Legal Assistance for Birth Related Medical Malpractice

By Allen Batson

People in North America are injured by the thousands each year by the negligence of medical professionals. Injured parties are able to file a suit in civil court against the health care professional - doctor, psychologist, psychiatrist, pharmacist, nurse, technician, chiropractor, dentist - and the institution - clinic, hospital, chronic care hospital or other healthcare facility and associated workers. Birth injury attorney. To be successful in the suit one must prove negligence on a balance of probabilities (no beyond a reasonable doubt). Birth injury attorneys are attorneys who specialize in medical malpractice during birth.

Attorneys, like doctors, are forced to become specialists due to the depth of expertise required. The stakes at play in a birth injury case can be enormous, which is why you need a birth injury attorney. Injuries to vulnerable newborns can have catastrophic, life-long consequences. For this reason, parents are advised to seek a lawyer who specializes in birth injury litigation.

The legal requirement to provide a "standard of care" doesn't end with the delivery room doctor and nurse. The hospital as a corporate entity shares in the responsibility as do the support personnel, including Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel.

Grounds for birth injury medical malpractice lawsuits would be things like failure to ensure sufficient oxygen flow to the infant during and after birth, equipment failure, wrong prescribed medication, wrong prescribed dosages, non-sterile environment or tools, negligent nursing and infection, according to birth injury attorneys. Specialists are required to meet a national standard of care while doctors only have to meet a local one.

A claim of medical malpractice may be pursued by the mother if carelessness on the part of the attending personnel caused her an injury during labor or birth. Example: high blood pressure (HBP) in the mother during labor is an indicator for preeclampsia and failure to handle the HBP can cause seizures during birth. If the mother's lawyer can prove the HBP during labor, the negligence of the doctor is considered proved. - 30224

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