Finding the best birth injury attorney for your case

Although the birth of a baby is one of the happiest events in a parent’s life, out of every 1,000 babies born in the US, five suffer birth injuries. These injuries can occur when a baby does not have enough oxygen during labor or when a doctor uses medical devices incorrectly. When this happens, a competent birth injury attorney can help you seek relief.

Before a birth injury lawyer will accept a case, he or she must know if the birth complications were caused by a birth injury or if they were the result of a birth defect that occurred before delivery. Birth defects occur during pregnancy as a result of a genetic defect, disease, or even drug use by the mother.

Birth injuries occur during labor and delivery. They can be caused by a doctor’s action, such as not making sure the baby has enough oxygen during delivery or misusing forceps. Birth injuries can cause cerebral palsy or severe head injury. It is vital that a birth injury lawyer knows if a child’s condition is the result of a birth defect or birth injury.

Finding a competent birth injury attorney is crucial when seeking relief for preventable birth injuries. If you do not personally know a good birth injury attorney, you can contact the American Bar Association for a referral list of suitable attorneys in your area. Or you can visit the ABA website and follow the “Find Legal Help” icon.

Another first step would be to ask people whose opinion you trust. If you know someone who has had experience dealing with a birth injury attorney, you can find out the outcome of the case and something about how the attorney handled the case and whether it was easy or difficult to work with.

If you have worked with an attorney in some other capacity, such as divorce or bankruptcy, and if you are satisfied with their representation, ask that attorney if they know of a good birth injury attorney. Chances are they know of more than one competent birth injury lawyer from law school or other court cases.

Once you have a few names and numbers of reputable birth injury attorneys, schedule appointments with them. During your meeting, ask the lawyer if he has dealt with a situation like yours, how the case turned out, and how difficult he thinks it will be to win your case. However, birth injury lawyers sometimes need to investigate the case further before responding.

Ask yourself what your gut feeling is about this birth injury attorney. Get along? Does he or she listen respectfully? Is it someone you feel you spend the time with to prepare a case? Your case will most likely be resolved through negotiation and not through the courts, so you want a competent negotiator.

Ask in advance about rates. Will you have to pay the birth injury attorney a retainer fee? Will he or she agree to be paid from the settlement if a settlement is likely? Please read any fee agreement carefully and be sure you understand it before signing it. Hiring a birth injury lawyer is a big step and you want to be informed from the start.

Ask for regular updates on your case. Birth injury lawyers can be working on numerous cases at any one time, and they can also be limited by the person on the other side of the lawsuit. For example, your lawyer may have to wait for the hospital to finish its internal investigation process. Be patient, but educate yourself.

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