A birth injury is considered a form of medical malpractice. The doctors, nurses, and medical personnel who took care of the birthing mother and her child shall be liable for damages should an injury be proven. Their liability is borne out of their responsibility to deliver the child safely while ensuring the mother’s welfare. This duty is more than just a civil obligation as it is enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath that they should not harm their patients.
Aside from the civil and ethical liability, if their intent to harm is also proven, the charges could also include criminal liability. If you’re a parent, spouse, or legal guardian of someone who experienced birth injuries, know your patient’s rights and assert them in court. To help you get through the process, check these tips out.
Evaluate the Situation
If you, your child, or your spouse suffered from one of the most common birth injuries, the first thing you need to do is to assess the situation level-headedly. Ask your physician for an explanation as to what happened and weigh if there’s negligence on their part that resulted in the injury. If you believe that there’s reasonable doubt to attribute fault to them, seek a medical malpractice lawyer’s counsel.
It’s also best to cut ties with the medical personnel you suspect to be guilty of negligence after you get an explanation to keep your partiality. You don’t want them to bargain with you and plead to bury the accident.
Collect Evidence to Prove your Claim
In a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff or the aggrieved party who filed the case has the ‘onus probandi’ or burden of proof to convince the court that the medical practitioner is indeed guilty of the charges. The quantum of evidence required in this case is only ‘by preponderance of evidence.’ Meaning to say, you only need to prove that your assertion is more likely to be true than false.
However, take note that a medical malpractice case is often treated as a civil case. Hence, a lowered degree of evidence is required. If the medical malpractice resulted in the patient’s death, it could then be prosecuted as a criminal case. As such, the degree of evidence required by the court would be one that would prove that the medical practitioner is ‘guilty beyond reasonable doubt.’
Depending on the kind of case you’re pursuing, you need to gather damning pieces of evidence to hold the accused guilty of a civil or criminal offense. If you’re unsure as to what pieces of evidence to secure, you can always ask the help of your medical malpractice lawyer.
Your lawyer will first establish that there is a legal duty that the medical practitioner is bound to. After which, the evidence he needs to secure must show that there is a breach, by malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance, of this legal duty. Both of these are essential requisites of medical malpractice; hence, you shouldn’t miss them.
Use Expert Opinion to Prove Culpability
Should it be hard to prove the other party’s negligence, the court can call an ‘Amicus Curae’ to share his expert opinion on the case. Since the Amicus Curae is neutral, you need to ensure that the pieces of evidence you support are points an expert could agree to.
For example, the baby suffered an injury after a C-section operation was performed on his or her mother. You need to get a medical explanation to justify your claim of the possibility of malpractice. This is to ensure that when an expert shares his opinion in court, it will not run counter to your assertions.
If you rely on your personal opinion and come to court with an unfounded belief that malpractice happened, you are only setting yourself up for failure. Confide in your lawyer because they can help you find and present irrefutable pieces of evidence to prove the other party’s negligence.
If you or your family member is going through a hard time because of a birth injury, vindicate your rights. Seek a lawyer’s advice and do what’s necessary. The damage may have been done, but your firm action now can give you peace of mind and can also save the lives of others.
