If your child was injured in the pregnancy or delivery process due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, you may be able to receive financial compensation by filing a birth injury lawsuit.Â
You can file a birth injury lawsuit against whichever party is responsible for harming your child whether it be a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other medical professionals. During the lawsuit, your birth injury lawyer will work to help you file, build, and present your case in order to help you recover compensation for your medical bills, healthcare costs, and more.
In this article, we’ll offer a step-by-step overview of the process you’ll need to follow if you decide to file a birth injury lawsuit. Note that, while most lawsuits follow the same general process, each case is different and not all lawsuits will reach every step we list below.Â
The first step in the process will be to reach out to a birth injury lawyer with experience and expertise working cases like yours. They will most likely give you a free consultation during which they review the facts of your case. Afterward, both of you will be able to decide whether or not you want to move forward with working together to file the case.Â
It is possible that your lawyer will determine that it is advisable to ask the responsible party for compensation before officially filing a lawsuit. If this is the case, they will send a demand letter explaining why you believe the healthcare provider caused a birth injury and how much compensation you are requesting. If they accept, you will be able to receive compensation without having to file a lawsuit.Â
If the defendant rejects your demand letter - or if you skip the above step - you will begin the process of preparing to file a formal lawsuit. As part of this process, you will need to establish some basic facts, including:
This information will help your lawyer estimate the strength and value of your case.
With the basic facts in hand, your attorney will file your case in the appropriate court. The court will process the lawsuit and send a notice to the defendants (the party you are suing), giving them a specific number of days to respond. If they do not respond in time, you will automatically win the case.Â
If your case moves forward, the next step is to gather evidence to support your claims. This requires an in-depth review of exactly what happened in order to build as strong of an argument as possible proving that the defendant did not meet their duty of care. Possible evidence you may use includes:
The other side will also collect their own evidence to disprove your claims.
It is very common for birth injury lawsuits to settle outside of court through a settlement, or an official agreement resolving the dispute. If you are able to negotiate and agree upon a settlement, you do not have to continue with further legal action. Most birth injury attorneys aim for a settlement because it allows the case to conclude more quickly, getting you your compensation faster and avoiding further legal costs. Â
If you are unable to agree on a settlement, your case will move on to the trial phase. During the trial, the judge and jury will hear arguments from both sides and make a decision about who wins and who loses. If you win, you will receive compensation – potentially more than you would have in a settlement. However, if you lose, you will not be awarded any money at all.
The losing side in the case has the option to appeal the trial decision such that the case will be reviewed again by a higher court. The process of trials and appeals can go on for months or even years. From beginning to end, most birth injury lawsuits that go to trial will take two to four years to resolve.Â
If you are ready to proceed with your birth injury lawsuit, contact a birth injury attorney today to schedule your free consultation.
