If your child was injured at birth, you may already be feeling the weight of your responsibilities as parents. Depending upon which type of birth injury your child has, you may be learning how to care for injuries that could last for weeks, months, years, or a lifetime, in addition to providing the love and care that all infants need. You may also be thinking of pursuing a lawsuit against one or more of the medical professionals who provided medical care to you and your child during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
Sometimes, having a general idea of what to expect during a birth injury case can help parents feel more at ease going into the process. This brief overview of the birth injury case process describes the path that most birth injury cases follow. Many birth injury cases take between eighteen months to two years from start to finish, but some cases do take longer. Although birth injury cases take time, it is important that you do not let the length of time that is likely to be involved deter you from holding negligent medical personnel responsible for their actions and obtaining compensation that will enable to provide the care that their child needs both now and into the future.
The first step in a birth injury case is the initial consultation. At your initial consultation, an attorney will talk to you about your pregnancy, labor and delivery. They will also want to know about what your life has been like since your child’s birth, such as any special day to day care or additional medical procedures that have been needed. It is helpful to your prospective attorney if you obtain copies of your prenatal care records, your hospital records from the birth of your child, and your child’s medical records in advance of the initial consultation and bring them with you. If the attorney feels as though your medical records and the information that you have discussed with them support a conclusion that your child’s injury is the result of medical negligence, they may offer to help you file your claim for damages. It is important to note that no action will be taken by the attorney on your behalf until an attorney-client relationship has been formally established.
Once your claim has been filed, a few things might happen concurrently over an extended period of time. Your attorney will gather information about your case through the discovery process, which is the means by which attorneys prepare a case for trial, even if it is possible that the case may settle beforehand. During discovery, both written requests for information, called interrogatories, and verbal examination of witnesses, called depositions, are conducted by attorneys on both sides of the case.
Often, plaintiffs receive settlement offers from the defendants during discovery. When this happens, the plaintiffs choose whether to accept or reject each individual settlement offer. Your attorney can help you to assess settlement offers, so that you don’t accept an offer that does not adequately compensate you for the injuries that your child has suffered and the care that they will need in the future. If the defendants do not produce a suitable settlement offer, your attorney will present your case at trial.
Giddens Law Firm, P.A.: Representing Families Affected by Birth Injuries in Mississippi
If your child has a birth injury, the Mississippi Birth Injury Attorneys of the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. may be able to to help you. Please call our office today, at (601) 355-2022, to learn more.