It is incredibly difficult to even think about a birth injury lawsuit in the days or weeks following your child's birth. After all, you had plans and visions of what these first precious days would be like and they never involved calls to lawyers or heated arguments with your hospital. However, should something happen during your baby's delivery, you must contemplate the best "next steps" after a birth injury and that means getting ready to file a birth injury lawsuit.
While it will be very hard to remain calm as you think about the injury and the outcome - which might be weeks of therapy and rehab or a life of disability - your clear-headedness is going to be important. Why? It can be easy to make mistakes that alter the possible outcome of your lawsuit.
The Steps to Take
To help get you focused and started, here are the steps you will use in the days after your child has sustained a birth injury:- Retain a birth injury lawyer - Do not hesitate to get started on this process even as you recover from the incident. In fact, it is often extremely useful if you can find representation with a firm specializing in birth injuries before you even leave the hospital. If not, at least get the ball rolling by researching medical malpractice firms and those that specialize in birth injury.
- Work to get documents and statements - The sooner you and your birth injury lawyer begin gathering evidence, the more likely you can prove the medical malpractice. Most birth injuries are found to have been avoidable, and though hospitals and doctors cannot conceal evidence, it can be challenging to get witness statements many weeks or months later. Having an attorney gather such evidence immediately is usually quite effective in building a strong lawsuit.
- Be very careful with doctors and hospital staff - Everything you say or do in the days following the birth injury will probably play a role in the outcome of your lawsuit. For one thing, it can be hard to accept that the people in charge of your child's safety (and that of the mother's too) have allowed something horrible to happen. These are often people you have gotten close to in the weeks and months leading up to delivery and you have put your full trust in them. It is easy to refuse that they are negligent, but most of the time they are the ones who failed in their duties and caused the injury. So, be very careful in your conversations and do not say anything to anyone about guilt.
- Do not sign anything or take payments - Insurance companies know that a birth injury lawsuit is going to come from such an incident and they will often work hard to get parents to settle quickly and outside of a courtroom. Even when the dollar amount offered seems enormous, you must not accept the offer before you create a Life Care Plan and consult with your attorney. Committing to any sort of settlement now will negate your chances for a realistic and reasonable settlement in the court.