The Basics of Filing a Birth Injury Claim

Posted on: 13 February 2019

The idea that a birth injury left you or your child seriously harmed can leave you feeling at a loss when deciding what to do. Do you hire a birth injury lawyer and sue? Who should you pursue action against? How does the process even work? Here are the basics you need to know about filing a birth injury claim.

There Most Likely Won't Be a Lawsuit

Doctors and medical organizations typically carry insurance coverage, and their policies are in place to ensure that a claim can be paid out when something terrible does happen. In the majority of cases, the interaction is primarily between birth injury lawyers on one side and a claims adjuster on the other side.

What Type of Case Is a Birth Injury Claim?

A standard birth injury case is considered a type of personal injury lawsuit. The parents are typically the plaintiffs, and doctors, medical staff, and even organizations like hospitals and clinics can be named as defendants.

Although relatively rare, the most common exception to the personal injury case pattern is if a piece of equipment is defective. In such instances, there's a possibility that there could be a separate product liability case, especially if it's clear that no medical malpractice occurred.

Types of Birth Injury Cases

Due to the wide range of complications that can arise from medical malpractice, a lot of different injuries can be included in a claim. Physical injuries to both mothers and children are the most obvious ones, as are costs incurred from the additional care that a child or a parent may require. Emotional harm inflicted on partners also can be included in claims, and this extends to issues like loss of enjoyment and companionship from a relationship.

Filing Deadlines

Birth injury cases are frequently treated by state laws as special cases relative to other personal injury and medical malpractice cases. For example, the state of Illinois has statutes that allow plaintiffs to seek compensation up to 8 years after an injury occurred. This is compared to a standard of two years for other kinds of medical malpractice.

The Process

The doctor's insurer will receive a formal notice of intent to seek compensation from your birth injury lawyers. An adjuster will be assigned, and that person will evaluate the validity of the claim. If they accept the premise of the claim, they will provide your counsel with a settlement offer.

For more information or assistance, contact a law firm like Snyder & Wenner, P.C.

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