As the parent of a newborn baby, you may rely on the knowledge and experience of your medical professionals to do what it takes to get your baby here safely. To protect newborns, childbirth typically must move at the right pace and attending physicians generally need to avoid or mitigate complications. When doctors act recklessly or in a wanton manner, life-altering birth injuries could occur. These situations should be evaluated by a seasoned Troy birth injury lawyer to determine if a lawsuit is warranted. If your baby is suffering from a birth injury, your family may be entitled to compensation.

Contact a skilled medical malpractice lawyer to learn about potential legal options that could be applicable to your case. A birth injury could present many challenges in the future and may incur unexpected medical costs. Financial compensation from a negligence claim could substantially help a family address those concerns.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can be caused by many different factors, some of which may be unavoidable and others of which are preventable with proper care. The majority of avoidable birth injuries typically can be linked to a few common causes which may include:

  • Delay in delivering the baby
  • Medical professionals not recognizing labor complications
  • Failing to perform a C-section when warranted
  • Failing to use other emergency procedures when necessary
  • Inappropriate use of forceps, vacuum extraction, or other birthing devices

Physician Negligence

The aforementioned causes may all be traced back to negligence by the physician or other medical care providers. The legal concept of negligence often involves four main factors and is generally used by birth injury lawyers in Troy seeking to help plaintiffs recover compensation in civil court. Typically, to demonstrate medical malpractice in a birth injury a claimant may need to show that a doctor owed them a duty of care breached the duty of care and that their reckless actions exactly and proximately caused their child’s injuries. These injuries may also need to result in damages.

After a patient-doctor relationship is established, physicians typically have a duty to act in a manner that other reasonable physicians with the same level of training and experience would have acted. When the physician or other healthcare provider does not act in such a manner, they could be accused of breaching their duty of care.

Simply breaching a duty does not always warrant a lawsuit. The breach typically must have caused an injury to the patient. In other words, there generally must be a direct and provable link between the actions of the physician and the injury that occurred.

There typically must also be damages incurred from the injury. These could be financial damages, physical damages, or even emotional damages. However, the plaintiff often bears the burden of proving their damages exist, as well as demonstrating how they stemmed from the defendant’s actions.

Comparative Fault and Birth Injuries

As found in New York Civil Practice Law & Rules §4011a, New York State generally follows a pure comparative fault law. This typically means that, when applicable, a civil court could assign a percentage of fault to the plaintiff in a birth injury case. For instance, if the mother did not follow the instructions of her doctor to remain on bed rest or take a certain medication, the mother may be found partially at fault for any ensuing damages.

The percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff may reduce their compensation by the same amount. If the case does not make it to trial, this law could also be considered during settlement negotiations between the plaintiff’s Troy birth injury attorney and the defendant’s legal team.

Talk to a Troy Birth Injury Attorney

Birth injury cases are often complex and frequently require a lot of research and preparation prior to filing. At the same time, the circumstances surrounding a birth injury can be heartbreaking to families who want to move forward with their lives. If you and your family have suffered the devastating effects of a birth injury, consider contacting a Troy birth injury lawyer. They could examine the facts in your case and potentially help identify how a medical professional may have acted negligently.