Doctors Make Mistakes, Too: 4 Reasons You May Need to Hire a Birth Injury Lawyer
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran
If you suspect that you or your child are the victim of a birth injury or fetal distress that resulted from medical negligence, hiring a birth injury attorney is an important step in achieving the settlement you deserve for the injuries incurred.
Like any professional in any field, doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers make mistakes. However, in the medical profession, a mistake at the office does not equate to a missed deadline or a lost account: It can result in physical and mental impairment like cerebral palsy that a child suffers from for the rest of their life.
Doctors have a duty of care to the patients they serve, including you and your child, and if mistakes are made that could and should have been avoided had proper protocol been followed, they should be held accountable for you or your child’s birth injury.
The following are four reasons you should consider hiring a birth injury lawyer in Michigan if you suspect that you may have a medical negligence or malpractice claim.
1. Medical malpractice lawyers can help you determine if you have a claim
Giving birth is a complex and difficult process during which unavoidable birth injuries can occur for a number of reasons. While many of the more common and mild injuries that occur during birth – such as bruising, fractures, and umbilical cord complications – may not be preventable, others are the direct result of a mistake that was made during the process by a medical team and are grounds for a birth injury lawsuit. An example of this could be avoidable oxygen deprivation for the child resulting in complications.
The first step in pursuing compensation in birth injury cases is determining whether the injuries sustained were the result of medical malpractice or negligence or an unfortunate outcome of the complicated delivery process. That is, you will have to determine if the injuries are birth injuries or birth defects.
In some cases, a doctor may try to pass an instance of medical negligence or malpractice off as a birth defect. Birth injury attorneys have the expertise and experience to investigate the circumstances surrounding the injury and help you determine if you have a claim based on proper delivery methods and standards of care.
One important thing to keep in mind is that according to Michigan law the statute of limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit is within two years of the malpractice occurring or within six months after the damages were discovered by the victim. There is an exception for those victims who have received extensive damage to their reproductive organs which can occur due to birth trauma set on by medical malpractice.
2. Achieve the appropriate compensation for your damages
The first step in achieving compensation is determining exactly which damages you are due. While this may seem straightforward, stipulating an actual sum for the cost of damages is a very nuanced and detailed procedure.
Lawyers specializing in medical malpractice do more than consider the compensation required for addressing the financial burden of a birth injury today. They factor in the pain and suffering you have experienced as well.
They look at the situation and determine the comprehensive list of expenses that are involved in your case, such as loss of income due to missed work, loss of life enjoyment, in-home medical costs, potential counseling costs, present and future medical costs, home modification costs, and physical therapy funds, just to name a few.
This requires extensive knowledge of the medical field and its associated costs, and if you are unaware of all the expenses you may possibly incur, you will not know to include them in your total damages. Your lawyer can also access your medical records to have a more holistic and accurate view of your case to determine the appropriate amount of compensation.
3. Hold doctors accountable and improve quality of care standards
Make no mistake, caring for a prenatal child, and delivering that child are complicated processes that take years of medical training and experience.
However, though each pregnancy certainly presents risks, many of the risks involved can be managed if a trained medical team administers the proper medical attention.
In cases in which medical professionals either knowingly deviate from or do not uphold that standard, they should be held accountable. Pursuing a birth injury claim with the help of the experts at your local medical malpractice law firm in Michigan is about achieving due compensation for your family, but it is also about mitigating the chances that the same medical team or facility will make the same mistake in the future.
Holding doctors to account protects newborns from potential harm and enforces the standard of care that expectant families in Michigan deserve.
4. Birth injury lawyers protect you and your child’s rights and provide peace of mind
Eileen Kroll, with Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., is a registered nurse and attorney who will advocate for you and your child’s rights to adequate treatment and the compensation that you are due for incurred damages.
More than that, however, Eileen Kroll will work to give you peace of mind in a troubling and stressful time and allow you and your family to focus on the needs of your child.
If you suspect your newborn suffered a birth injury due to negligent care, please call Eileen Kroll at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. 1-866-MICH-LAW for a free consultation. There is no fee until we win.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.
