Accidents are not restricted to car crashes or mere workplace mishaps. It can be of any type and can occur to any person at any point in time whatsoever. And the term ‘any person’ includes babies as well.

This blog will deal with birth injuries and their settlements and will give you detailed information on the subject overall.

What is a birth injury?

Before getting into the details of the matter, first we have to know some basics. What is a birth injury? Well, it is defined as any kind of injury or harm caused to a newborn infant, either during pregnancy or during the delivery of the child.

There are three main categories under which birth injuries are classified-

• Brain injuries.
• Orthopedic injuries.
• Nerve injuries.

According to the statistics reports in the U.S, six out of every thousand newborn infants receive injuries during birth. However, some of the injuries are minor ones and recover in a few days, while some others have lifelong impacts on the child.

Medical practitioners have the necessary skills and knowledge to handle childbirth cases. Also, it is because of their malpractices that most birth injury cases happen.

You May Also Read: Medical negligence: Coverage of the profession, duties, ethics, case law, and enlightened defense – A legal perspective

If you ever feel like your child has suffered a birth injury because of the negligence of the medical practitioner, you can always seek help from a birth injury lawyer, and choose to file a birth injury lawsuit.

What is a birth injury settlement?

A birth injury settlement happens when a medical practitioner in charge of the delivery of a child, admits to their mistake and agrees to compensate the family with a handsome amount for further checkups and medications of the child.

However, if you search for average birth injury settlements, you won’t be able to find any. Because a majority of the case outcomes are kept confidential.

Furthermore, there are some reasons why there isn’t any average birth injury settlement. They are as follows-

• Incidents like birth injury vary from one family to the next. Because each birth injury is different and requires either regular checkups or lifelong care.
• There is no prior evidence of such cases being enlisted by any organizations or search engines whatsoever. For instance, if you go on searching for average birth injury settlements, it’s likely that you won’t find any.
• The majority of birth injury cases are settled through negotiations. And therefore, these cases remain confidential and only remain between both parties.

When you are opting for a birth injury settlement, the following are the factors that would determine the whole settlement case-

• The financial damages that you incurred

One has to take a break from work to take care of their newborn child. And for that to happen, practically one might face expenses related to the healthcare of the child, and other related medical bills and expenses.

In such a situation, one can claim the following expenses-

• Cost of childcare.
• Expenses related to healthcare and treatment.
• Expenses related to in-home nursing of the child.
• Expenses related to loss of income.
• The condition of the newborn

This is one of the most important factors that determine a birth injury settlement. Each child’s injury during birth is different and therefore, requires respective medical treatments.

Some children recover through regular checkups while others require lifelong care and treatment.

• The estimated recuperation period of the newborn

As mentioned earlier, every kind of birth injury is different. If a child requires treatment for complex cases like Cerebral Palsy, it would take a round-the-clock lifetime treatment.

Whereas if the child suffers from any other minor injury, that can be treated with regular visits to the doctor, Whatever the case is, depending upon that, you can claim and recover the amount from the accused.

• The treatments for the newborn

Much like after suffering an accident, people require medical attention and treatment, children too need it after suffering childbirth injuries. According to the severity of the injuries suffered, a newborn might need the following kinds of treatments-

• Appointment with specialists.
• Surgeries for serious cases.
• Lots and lots of medications
• Therapy sessions
• The newborn’s mental condition

Birth injuries may even lead to your newborn’s development of anxiety, depression, or traumas as they begin to age.

We all know how tough it is to manage a mental condition. Such cases also account for compensation based on therapies, counseling sessions, and medications upon treatment.

Rather than a personal injury lawyer, a birth injury lawyer can help you to get along with such cases as they are specialized personnel having enough experience and knowledge in this field.

Final Words:

A traumatic brain injury lawyer or a lawyer with expertise in other personal injuries can help you with legal matters if you are involved in a school bus accident. Always consult with a professional before taking any step.

Useful Related Article: Know Your Legal Rights When You Injure Yourself At Work?