Sometimes after a child suffers a brain injury, a lawsuit is the last thing on the minds of the parents and family; however, a brain injury settlement is critical to providing the child with the treatment and care he’ll require for the rest of his life.
It is difficult to estimate how much a brain injury settlement could be worth or how the medical malpractice claim will proceed because there are so many types of birth injuries. Some birth injuries may require expensive treatment but cause no lasting damage. Birth injuries that cause brain injuries, developmental disorders, and permanent damage will require extremely expensive care and treatment. Over the course of the child’s life, these treatments could total millions of dollars.
Type of Brain injury
After a child suffers a brain injury, the parents will first have to determine if the brain injury is serious and if it was caused by negligence or malpractice. During a long and difficult delivery, it is common for the baby to have bruising or swelling on his head, subconjunctival hemorrhages, and other injuries. Most birth injuries are very minor, and the child will slowly recover without needing treatment. In these cases, a malpractice claim is unnecessary and a brain injury settlement is very unlikely.
With that being said, some deliveries result in grave birth injuries. If the infant was not delivered carefully, bruises and injuries can be much more serious. Skull fractures and hemorrhages can cause serious damage to the infant’s brain. In some cases, an infant’s brain may not receive enough oxygen or blood, and this can result in permanent and life-threatening complications. Neurological conditions and other disorders may make it impossible for the child to live a comfortable life without constant treatment and care, and this will be extremely expensive.
Liability and Negligence
In some deliveries, emergencies or accidents will occur that even the most experienced medical staff cannot prepare for or prevent. Additionally, maternal conditions such as smoking, drug use, and infections can make a delivery much more difficult and dangerous for the child. If an injury is suffered after this type of delivery, it can be difficult to determine if the injury was a result of those conditions or actions by the physician and nurses.
Ultimately, you will need to evaluate if the medical staff exercised reasonable care. If they were reasonable in their medical decisions and actions, you may not be able to receive a brain injury settlement. You will also have to evaluate if the average medical professional would have acted differently or performed the delivery more successfully. If this is not the case in your situation, then a brain injury settlement may not be possible.
The Amount of the Brain injury Settlement
Birth injuries and their effects will be very different case-to-case. The amount you can expect to receive will completely depend on the facts of your case including the type of injury, the expected costs of treatment, and the degree of negligence or malpractice. Generally, you will seek a settlement that covers current medical expenses, future medical and therapeutic expenses, future care, and compensation for impairment or disability.
It is very important that you create a life care plan, so that you can estimate the total costs of therapy, treatment, surgery, and care that the child will need throughout his life. This will play a large part in determining the size of the settlement and will ensure that you do not settle for an amount that doesn’t adequately cover the total costs of the injury.
Throughout the process, it is very important that you get the help of an attorney who has experience with brain injury settlements. An experienced attorney can help you evaluate your case, estimate total costs, file the claim, and negotiate the settlement.
