Families in Middletown have several regional options for seeking healthcare services, including pregnancy, labor, and delivery services. The time before, during, and shortly after the birth of a baby is a time of great anticipation and hope.
Unfortunately, birth injuries are common and can result in long-lasting impacts, permanent disabilities, or even the death of a newborn or new mother. Many birth injuries are preventable if only the health care providers entrusted to assist with the birth process take the reasonable actions expected of doctors in their area of practice.
If the negligence of a healthcare provider harms you or your child during labor or delivery, you can seek compensation for the expenses and impacts you incurred.
An experienced Middletown birth injury lawyer from The Flood Law Firm can help you understand this process and evaluate your case for free.
The Flood Law Firm Welcomes a New Medical Malpractice Lawyer to the Team
The Flood Law Firm assists those injured by the careless and reckless actions of others to receive the compensation they need, and we are pleased to announce that we have added a medical malpractice lawyer to our team. This enables us to assist families in understanding their legal options and filing claims if a woman or child has been injured or killed during the birth process due to the failure of healthcare providers to take reasonable actions to prevent harm to their patients.
The Flood Law Firm's office is in Middletown, and we are well familiar with the medical facilities, the courts, and even the neighborhoods where our clients live and work. We have developed a professional reputation as a firm that gets results, and insurance companies know it.
We have the resources needed to handle even the most challenging birth injury claims, and we aren't afraid to go to court if it means our client gets the compensation they need. Because of this, we take referrals from other personal injury lawyers when cases are too challenging for them to handle, and we also receive referrals from lawyers from other practices, such as criminal defense, when someone who needs our assistance contacts them.
We are happy to talk with you about your claim over the phone or face-to-face at our Middletown office at 190 Washington Street, near the intersection of High Street. We will charge you nothing for your initial legal case evaluation.
How Much Is a Middletown Birth Injury Claim Worth?
There are so many unique details involved in a birth injury claim that it is impossible to determine an expected value.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney from The Flood Law Firm determines a legal case's value by considering:
- The amount of medical malpractice insurance the provider has. Medical malpractice is a type of professional liability insurance that compensates patients and their family members for the expenses and impacts of physical harm resulting from their negligent actions. As the Connecticut Department of Public Health notes, providers must obtain at least $500,000 per person coverage with an aggregate coverage of $1.5 million. Physicians and surgeons often obtain their own medical malpractice policies, while other staff members, such as nurses, physician's assistants, and other administrative personnel, are covered by a hospital facility's policy.
- The severity of the injury. More severe injuries result in more medical treatment in most cases and carry a greater risk of permanent disabilities that will necessitate a higher value to account for future impacts and costs associated with the injury. Family members of a woman or child who died due to injuries incurred during or around the time of pregnancy, labor, and delivery can benefit through a wrongful death claim filed by an appointed administrator or executor of the deceased's estate.
- The actual costs and estimated future outlays resulting from the injury. Even injuries to a woman or child they can reasonably expect to recover from are expensive. Investopedia reports that the average cost for an infant to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for a week is more than $58,000, and days in the hospital for mothers who have become injured during the birth process are similar in cost. Additional treatments result in additional charges. For disabling injuries, these charges can continue for a lifetime.
Types of Medical Negligence that Can Result in a Birth Injury Claim in Middletown
According to a report from National Public Radio (NPR), a few types of doctors account for around one-third of U.S. medical malpractice claims. Those doctors include internal medicine, general surgery, family medicine, and obstetrics and gynecology. Obstetrics and gynecology doctors care for pregnant women and women and infants during labor and delivery.
Many preventable acts or inaction can injure an infant and mother during the birth process.
Provider negligence that can give rise to a Middletown birth injury claim include:
- Failure of the doctor to diagnose conditions impacting the mother or the child during pregnancy that the doctor could have resolved through treatment.
- Failure of the doctor to provide a cesarean section when needed to protect the mother's or child's health.
- Failure of providers to monitor the vital signs of the child and mother before, during, and after labor and delivery.
- Failure of the provider to ensure that the mother and child are in good health before releasing them from the hospital.
- Failure of the provider to use birth assistance tools properly, including forceps and vacuum extractors.
- Failure to provide adequate home-care instructions or informed consent for high-risk procedures.
Birth injuries can result in dangerous blood loss for the mother, as well as injuries to the child that include prematurity, bleeding within the brain, oxygen deprivation resulting in brain damage, nerve damage, spinal cord damage, bone fractures, and injuries to the infant's internal organs.
According to NBC Connecticut, the state ranks among the worst for retaining doctors. Students often obtain medical degrees from one of Connecticut’s universities then move elsewhere to practice.
Additionally, the pandemic and the exhaustion and administrative quagmire it produced for all doctors caused many physicians to retire in recent years.
Records show that the shortage of doctors and other healthcare staff can cause medical malpractice, as the remaining personnel simply have too many patients and requirements to handle.
Fighting the Insurance Company for the Compensation You and Your Child Need
To be sure, not all birth injuries result from medical negligence. Bad outcomes can result from any medical or biological procedure, including the birth process. Likewise, not all medical errors occurring during birth will result in an injury.
If an injury occurred due to a medical error, however, the victim can seek compensation for the outlays and impacts of that injury by filing a claim against the at-fault provider's medical malpractice insurance policy.
Unfortunately, like all types of insurance providers, those that provide medical malpractice insurance stay in business by selling policies and avoiding paying out on claims.
After an experienced birth injury lawyer from The Flood Law Firm has determined the claim's value based on the fees and impacts the victim has or will likely incur, the lawyer will file the claim against the at-fault provider's policy.
When the insurance provider receives the claim, they will assign a claims adjuster to evaluate the claim and determine whether the insurer owes compensation to the claimant and, if so, how much.
The claims adjuster is an employee of the insurance company, meaning they are evaluating the claim not through the lens of ensuring the claimant gets the compensation they need but rather through the lens of the minimum amount that the insurance company will have to pay to resolve the claim.
The insurance provider can either deny the claim and provide a reason for the denial to the claimant and their attorney, approve the claim and process it for payment, or offer to settle the claim outside of court for less than the established value.
If the insurer fails to resolve the claim through payment or settlement, a Middletown medical malpractice lawyer from The Flood Law Firm can prepare to file a lawsuit.
In Connecticut, individuals seeking compensation through the state's medical malpractice claims process usually have two years to file a lawsuit in court. This includes claims involving harm to the mother and the child. While many states frequently toll the statute of limitations for child injuries until the child is 18, Connecticut generally will not delay this statutory deadline so that the child can file their lawsuit when they reach the age of majority.
To file a birth injury claim, the claimant's attorney must first acquire a Reasonable Inquiry certification, which requires obtaining a written opinion from a qualified medical expert that has reviewed the litigation and has found that grounds exist for legal action.
What to Do if Your Child Suffered Birth Injuries Due to a Provider's Negligence
If you or your child sustained injuries during the birth process due to a healthcare provider's negligence, one of the important things you can do to protect the value of your claim is to hire an experienced birth injury lawyer to help you with your litigation.
While many people regard attorneys as a useful option, an attorney is crucial to have the ability to value the suit properly, gather the evidence needed to prove medical malpractice, negotiate a settlement, and meet reasonable inquiry and other requirements and formalities of the process.
Other actions that the victim can take during the medical malpractice claims process include:
- Providing your legal team with evidence and information that you have gathered about your suit, including medical documentation you received and receipts or bills for treatments, services, or other fees related to the injury.
- Keeping a journal of injury-related details, including the frequency of medical treatments, the symptoms the child is experiencing, and other impacts that can be considered by your medical malpractice lawyer when valuing your claim.
- Complying with the doctor's treatment plan to have the best opportunity for you or your child to heal from the injury and develop the documentation needed to prove your claim.
If Your Child Suffered a Birth Injury, Contact Us
One of the most vulnerable times for women and children is during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. The very reason that most women choose to give birth in a hospital is to have trained medical staff available to assist if there are any complications.
When a healthcare provider does not take reasonable actions to avoid causing harm to the mother or child and an injury ensues, the feeling of betrayal and profound sadness is often as difficult to handle as the significant monetary payments associated with the injury.
The Flood Law Firm's legal team provides the services that families need to help them acquire compensation for the financial and psychological hardships of a birth injury.
The Flood Law Firm's establishment was in 2012, and our team has significantly expanded since then. However, one thing that has never changed is our mission: to help people harmed through no fault of their own. We know what our clients are up against and who they're up against. While medical malpractice insurers don't make the process easy, we have the resources, experience, and reputation to handle even the most challenging claims.
If you or your child sustained injuries during the birth process, let our Middletown medical malpractice lawyer help you understand your legal options for seeking compensation and the services we can provide to assist you through this process. Contact us online or at (860) 346-2695 for your free legal dispute evaluation.
