An Overview of Birth Injury Lawsuits in Kentucky

About seven out of every 1,000 births will result in a birth injury. If you have received less than acceptable care from a medical professional before, during, or after the delivery of your child, you may have the right to file a birth injury claim. Contact our Louisville birth injury attorneys to discuss the legal process of filing a claim in The Bluegrass State.

Identifying Medical Negligence

A birth injury can affect a child or mother. To prove that your child suffered a birth injury due to a physician’s negligence, you must present sufficient evidence of the following elements:

• Duty: A physician or health care provider is legally obligated to provide patients with a certain level of care. These standards vary between fields, but your healthcare provider should take the same steps that another OB/GYN provider would have taken under similar circumstances.
• Breach of duty: The practitioner must have deviated from the acceptable standard of care. This can be done either through an act or omission.
• Causation: The physician’s actions must directly cause your child’s injuries or your own injuries.
• Damages: Due to the practitioner’s negligence, you or your child sustained injuries or complications, medical expenses, emotional distress, and other measurable losses.

Medical negligence is a challenging legal principle, so you want an experienced birth injury attorney to assess the cause of a birth injury.

Steps in Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit

If you believe that your provider was negligent in causing a birth injury, you should take the following steps to preserve your right to file a claim.

Contact a Louisville Birth Injury Lawyer

A birth injury attorney can oversee the entire legal process, answer your questions, and address your concerns. Hiring the right representation gives your family the best chance of receiving the most compensation possible for your suffering and other financial losses.

Gather Medical Records and Expert Testimony

Our Louisville birth injury lawyers will handle collecting the applicable medical records. Fetal monitoring strips, ultrasounds, MRIs, and laboratory tests may be just a few types of evidence available in a birth injury case. Obtaining testimony from other medical professionals who were present during your child’s birth is also usually required to prove medical negligence.

Under Kentucky Rules of Evidence Rule 702, an expert witness must have the appropriate knowledge, skill, or training to help a judge or jury understand the circumstances in your case. Additionally, an expert witness’s testimony must be based upon scientific evidence and reliable scientific methods, and the witness must apply these methods appropriately to the facts of the case.

Filing the Lawsuit and Subsequent Stages

Our experienced team will draft a complaint, including the statement of facts and your request for relief. Your complaint will be filed in the proper civil court, initiating your lawsuit, with a copy served upon the defendant (practitioner, treating hospital, or both).

Each defendant will be able to respond by filing an answer within 20 days of being served. After that, each party can request and exchange information with the opposing party (known as discovery). This process can take several months, with more complicated cases taking years.

As more evidence comes to light, the defendant will often choose to settle instead of taking their chances before a jury. At Wilt Injury Lawyers, we handle the legal process from start to finish, providing the legal guidance you need to stay informed.

Experience Physician Negligence? Speak with Our Louisville Birth Injury Attorneys Today

If you have experienced carelessness at the hands of an OB/GYN or another provider, Wilt Injury Lawyers would like to hear from you. We have assisted numerous clients impacted by birth injuries in recovering damages, and we are eager to assist you.

To learn more about the services provided by our Louisville birth injury lawyers, contact us online or by phone today.