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Child birth injury lawyer

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Overview

Child birth injuries

A child birth emergency is never planned but occurs more often than you may think. Obstetrical incidents or urgent situations are life-threatening medical conditions that occur in pregnancy during or shortly after labour and delivery.

The truth is that medical negligence happens frequently, especially in cases of a birthing injury. Many of the incidents are the result of human error. Let’s take a look at some of the basics when it comes to filing a child birth claim, including finding the best lawyer for the job and how much you could win in financial compensation.

What is a child birth injury claim?

A child birth injury claim is a form of medical negligence. Medical negligence is when a medical professional causes harm due to their lack of proper patient care, whether that be a new personal injury or a preexisting condition made worse.

When a doctor, surgeon, nurse or other healthcare professional fails in their duty of care to their patients, we call that medical negligence. There is a standard for all health care professionals, and in the case of childbirth, there are many opportunities for medical negligence.

An individual can file a claim for birth injuries, if, during the child’s birth process, a careless accident was made by the medical practitioner that resulted in an injury. But, we can break that down even more. In cases where there is potential for child birth injury claim, medical gynaecologists or obstetric specialists acted in a manner that was careless, out of line with the medical peer group or neglectful causing damages to either or both the mother of the newly born child or the newborn.

Examples of childbirth injuries

There are a few childbirth injuries that are more common than others. The most typical reasons for gynaecologists and obstetrics negligence hospital claims can be broken down as:

  • Neurological impairment: 30%
  • Stillbirth: 14%
  • Delay in diagnosis or failure to diagnose: 11%

 

Many child birth injuries and accidents occur because the primary doctor is not able to be present at the time that something is going wrong. This means that the obstetricians and gynaecologists are the ones who would be directly involved in the filed case.

Here are some examples of what kinds of childbirth injuries can occur:

  • Ectopic Pregnancy
  • Placental Abruption
  • Placenta Previa
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Preeclampsia/Eclampsia
  • Birth defect
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Premature Rupture Of Membranes (PROM)
  • Amniotic Fluid Embolism
  • Inversion or Rupture of Uterus
  • Placenta Accreta
  • Prolapsed Umbilical Cord
  • Shoulder Dystocia
  • Brain Injury & Brain Defects
  • Postpartum Haemorrhage or Infection

 

Process

Do I have a valid child birth injury claim for compensation?

There are several requirements that a birth injury case must meet in order for the victim to be rightfully compensated. First, you must show that you or the baby have suffered harm. Next, you must prove that a medical professional failed in their duty of care to you. If you can prove that you or the child have sustained injuries as a result of poor care, you could be entitled to birth injury compensation. The amount changes depending on many external factors that can be determined by the right lawyer who knows personal injury law.

It is important to consult a professional when it comes to legal matters. It’s highly recommended that anyone who believes they have been the victim of medical negligence or medical malpractice to get expert legal advice, including ones that cover wrongful death. We can provide medical negligence lawyers who offer free consultations to help assess your potential claim.

Timelines to keep in mind

As with most medical negligence claims, childbirth injury claims depend on several factors. It helps to have a lawyer on your team with the knowledge and experience to guide you through the process. Knowing how complex the injuries and circumstances of the injury are will help determine the length the case may take to solve.

Most medical negligence lawyers will advise you that an average child birth injury claim could take between 12 and 24 months to resolve. However, this is not always the case, there are situations that complete in up to 36 months or much quicker than cases that are mediated. A mediated case is one where both parties use a neutral third party to come to an agreement without the case going to trial.

Gerard Malouf & Partners

How we manage child birth injury

At Gerard Malouf & Partners law offices, we understand that not every case is the same and that, as a victim, you need guidance through this time. We have the expertise necessary to make the right calls and do our best to get you what you deserve. That is why we meet with every client individually to determine whether you are eligible to make a claim and record a statement about what happened.

The next part of our process is to create an accurate and helpful brief to send to the relevant medical expert, who will understand the medical ramifications of your particular case. Part of this will require your full medical history to provide all the context and details of the circumstances to prepare an accurate chronology of the event that led to the injury or worsening of your condition.

Based on the feedback from the brief and the medical experts, our professionals will have another consultation to fill in any gaps within this chronology and revisit your original statement. From there, we will manage your case through the rest of the birth injury lawsuit process.

What compensation can I expect?

The variety of financial compensation can change depending on similar factors that will impact the time the case takes to resolve. Damages are never the same and rely on several different things including each individual’s circumstances. However, we take a look at components that will help determine the potential compensation amounts given to the victim.

Here are some examples of circumstances that can affect the level of compensation:

  • Medical costs of treating the injury.
  • Medical record.
  • Resulting in medical costs that the mother or child sustained.
  • Other ongoing medical costs.
  • Pain and loss damages.
  • Loss of earnings or superannuation.

 

Find the right child birth injury lawyer

Having a great lawyer on your team can make all the difference in the outcome of your case and it is important to find one that specialized in birth injury law. Our experts understand that some of the jargon or requirements are confusing and are the last thing that you want to deal with right now. That is why we can take care of everything for you, while you recover from the traumatic event. You deserve justice and Gerard Malouf & Partners has a proven track record of success with cases like yous with a qualified birth injury attorney.

Your claim is our priority

Having a great lawyer on your team can make all the difference in the outcome of your case and it is important to find one that specialized in birth injury law. Our experts understand that some of the jargon or requirements are confusing and are the last thing that you want to deal with right now. That is why we can take care of everything for you, while you recover from the traumatic event. You deserve justice and Gerard Malouf & Partners has a proven track record of success with cases like yous with a qualified birth injury attorney. To learn how to get started with the pursuit of justice with Gerard Malouf & Partners, reach out today.
Frequently Asked QuEstions

What you need to know about child birth injury claims

While our experts are here to answer all your questions, here are some of the most commonly asked questions concerning child birth injury claims:

Medical professionals take our insurance to cover themselves against the risk of legal action.

YES, learn how here.

The process can be long, but the start can be found at an RCA (root cause analysis) which must be undertaken and can be discovered by obtaining copies of the medical notes at the institution where the unfortunate outcome occurred.

What Claims Do Our Medical Negligence Lawyers Manage?

GP & Doctor
Negligence

> Read more
We manage compensation claims against GPs and Doctors
> Learn More

Hospital
Negligence

> Read more
We manage compensation claims against hospitals that fail in their duty of care.
> Learn More

Nursing
Negligence

> Read more
We manage compensation claims against nursing staff.
> Learn More

Cosmetic Surgeon
Negligence

> Read more
We manage claims against cosmetic surgeons who breach their duty of care
> Learn More

Obstetric
Negligence

> Read more
We manage malpractice claims that occur during pregnancy.
> Learn More

Dentist
Negligence

> Read more
We manage claims against dentists who breach their duty of care.
> Learn More

Nursing Home
Negligence

> Read more
We manage compensation claims against nursing homes.
> Learn More

Elder
Abuse

> Read more
We manage compensation claims when elder abuse has occured.
> Learn More

“Thank you so much for my claim, it has helped me, my Husband and Daughter through a very rough time and your services run smoothly and very professional. I was very impressed.”


Our Client
Our Promise To You

Our Difficult Case Policy

At Gerard Malouf & Partners we have introduced a policy that if any case appears to be overly difficult or unlikely to obtain a good result for the client our lawyers must bring it to the attention of the management team via a detailed pro forms explanation early and then our management team will take all steps possible to ensure it is successful and that we obtain the maximum result for the client.

This is unlike other law firms who often run compensation claims in a mechanical way. At Gerard Malouf & Partners, our compensation claims services handle each claim thoroughly and comprehensively prepare it in every aspect.

This is more tedious, more complex and costlier for our firm in some ways but the best result will be achieved every time for our clients seeking accident injury compensation service. It is our professional obligation to strive not just for some justice but for the maximum achievable. This is our core philosophy and what differentiates us from other law firms.

Our TeaM

Meet the Medical Negligence Lawyers

Meet some of the diverse and dynamic medical negligence lawyers that support our clients with their medical negligence claims.

Jayne O’ Sullivan
Senior Associate
> View bio
Leslie Abboud
Consultant
> View bio
Susan Newman
Senior Associate
> View bio

We're here to help maximise your compensation

Call us now on 1800 004 878 to book a free appointment with one of our medical negligence lawyers, or make an enquiry online now.

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 — Personal Injury Compensation Lawyers

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