How to Understand and Prove Negligence in a Birth Injury Case
he birth of your child should be a joyous occasion, but when complications arise, you may feel like your world is falling apart. A birth injury can occur before, during, or after delivery, resulting in long-term consequences that can impact a child’s development. Although many birth injuries are preventable, approximately seven out of every 1,000 births each year result in a birth injury. In most cases, a physician’s negligence is to blame.
At Mark C. Tanenbaum, P.A., we are dedicated to helping families get to the root of their child’s injury. If you believe that the delivering physician wavered from the acceptable standard of care, then you speak with our birth injury attorneys in Mt. Pleasant.
Establishing Negligence
Medical malpractice cases require that you demonstrate a physician’s liability by a preponderance of the evidence. This standard requires that you prove that there is at least a 50% chance that the treating physician’s actions caused your child’s injuries. To collect compensation in a medical malpractice case, you will need to provide evidence for the four D’s:
- Duty of care: A physician or OB/GYN must adhere to an acceptable standard of care when performing specific procedures and treatments.
- Dereliction: Either through an act or failure to act, a physician or OB/GYN breaches this duty of care.
- Damages: Due to the physician’s negligence, your baby needs further medical treatment, which results in you incurring measurable losses.
- Direct cause: To be compensated for any birth injury-related losses or damages, you must establish the causal link between the treating physician’s actions and the harm your child sustained.
Evidence to Prove Liability
In a birth injury case, medical tests and records can provide insight into when harm took place. For example, if a baby presented as expected on an ultrasound, any anomalies can likely be attributed to the delivery process. Blood tests may be taken to discern if the infant has a genetic predisposition toward the medical condition or if there was an error during the birthing process.
Besides medical records, the testimony of nurses and other medical staff present during the delivery can help to verify when or how your baby’s injury occurred. Birth injury lawsuits rely heavily on expert testimony. An expert witness will help explain the facts to the jurors and provide his or her opinion on whether the treating physician met the standard of care.
Under S.C. R. Evid. 702, an expert witness is qualified based on his or her “knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education.” An expert witness is essential in a medical malpractice case to explain medical knowledge in simple terms so that the “trier of fact” (jury) can make an informed decision.
Working with our Mt. Pleasant birth injury lawyers gives you access to our network of medical professionals. We are honored to work with specialists in various fields who can help us grasp what has occurred in complex medical situations. Proving liability will allow you to access the financial resources you need to care for your child, making an unbearable situation manageable. At Mark C. Tanenbaum, P.A., your child’s well-being is our priority.
Passionate Counsel from Our Mt. Pleasant Birth Injury Attorneys
If your child suffered an injury during labor or delivery, do not hesitate to contact Mark C. Tanenbaum, P.A. Our Mt. Pleasant birth injury lawyers have experience in investigating these types of cases and building a compelling case to help families recover the compensation they desperately need. If you are ready to fight for justice on your child’s behalf, contact us online or by phone to arrange your free consultation.