Rocky River Birth Injury Lawyer

Labor and delivery is a more dangerous time than many realize, and a careless nurse or doctor can cause serious injuries to a newborn in a number of ways. While some birth injuries are a natural occurrence, others are the direct result of a medical professional’s negligence. If your baby’s birth injury was severe, your child could require a lifetime of ongoing care and specialized therapies. For help covering those expenses, contact a Rocky River birth injury lawyer at Mellino Law Firm, LLC to explore your legal options.

What are some examples of birth injuries?

Birth injuries occur in several ways and affect each child differently. Some common types of birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Brachial plexus injury, including Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy
• Shoulder dystocia
• Injuries from assisted delivery (e.g., forceps injuries, vacuum extraction injuries)

What elements must be present to hold a doctor liable for a birth injury? To hold a doctor liable for a birth injury, you must prove the following elements:

• A demonstrated standard of care
• Proving a violation of that standard of care
• Showing that this careless treatment caused the child’s injuries
• Establishing the damages caused by this negligent act

What evidence can help establish negligence and causation?

While medical records and witness statements help support medical malpractice cases, these claims typically hinge on medical expert testimony. Your Rocky River birth injury attorney can help in identifying the best medical expert to testify in your case. An expert witness needs to practice in the same specialty as your negligent doctor, have the same or similar qualifications, and must have an expert witness qualification. The expert will provide testimony to show:

• The proper standard of care
• How doctor violated the standard of care
• How this caused your child’s injuries

This expert — or your child’s current doctor, if you changed doctors — may also testify about your child’s current health and future needs. This information is important in ensuring you recover enough compensation to pay for ongoing care costs due to your baby’s birth injury.

Experienced Rocky River Birth Injury Attorney

What damages can I recover? The damages available in a birth injury lawsuit include:

• Medical bills
• Ongoing nursing care costs
• Rehabilitation and therapy
• Assistance with activities of daily living
• Assistive tools and devices, including wheelchairs
• Necessary modifications to home and vehicle, such as ramps and lifts
• Emotional damages

Ohio does not cap economic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits, so some are able to recover compensation for damages that top seven figures. This is especially true in suits where the child suffered devastating injuries and now requires ongoing care.

However, Ohio passed a law in 2003 which places a limit of $250,000 (or three times the amount of economic damages up to $350,000) on noneconomic damages.

What is the statute of limitations in an Ohio birth injury case?

Ohio law offers only one year to file a lawsuit in a personal injury or medical malpractice case. However, the statute of limitations tolls for infancy, which means that your baby has until his or her 19th birthday to file a claim

Trusted Rocky River Birth Injury Law Firm

How can a lawyer help us get the compensation we need?

Because you are fighting a hospital and its insurance company in these cases, medical malpractice claims related to birth injuries require solid evidence that supports each of these elements. Having the right Rocky River medical malpractice lawyer on your side is key in identifying and collecting this evidence. Contact Mellino Law Firm, LLC for a free consultation.