Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a birth injury characterized by a lack of blood and oxygen flow to a newborn’s brain. Depending on how long this deficiency lasted, your child may be at an increased risk of permanent disability or death.
Let a Bolingbrook hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer protect your rights and hold the at-fault party responsible. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 for more information.
Determining Who You Can Sue for in an HIE Case
Very often, HIE is caused by a reckless action or inaction on the part of a medical provider. For instance, it is your provider’s duty to monitor your child’s heart rate and breathing during the delivery. This is especially important if you (or your partner) had a difficult pregnancy or labor.
If the child shows any sign of distress, your provider can and should do something to resolve the problem. In some cases, your child’s injury may have been caused by the health care facility as a whole rather than a single provider. Your physician may have wanted to handle your child’s case differently, but they were hampered by a facility policy or a lack of resources.
Whether your physician or the facility is guilty of negligence, this is called medical malpractice. Malpractice cases, including those involving birth injuries, are tragically common in the U.S. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, a quarter of a million Americans die from malpractice-related injuries every year. This is in addition to the people who survive their injuries and must live with the consequences.
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Asking for the Compensation You Deserve
Birth injuries can cause you and your newborn a great deal of distress. In the short term, your child was physically traumatized by your health care provider’s incompetence. In the long term, they may struggle in school or require lifelong care.
The legal term for such consequences is “non-economic damages.” Compensable causes of physical and emotional harm include:
- Disability: The HIE left your child with permanent physical and/or intellectual disabilities.
- Pain and suffering: Your child suffered physically during and after birth, and they will have physical and emotional struggles throughout their life.
- Loss of consortium: Your child passed away, depriving you of the chance to raise them and develop a close relationship.
- Reduced quality of life: The injury prevents your child from ever living a pain-free, independent life.
Economic Damages
You may also qualify for economic damages, which will help you afford any additional expenses generated by the birth injury. Examples may include:
- Education costs: Your child’s disability means they will need access to additional educational tools, like specially trained teachers or therapists.
- Medical expenses: Your child needed extra treatment during or after birth, or they will require lifelong care to manage symptoms caused by HIE.
- Funeral expenses: If you had to bury your child, you may be reimbursed for the cost of laying them to rest.
- Loss of income: You and/or your partner had to cut back on working hours to take care of your child, so you have less money to spend on your child’s needs.
Whatever compensation you receive will be paid out by your provider’s professional liability insurance. If your provider is not insured, you may run into additional complications.
Bolingbrook Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer Near Me (800) 222-9529
What an Attorney Can Do for Your Case
It is natural that you should wish to spend this time at home with your child rather than in a courtroom fighting an insurance company. Fortunately, there is an easier way to pursue the compensation your family needs—hire an attorney to do the fighting for you.
There are many complex tasks associated with filing and fighting a lawsuit. Your lawyer can handle all of them, including:
- Advising and guiding you: The legal process is long and intimidating. Your lawyer would be happy to guide you through it and help you make important decisions.
- Filling out forms: This may seem simple, but even a small error or one missed deadline can end your case.
- Investigating the malpractice: Your testimony, while valuable, is often not enough to make the insurance company pay. An investigation can turn up substantiating evidence from medical records, expert testimony, and more.
- Meeting with the insurance company: If the insurance company is amenable, your lawyer may be able to get your money quicker by negotiating a pretrial settlement.
- Preparing for a trial: Your attorney can submit evidence to a judge, find witnesses to question on the stand and represent you in the courtroom.
- Maintaining the lines of communication: We will talk with the liable party on your behalf and contact you whenever there is a big development in your case.
If you are reluctant to invest in a lawyer due to the cost, you do not have to be. Many law firms will agree to work for what is known as a contingency fee. You pay them nothing upfront, and they only receive a fee once your case is concluded and you have recovered compensation. No compensation for you means no fee for them.
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Call Our Firm to Get Started
A Bolingbrook hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer can help you protect your child’s rights and future. Get in touch with the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 to schedule a free case review with a member of our team. We are proud to serve communities across the country, including Bolingbrook, Illinois.
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