers

What is a birth injury lawyer?

Birth injury lawyers belong to a subset of medical malpractice attorneys that specialize in cases involving birth injuries.

If you decide to pursue a birth injury claim, your attorney will guide you through the legal process from the beginning to the end, first evaluating your case at no cost to you. If you qualify and want to move forward with taking legal action against the medical personnel that caused your child’s birth injury, your attorney will build a case against those at fault.

Your birth injury lawyer will then file your lawsuit in the appropriate court of law and gather additional evidence to support your case and secure a successful outcome.

What does my lawyer have to prove in a lawsuit?

Your birth injury attorney will have to prove that your health care team was medically negligent and directly responsible for your child’s birth injury.

Your lawyer will gather several forms of evidence to support your claim, including an exact timeline of events during childbirth, as well as medical records and documents proving the medical professionals committed medical malpractice.

Experienced birth injury attorneys have access to databases with medical information that can help support your case and prove the care providers were negligent.

How do I find a birth injury lawyer?

The best and most experienced birth injury lawyers work for nationally renowned law firms and are available to handle cases across the United States.

Connect with an experienced birth injury attorney in your state. Get a free case review today.

FAQ: Birth Injury Lawsuits

What is a birth injury lawsuit?

A birth injury lawsuit is a claim filed against the hospital, doctor, or another health care professional that was responsible for your child’s birth injury.

A lawsuit can provide your family with financial compensation to help pay for your child’s lifetime medical expenses. The amount of compensation awarded in a birth injury lawsuit tends to vary widely, but an experienced birth injury attorney can give you a better idea regarding how much your case may be worth.

Who can be sued for a birth injury caused by medical malpractice?

Generally, the defendants in a birth injury lawsuit are the medical staff that helped deliver your baby. This medical staff may include your obstetrician, nurse, or any other medical personnel that was negligent with the care of your child during delivery.

In some cases, you may sue the hospital where your baby was delivered.

How long does a lawsuit take?

Since every case is different, it can be difficult to specify how long your lawsuit will take to reach a conclusion. In general, birth injury lawsuits last for several months to several years.

Your birth injury attorney will try to resolve your case as quickly and fairly as possible, keeping you updated on the progression from start to finish.

What is the statute of limitations for a birth injury lawsuit?

Generally, you should file a birth injury lawsuit sooner rather than later. The statute of limitations sets a limit on how much time you have to file your lawsuit from when your child sustained their birth injury. If you wait too long and decide to file past the time limit, your right to sue may be lost forever.

The statute of limitations for birth injury lawsuits varies by each state. It is essential to consult with an experienced birth injury attorney in your area to learn more about the statute of limitations in your state.

FAQ: Birth Injury Law Firms

Which birth injury law firms have experience?

When considering a birth injury lawsuit, finding a law firm with experience is crucial.

When your child has a birth injury that may have been caused by medical negligence, you need answers to your questions. We know that at the beginning, the very idea of pursuing a birth injury lawsuit may seem overwhelming. A birth injury law firm with experience can be there for you every step of the way.

We can help you find a law firm that has extensive knowledge about:

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Erb’s palsy, also known as brachial plexus palsy
  • Other birth injuries
  • How medical negligence could have caused the injury
  • How to file a birth injury lawsuit or claim
  • Whom to file a lawsuit against
  • How long you have to start legal action after your child’s birth
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Where can I find a top law firm?

If you suspect that your child was harmed as a result of medical negligence, you may be looking for a local law firm to help you get the compensation you need for medical bills and other expenses.

Working with a local firm may seem convenient, but it may not be equipped to properly handle your case. Birth injury lawsuits are complex and highly dependent on state laws and regulations. For this reason, many families choose to work with a firm that has offices and attorneys all across the United States.

By consulting a law firm with a nationwide reach, you can feel confident that your legal team will understand all the intricacies of medical malpractice and negligence cases in your state.

FAQ: Lawsuit Costs and Compensation

How much does a medical malpractice lawsuit cost?

Top birth injury lawyers provide an initial consultation free-of-charge. If your firm is successful in securing compensation for you and your family, you will only pay a small percentage of the winnings to cover legal fees.

Your family will get to keep the majority of the compensation and will not have to pay anything if your case is not successful. This is called a contingency fee agreement.

What is the difference between a settlement and a trial?

Most birth injury lawsuits will resolve with an out-of-court settlement. Birth injury settlements allow the case to come to a conclusion quicker, in turn, helping your family receive compensation sooner.

The amount of compensation awarded in a settlement depends on the severity of your child’s birth injury, the estimated amount of lifetime medical costs, and other factors.

That said, some birth injury cases do go to trial, in which a judge and jury hear arguments from both legal teams and then reach a decision on who wins. The trial process can add a significant amount of time to your lawsuit, and if your side loses, you may not receive any money at all.

Birth Injury Support Team

The Birth Injury Justice Center was founded in 2003 by a team of legal professionals to educate and empower victims and families affected by birth injuries. Our team is devoted to providing you with the best resources and legal information for all types of birth injuries.

View Sources
  1. Bal, B. (2009, February). An introduction to medical malpractice in the United States. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2628513/
  2. David Goguen, J. (2020, February 11). Personal injury case timeline. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/timeline-personal-injury-lawsuit.html
  3. Lee, C. (2017, October 26). What is a contingency fee? Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-is-a-contingency-fee.html
  4. Statute of limitations. (n.d.). Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/statute_of_limitations