The birth of a baby should be a happy and jubilant time. Sadly, this can be overshadowed if either the mother or child sustain an injury during delivery. It’s estimated that around 6-8 out of 1000 births in the U.S. result in an injury of some kind. As a significant number of these incidents are believed to be avoidable, a considerable number of new parents need to seek advice from a birth malpractice lawyer.
If you require advice or representation from a malpractice attorney, it’s important to choose the right person. With this handy guide, you can find out exactly what to look for in a birth malpractice lawyer.
1. Experience
Medical malpractice is a complex area of law and birth-related malpractice is a niche specialty. Due to this, it’s important to select a lawyer who has extensive experience. By working with a specialist firm, such as The Malpractice Group, you can be sure that your attorney is well-placed to provide the expert advice and assistance you need.
2. Medical Terminology
An experienced birth malpractice lawyer will have a good grasp of medical terminology. When analyzing your medical records and arguing your case, your attorney needs to have in-depth knowledge of the terminology and acronyms used by doctors and other healthcare professionals. You can often determine just how much experience an attorney has by paying close attention to their knowledge of medical terminology.
3. Personability
Making any type of legal claim can be a draining experience but having an emotional involvement in the case makes the process harder. Reliving the details of a traumatic birth can be extremely upsetting, so it’s important that you feel able to confide in your attorney. When making this type of claim, you’ll need to disclose personal and sensitive information. Choosing a birth malpractice lawyer you can trust makes this process much easier.
4. Negotiation Skills
When people make a successful claim following an incident of birth malpractice, they are typically awarded compensation. If a doctor or hospital admits liability, your lawyer may be able to negotiate a settlement without actually going to court. This speeds up the process and reduces your costs, so avoiding a lengthy court battle can be advantageous. A lawyer with good negotiation skills will ensure you’re in the best position to get a settlement you deserve.
5. Success Rate
Although a lawyer may have plenty of experience handling birth malpractice cases, how many claims have they settled in their client’s favor? Simply working in the industry isn’t enough to guarantee that a lawyer will handle your claim successfully, so be sure to find out what percentage of their claims have been resolved in the client’s interests.
Making a Claim for Birth-Related Injury
Dealing with the aftermath of a birth-related injury can be a traumatic process. By seeking advice from an experienced, compassionate and empathetic birth malpractice lawyer, you can ensure you get the specialist help you need as you deal with the consequences of a traumatic event.
Nickida
Nickida - is a wife and stay at home mother of four. She was born in Trinidad but moved to the US at age 14. She started blogging on an off for about three years and recently started writing more consistently. She enjoys sharing about her children, marriage, books, recipes, movies, reviews, giveaways and much more. She is working learning to be a better wife and mother, while advocating for her son who has autism.
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