Have you or someone you know just given birth? Childbirth is a beautiful and miraculous event. It’s one that should bring joy and happiness to families, including yours.
However, the birth process is fraught with risks, and unfortunately, childbirth injuries can occur. One mistake by a medical professional can turn what would otherwise be a joyous family milestone into a tragedy.
If you or your baby have suffered childbirth injuries due to medical negligence or improper medical care in Minnesota, you need to know that you have rights. As the parent of a child who was injured at birth, you can file a claim for compensation.
By filing a childbirth injury claim, you may be a step closer to receiving a settlement. The settlement for damages could reimburse you for medical expenses and pay you for non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Learn more about how you can seek justice and hold negligent healthcare professionals responsible for your child’s birth injuries. By the end of this article, you will have all the knowledge you need to file your claim with a birth injury lawyer near Minnesota.
Minnesota’s Statute of Limitations
Before filing a birth injury claim with any birth injury attorney near Minnesota, you must first see if your claim would still be valid. To do this, you must ensure that you are filing your claim within the state’s statute of limitations.
The statute of limitations is the timeframe within which your claim will be entertained by the courts. In Minnesota, the statute of limitations is four years from the date of injury.
This means that you have four years from the date of your child’s injury to file your birth injury claim. If you file your claim beyond the four-year statute of limitations, your claim will likely meet the rejection of courts. If not, the defendant or the medical professionals you are filing a claim against will almost certainly petition to have your case dismissed.
Gathering Evidence
Evidence is critical to the success of your claim. In Minnesota, you must gather evidence in the form of documents and records. These pieces of evidence will be pivotal in establishing all the elements present in an injury claim. In particular, the elements are the duty of care, negligence, causation, and damages.
Now, you might be wondering what kinds of evidence will prove all the elements necessary for a personal injury claim. Let’s discuss them in greater detail.
Hospital Records To Prove Duty of Care
One of the first things your evidence must prove as you file your childbirth injury claim is the duty of care. In the context of a childbirth injury, you must show that your child was under the care of a professional or institution to show that there was a duty of care owed to your child.
To show that your child was receiving medical care under a professional, you will need hospital records. Be sure to gather the following:
- Admission records.
- Patient chart(s).
- Any document that shows your child is a patient of the hospital or medical facility.
By having the above records, you’ll be able to establish the duty of care owed to your child. However, the duty of care isn’t enough. You need to prove that the institution or a healthcare professional did something wrong.
Additional Medical Care To Show Negligence
Proving negligence means establishing an error on the part of another person. In the context of your childbirth injury case, you must show that a medical professional made a mistake. One of the best things you can do is to seek additional medical attention for your injured child.
Medical care improves your child’s prognosis even after the injury occurred. Medical attention can offset many of the injuries inflicted on your child during the birthing process. Of course, treating the injuries is just one reason for you to seek medical attention.
The other reason is that the completion of care gives you more documents. The records from treatment can help your birth injury attorney establish negligence.
A Second Opinion To Establish Causation
Another piece of the childbirth injury claim puzzle is proving causation. After all, not every act of negligence warrants a claim. To have a legitimate birth injury claim, you must prove that the physician’s negligence caused your child’s injuries.
It will be challenging to establish causation using evidence gathered from the same institution in which you gave birth. For this reason, you will need a second opinion.
A second opinion from another medical professional can do two things. First, the medical professional’s assessment can confirm the presence of negligence. This can bolster the records you already have.
Second, the medical professional can show where the error occurred and determine that your initial physician committed an error. Right off the bat, the second opinion can sufficiently link your doctor’s error and the injury of your child.
Diagnostic Records To Prove Injuries
Once you have evidence to prove duty of care, negligence, and causation, you need to show your child’s injuries. The easiest way to do this is to use diagnostics like medical tests and diagnostic scans.
For example, you can use X-rays and CT scan records if your child sustained a skull crush injury following a vacuum extraction. Another example would be to use CBC (complete blood count) test results to prove that the baby received insufficient amounts of vitamin K after birth.
Contacting a Birth Injury Lawyer Near Minnesota
Navigating the legal process of filing a claim for childbirth injuries can be complex. It’s essential to have a qualified medical malpractice attorney with you to guide you through the process.
A birth injury attorney near Minnesota will help you understand your legal rights, assess your claim, and take the guesswork out of the legal process. Medical malpractice lawyers in Minnesota will also help you understand the potential compensation you may be entitled to, including medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.
The Damages You Can Receive After a Successful Claim
In Minnesota, you can recover a settlement following a successful birth injury claim. The settlement will compensate you for several damages, such as but not limited to:
- Medical expenses
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium if your child’s injuries affected your relationship with your spouse
- Disability or disfigurement
- Punitive damages
File Your Claim With a Respected Birth Injury Attorney Near Minnesota
Childbirth should be a joyous occasion for any parent. With this in mind, you need to hold negligent parties responsible for causing injuries to your child during the birth process.
You are not alone. At the Magna Law Firm, we offer representation backed by our commitment to our client’s rights. Our medical malpractice lawyers in Minnesota are ready to fight for your rights. If you need a birth injury or medical malpractice attorney in your corner, look no further. Send us a message or call 763-438-3032 for a free initial consultation and get legal representation for your childbirth injury case in Minnesota.
