Medical professionals, healthcare providers, and hospital employees are legally and ethically obligated to provide care to every patient they treat with the utmost skill. This is especially important when it comes to delivering a child and ensuring the newborn is brought into the world without harm or any debilitating injuries.
If your child has suffered one of the thousands of birth injuries that occur each year, a birth injury lawyer in North Carolina can help your family get justice for the negligent and reckless actions a medical caregiver made. No family should go through this alone. That’s why it’s important to have a qualified and compassionate legal team by your side.
For a free legal consultation, call 1-800-222-9529
Who Is to Blame for Your Child’s Birth Injuries?
Negligence can occur anywhere and it’s extremely devastating when it happens in a hospital, or at the hands of a medical professional. Birth injuries can typically be attributed to any of the following individuals:
- Obstetricians and gynaecologists (OB-GYNs)
- Delivery nurses
- Prenatal nurses
- Hospital administrators
While your birth injury lawyer will need to thoroughly review your medical records and collect evidence, your claim will likely be against the hospital where the injury occurred. You’ll be dealing with the hospital’s strong legal team and their insurance company.
Because of vicarious liability outlined in N.C.P.I.—Civil 809.66, employers can be held liable for the actions of their employees in a civil claim.
Errors Medical Professionals Make Can Cause a Birth Injury
The moment you suspect that your baby has suffered a birth injury, you should seek help from a skilled attorney. Some examples of common mistakes medical professionals make that can cause birth injuries include:
- Not diagnosing complications during pregnancy
- Improperly caring for the mother and fetus during the prenatal phase
- Misuse of birth assistance tools
- Not monitoring the vital signs of the infant or the mother
- Failing to order a timely C-section in emergency situations
- Failing to respond to signs of fetal distress
While this only represents a fraction of the negligent actions that can cause birth injuries, a birth injury attorney can investigate the specifics on what went wrong and who is to blame because you, your child, and your family deserve justice and compensation.
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A North Carolina Birth Injury Lawyer Can Identify Medical Negligence
The focus of your medical malpractice lawsuit will be to identify what the healthcare provider should have done in those circumstances, and instead how their actions caused your baby harm. In order to prove negligence, your birth injury lawyer will help you identify:
- There was a relationship between the medical professional, the mother, and the baby.
- An underlined duty of care to take medical responsibility for the patient was established.
- The healthcare provider has a standard of care based on their expertise
Your North Carolina birth injury attorney will collect evidence to prove the link between your baby’s type of birth injury, the at-fault party’s reckless actions, and the economic losses your family is facing. When you hire a qualified lawyer, they have resources such as access to medical experts to look into the events leading up to the injury.
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Damages in a North Carolina Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
Your birth injury lawyer in North Carolina can prove that a healthcare provider or other medical professional acted with negligence, and their actions directly caused your baby’s injuries. Your family is entitled to full compensation for damages such as:
- Current and future medical bills
- Special and home care assistance expenses
- Parent’s lost income for time spent away from work tending to their child’s needs
- Your child’s pain and suffering
Because the victim is a minor, a parent will file the birth injury lawsuit on their behalf. Damages recovered legally belong to the infant and are generally placed in a trust. North Carolina caps non-economic damages at $500,000, as per Code §90-21.19.
Loss of Parental Consortium Damages
Family members may be eligible to receive additional compensation for what is known as loss of parental consortium. If, because of your child’s birth injury, you have been deprived of having the same relationship with your baby that they would have otherwise had, this emotional loss and non-economic damage can be recovered.
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How a North Carolina Birth Injury Lawyer Can Handle Your Case
While you shift your attention solely on your baby and tending to their extra care, a birth injury lawyer in North Carolina can handle every aspect of your case as well as inform you of your legal options. An attorney will:
- File your medical malpractice claim
- Negotiate with the hospital’s insurance company and legal team
- Offer advice regarding recovery
- Complete all paperwork on your behalf
- Total your damages and assign your case a total monetary value
- Hire a medical expert to investigate the causes of your baby’s injury and testify that malpractice took place.
North Carolina law has issued a statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. Your family has three years from the day your infant was injured, or when it can reasonably be assumed they were injured, to file your claim. If you miss this date, you could miss your opportunity to financially recover.
Birth Injuries Can Permanently Affect Your Child’s Life
The full scope of how a birth injury will impact a child’s life and its long-term effects are something a family may not be able to foresee. Infants injured at birth and later diagnosed with a permanent disability may:
- Have to attend many doctor appointments and go through years of tests and surgeries
- Spend years in treatment and therapy to restore function they lost as a result of their injury
- Need special accommodations for transportation, schooling, and other parts of their life
- Require a caregiver’s assistance
- Endure and fight the challenges of their condition for years to come
Every parent wants to make sure their child has access to every resource they need. With a birth injury attorney’s help, they can get just that, as well as the finances to supplement the care they require.
Contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group in North Carolina Today
At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, we will fight to help you obtain any awards that you are entitled to because of medical negligence. Our team of North Carolina birth injury lawyers are prepared to fight for your family’s rights and secure the compensation you deserve.
The lifelong obligations, responsibilities, and costs that come with a birth injury can take a toll on families. To show you that we are here for you, our attorneys work on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you do not pay a thing unless you are awarded fair compensation. Give us a call to get started with your free consultation.
Call or text 1-800-222-9529
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