If your child experienced hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) at birth, a law firm could help you find out if you qualify for compensation. If you do, a Berwyn hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer can collect evidence to support your medical malpractice case, represent you at settlement negotiations, and much more.
Contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 to speak with a member of our team today.
How HIE Can Affect Your Newborn
Your child’s HIE may have been preventable. There are some cases where a doctor or a nurse fails to monitor the infant’s vital signs closely enough or act quickly enough to address signs of neonatal distress.
In other cases, a policy at the healthcare facility you went to may have endangered your child by keeping appropriate medical professionals from being present and responding in a timely fashion.
While every case is different, the common factor is this: to receive compensation, you must prove that the care provider, medical team, or facility overseeing your delivery was negligent in their treatment of your child.
The team at the Birth Injury Lawyers Group understands that this experience has been difficult for you and your entire family. You should never have had to go through this ordeal. Call (800) 222-9529 at any time to find out if a Berwyn hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer can help you with your case.
"If your child was born with a birth injury, or cerebral palsy, we can help."
Economic vs. Non-Economic Compensation
A birth injury can upend your family’s life in so many ways. If there is evidence to support it, you can seek compensation for most, if not all, of the consequences you and your child suffered.
For example, economic damages can compensate you for the money you spent to ensure your child’s needs were met.
Economic Damages
Here are a few examples of economic damages:
- Medical expenses: Your child required life-saving treatment at birth, or they will need ongoing medical care.
- Travel expenses: Your child’s medical provider is far from your home, requiring you to spend extra time and money getting them to and from appointments.
- Loss of wages: Your child needed more care than you expected, so you or your partner took time off from work to look after them.
- Loss of employment: Your child’s needs have forced you or your partner to give up your career.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are a little different. They compensate you for the injury’s physical and emotional consequences on your child and your family. Examples can include but are not limited to:
- Physical pain and suffering: The injury caused or will continue to cause your child noticeable physical distress.
- Psychological pain and suffering: The long-term consequences of the HIE have caused your child mental and emotional distress.
- Quality of life: Your child will face far greater challenges than they would have if they had not suffered HIE. They may even need someone to care for them for the rest of their life.
- Disability: The birth injury left your child permanently disabled. This can refer to both physical and intellectual disabilities.
You may be wondering how it is possible to quantify non-economic damages. This is often a more difficult task than quantifying economic damages, as it requires estimating a monetary value. You may benefit from the assistance of a lawyer who knows how to value birth injury cases.
Berwyn Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer Near Me (800) 222-9529
You Deserve Legal Representation
In order to prove malpractice and recover compensation, your lawyer must show that your healthcare provider failed in their duty to provide your child with reasonable care and how that failure has caused irreparable harm to your baby.
Here is a quick look at how your lawyer may work to prove that your claim has merit and get you fair compensation.
We Can Advise You About Your Options
Even if you hire a lawyer to do the legwork, this is still your case. You have the right and responsibility to make the important decisions, including whether to accept a settlement or go to court. Your attorney can help you make the best possible choices by discussing your options with you and keeping you informed about any progress in your case.
We Can Build Up Your Case
This may involve collecting testimony from experts (e.g., other doctors), as well as your child’s medical records. Strong evidence may convince the liable party’s insurance company to pay what you need via a pretrial settlement rather than force you to take the liable party to court.
We Can Negotiate or Go to Court
As implied in the previous section, the liable party may not be the one to pay whatever compensation you are awarded. Instead, their medical malpractice insurance policy may cover your economic and non-economic damages.
Sometimes, the insurance company will agree to participate in pretrial negotiations to avoid the courtroom. Your lawyer can represent you at those meetings and draw up the paperwork for any agreement they reach. If the insurance company will not negotiate, your lawyer can represent you in the courtroom and present your case to a judge and jury.
"We know first-hand what you are going through."
Get Help from Our Team Today
As codified at 735 ILCS 5/13-212, your right to collect compensation expires after a few years. To take full advantage of this right, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 and hire a Berwyn hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer to fight on your behalf. We serve parents just like you from around the country, including Berwyn, Illinois.
"We are committed to helping families who have suffered medical negligence."