English 
Spanish The steps and strategies for building a strong birth-related injury case may differ from case to case. Some of the steps that may help include:
- Hire a personal injury lawyer who can build and pursue your case on your behalf
- Retrieve evidence to establish liability, such as through medical records
- Establish the value of your losses, including medical expenses and ongoing medical care
Hiring a Birth Injury Attorney
Legal help from a personal injury lawyer who has dealt with birth injury claims like yours before can relieve some of the burden of pursuing legal action. The benefits of hiring a medical malpractice lawyer may include:
- Having a legal professional to lean on whenever you have questions or need support
- Being able to spend more time with your family and less time dealing with legal matters
- Having an ally on your side who is advocating on your behalf and pursuing a fair settlement for your family
How to Find the Right Birth Injury Lawyer
To find the right balance between professionalism and compatibility:
- Talk to the law firm about your birth injury lawsuit. Many firms provide free case consultations.
- Look at the firm’s reviews and testimonials to see what clients think are their strengths (or weaknesses).
- Review the firm’s case results. Have they helped others recover substantial settlements that account for their injury-related losses?
Gathering Evidence of Medical Malpractice
To receive compensation in your birth injury claim, you (and your attorney) must prove that the medical professional was negligent. It is not enough that you experienced a bad medical outcome; you have to establish that if the medical provider had behaved differently, you and your child would not have suffered a negative outcome. Your case must establish the provider failed to adhere to a reasonable standard of care and your child suffered birth injuries due to the provider’s negligent medical care.
Evidence that can strengthen your case may include anything that shows a medical professional or hospital was negligent, such as:
- Testimony from those in the delivery room, including medical staff, to help establish medical negligence
- Medical expert testimony from another medical provider regarding the care provided by the defendant and whether it deviated from the standard of care
- Your medical records, which will show what action was or was not taken while you were in labor or delivery, as well as any warning signs or symptoms that should have told the provider you or your child might be in danger
Evidence for your case will depend on the circumstances, so speak with an attorney about building your lawsuit.
Calculating the Financial Value of Your Birth Injury
Birth injury claims can take many different forms since childbirth-related malpractice can have many different effects. You might be seeking cerebral palsy legal help, pursuing a brachial plexus injury claim, considering a fetal distress legal action, establishing oxygen deprivation due to provider negligence, or filing suit for brain damage or other serious injuries.
Steps and strategies for building a birth-related injury case must involve establishing the monetary value of your family’s losses and the effects of the injury on your child, which will establish the amount of compensation you are seeking.
Damages in Birth Injury Cases
Through an obstetric negligence lawsuit, you can recover medical malpractice damages for your child’s physical and emotional injuries, as well as the financial cost of the malpractice to you and your family. Part of your strategy for building a case may be to:
- Find evidence that proves the value of your family’s short- and long-term losses. This may include medical bills, the cost of ongoing medical treatment and care, and evidence of lost wages if you must care for your child.
- Present a case for non-economic losses. Talk to your birth injury lawyer about the non-economic losses your family suffered as a result of your child’s injury.
- Make sure you completely understand your medical malpractice claim and your family’s losses before accepting a settlement. Otherwise, they might offer small settlements that do not account for all your losses.
Birth injuries can cause significant losses and upend a family’s life. A birth injury lawyer can help your family pursue a legal case, recover damages that help your child receive care, and account for financial and other losses and expenses.
We Can Help You Build Your Birth Injury Claim
Per California state law (CCP § 340.5), you have up to three years to start a medical malpractice lawsuit against a negligent medical professional. KJT Law Group can help you build a birth-related injury case and fight on your behalf for fair compensation. Call us at (818) 507-8525 so we can help you navigate the legal process and build strategies to help your family recover the compensation you deserve.
