(845) 802-0047When a child suffers a birth injury because of a negligent or careless medical provider, the parents or legal guardian could file a lawsuit. This may help hold the medical provider accountable and reduce the chance of the same injury occurring to another child. Schedule an appointment to speak with an attorney about Hudson Valley birth injury claims. A skilled birth injury attorney could review your case and work to identify legal options that may yield compensation.
What Legal Options Do Parents Have After a Birth Injury?
The family of a child who suffered a birth injury may have several legal options. After speaking with a dedicated birth injury attorney, they could file a lawsuit and take the case to trial or pursue a settlement offer. The specific claims involved may include requests for damages concerning physical injury and economic injury. The physical injury commonly refers to the change in the quality of their life as a result of their disability caused by a medical provider’s negligence. The economic harm would be the loss of income or the impairment of the earning capacity that the child might have as an adult.
When a case moves to a trial phase, the outcome may be unpredictable as a jury typically hands down the verdict. A settlement could offer a family an exact amount of financial assistance and may resolve quicker than a case taken to trial. Another way a family of a child with a birth injury could move forward may be applying for Medicaid. The department of social services could help provide financial assistance to address the costs of ongoing and future medical care.
Calculating Damages
To calculate costs associated with a birth injury, the parents or legal guardians of an injured infant could meet with a physiatrist to develop a life care plan. A physiatrist is a doctor in physical medicine and rehabilitation who assesses the long-term needs of the child in all domains. That would be nursing care, medications, doctor care, necessary institutional or facility care, and types of medical equipment or facilities the child would need access to throughout their life. The physiatrist could prepare a document called a life care plan that identifies all of the various needs of the child from the time of birth through their expected life expectancy. An economist could review the life care plan and use it to inform their projections of the costs of future medical care. This is often a key part of properly assessing Hudson Valley birth injury claims.
Statute of Limitations
In New York State, the statute of limitations in Hudson Valley for birth injury cases is ten years from the date of birth of the child. If the child was born on a certain date, that child would have ten years or the child’s guardian would have 10 years to bring a lawsuit. After that ten-year period, the statute of limitations expires and the child may lose their right to file a lawsuit.
In addition, the child’s parents would have their own independent claim for loss of services. The loss of services claim is two years and six months from the date of the child’s birth. If two years and six months pass without a lawsuit, the parents’ claim for loss of services may expire. The loss of services claim refers to those services that would otherwise have been provided by a normal or healthy child. The filing of a loss of services claim would typically not bar a child from filing their own independent claim for damages.
How Might the Defense Refute a Birth Injury Malpractice Accusation?
To mitigate their losses, a negligent medical provider could accuse a mother’s prenatal behavior of causing the child’s birth injury. More specifically, they may allege that a mother smoked, drank alcohol, or engaged in other potentially harmful behavior while pregnant with the child. However, an experienced attorney who is well-versed in Hudson Valley birth injury claims could fight those allegations and dispute their validity.
Learn More About Birth Injury Claims in Hudson Valley
If your child suffered a severe birth injury, you may benefit substantially from learning about Hudson Valley birth injury claims. Call a reliable birth injury attorney who is familiar with this type of medical malpractice case and schedule a consultation. They could review the factors surrounding your case and potentially identify effective legal options.