The cause of your baby’s birth injury may be obvious to you. However, before your child can recover damages for a birth injury, you must convince the insurance company or the court that someone else was legally responsible for causing the injury.
You Need Evidence
You will need evidence to convince the insurance company or the court that:
- The doctor, nurse, or hospital had a legal duty to care for your child
- The doctor, nurse, or hospital breached that duty of care by failing to act in a reasonable way
- Your child suffered an injury because the duty of care was breached
- Your child has the right to recover damages
What Type Of Evidence Do You Need Regarding Your Child’s Birth Injury?
Test results.
The results of the tests you had during pregnancy, including ultrasounds and blood tests, may serve as evidence.
Medical records.
Your medical records may detail what happened during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
SBAR notes.
SBAR notes are written thoughts that are kept by medical professionals who are treating a patient. They are meant to encourage communication among healthcare providers. They are not part of the medical record, and they are often shredded. However, when they are available, they may provide useful evidence in a birth injury case.
Witness statements.
Medical providers, hospital workers, and any other witnesses who saw you or your child being treated at a relevant time may have critical information to share about what happened. These sworn statements may be provided in written form through interrogatories or at a deposition.
Employment records.
Employment records should include information about a person’s education, experience, and any previous complaints or discipline issues.
Expert testimony.
Experts, such as obstetricians, delivery room nurses, and pediatricians may have important information to share about the standard of care that should be provided during labor and delivery and about how a birth injury may have resulted from the actions or inaction that occurred. Other experts may be able to explain what your child’s life will be like in the future and what care your child will need.
Some of this evidence is not automatically available to you, and the doctor, nurse, or hospital may be unwilling to provide it to you upon request. There are ways, however, to get the evidence you need through the legal discovery process. Your lawyer may, for example, request copies of medical records, other documents, and sworn statements through depositions or written interrogatories, or get information in other ways that are consistent with the rules of discovery and likely to help your case.
Using Evidence to Prove a Birth Injury Occurred
Since a birth injury lawsuit is a type of civil case, you will need to use the evidence to convince the insurance company or court of the doctor’s, nurse’s, or hospital’s negligence by a preponderance of the evidence. The preponderance of the evidence standard means that it is more likely, or probable, that your child’s birth injury was caused by negligence or malpractice than other causes.
It’s not enough simply to provide the evidence to the insurance company or the court and to expect that the insurance adjuster, judge, or jury will conclude that a birth injury occurred. Instead, you will need to use the evidence to prove the defendant’s negligence.
An experienced birth injury lawyer knows what evidence to gather and how to use that evidence in a convincing way. Our lawyers, together with our staff nurse, will review what happened to your child. If your child has suffered a birth injury, we will gather the necessary evidence to make the convincing arguments necessary to fight for your child’s fair recovery of damages.
Has Your Family Been Impacted By A Birth Injury?
If your family has been impacted by a birth injury you need to speak with an experienced birth injury attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our office directly at 888.450.4456 to schedule a free consultation.
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