One of the last things you'd want to see your child go through immediately after birth are injuries. Believe it or not, birth injuries are very common for both the mother and her child. In case your child gets injured due to medical negligence after birth, what are the steps that you should take when suing your doctor?
Determine The Injury
The injuries that a parent and child go through during mishandled operations are different. For the baby, it's often caused by poor handling of the doctor and nurses. There are various injuries that babies can sustain during and after childbirth as they are very fragile during their first few weeks. Even light impacts on hard objects can cause serious injuries already.
It's common for babies to get bruising from the forceps used during childbirth. These aren't something that you need to worry about as these are only normal. What you should look for are fractures and serious injuries like brachial palsy, subconjunctival hemorrhage, and facial paralysis.
If it's obvious that your child is suffering from something, you need to take them to a doctor for a check up. Ideally, you wouldn't want your child to be under the care of the same doctor that helped birth them. There could be bias here so it's best to get a third opinion so that the diagnosis remains as fair as possible.
Seek Legal Assistance
Once you've determined the injury and the cause of it, it's time to take legal action. Birth injury lawyers specialize in helping parents get compensation after an injury caused by a doctor or any medical practitioners negligence during childbirth. Aside from helping you in court, they can also help you secure the right documents for the case. They'll also help you understand what you are entitled to.
Getting compensation is important first and foremost. Medical procedures and treatments involving babies tend to be expensive and sensitive too. On your end as a parent, you shouldn't have to pay for these fees as the problem wasn't caused by you in the first place.
Once the case begins, one of the first steps taken by a lawyer is securing the evidence that medical malpractice or negligence took place. It's not just the doctor who will be in question here, even the hospital who employs the doctor will be in question as well. This is especially the case if the doctor already has a history of medical malpractice.
Do keep in mind that the doctor and the hospital are going to counter with their own legal team as well. On their end, they'll try to prove that there was no such case of malpractice or negligence. Despite this, you'll need to remain calm and strong as legal battles are generally long.
Doctors who are reckless at their jobs need to be held responsible for the injuries they cause to their patients, especially for babies. Luckily, there are many legal experts that can help parents out during these serious offenses. If your child is a victim of malpractice, make sure you act fast.
