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How Do You Prove Negligence in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

October 29, 2024

You may be entitled to compensation in a birth injury lawsuit if your child suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence. Your family may be entitled to financial compensation for the costs of your child’s necessary medical care. Your family may also be entitled to financial compensation for any other financial and non-financial costs resulting from your child’s diagnosis—from loss of earnings to loss of enjoyment of life. 

This raises an important question: How do you prove negligence in a birth injury lawsuit? 

Negligence in the medical setting is alarmingly common, and it can take many different forms. But, to file a birth injury lawsuit, you need to be able to conclusively prove the specific mistake that is responsible for your child’s birth injury diagnosis. While clear evidence may be available, collecting this evidence can prove challenging. As a result, it is important to work closely with a birth injury lawyer who can use his or her experience to handle your case on your behalf. 

7 Types of Evidence in Birth Injury Lawsuits 

When you hire a lawyer to handle your birth injury lawsuit, your lawyer will use a variety of types of evidence to prove your family’s legal rights. While every case is unique, some examples of the types of evidence that will typically be available include: 

1. Medical Records from Pregnancy 

In some cases, birth injuries result from medical negligence early in the mother’s pregnancy. For example, if your doctor failed to diagnose or misdiagnosed a maternal or fetal health condition that was ultimately responsible for your newborn’s birth injury, then your medical records from your pregnancy could be key evidence in support of your family’s claim.

2. Medical Records from Labor and Delivery 

Along with errors during pregnancy, errors during labor and delivery are responsible for preventable birth injuries in many cases as well. These include common errors such as:

  • Using excessive force
  • Improperly using forceps or a vacuum extractor 
  • Failing to protect the baby’s head, shoulders, abdomen, or extremities 
  • Failing to ensure an adequate and continuous supply of oxygen to the baby’s brain
  • Waiting too long to recommend an emergency C-section delivery 

If any of these errors (or any other error during labor or delivery) is to blame for your child’s birth injury, your medical records from your child’s birth will be key evidence in your family’s lawsuit. If you don’t already have these records in your possession, your lawyer will be able to obtain them for you. 

3. Medical Records from Post-Birth (Including NICU Care)

Your newborn’s medical records for any treatment administered after birth (including any treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)) will likely be key evidence in your family’s birth injury lawsuit as well. These records will assist with both proving your newborn’s birth injury and proving why the injury happened. 

4. Your Healthcare Provider’s Internal Records 

Your healthcare provider’s internal records could also be key evidence in support of your family’s birth injury lawsuit. Simply put, your (or your newborn’s) medical records might not tell the whole story. From recorded communications to documented concerns that were not properly disclosed to you during pregnancy or childbirth, your healthcare provider’s internal records could shed light on a variety of issues that are pertinent to your family’s legal rights. 

5. Statements and Testimony from Your Healthcare Provider’s Personnel

When you file a birth injury lawsuit, you have the right to obtain your healthcare provider’s relevant internal records through the discovery process. You also have the right to take statements and testimony from your healthcare provider’s personnel under oath. If a nurse, administrator, physician assistant, or anyone else knows information that is relevant to your family’s claim, your lawyer should be able to obtain this information during the discovery phase of your case. 

6. Your Own Observations, Statements, and Concerns

Your own observations, statements, and concerns are relevant as well. With this in mind, if you have questions about filing a birth injury lawsuit, you should write down anything you remember that you think might be relevant to your family claim—and you will want to have your notes handy during your free initial consultation. 

7. Medical Expert Testimony and an Expert Report

If you decide to move forward with filing a birth injury lawsuit, your lawyer will hire a medical specialist to provide expert testimony and prepare an expert report. These will explain the mistake (or mistakes) made by your healthcare provider, and they will explain how these mistakes are responsible for your child’s birth injury.

Discuss Your Family’s Legal Rights with a Birth Injury Lawyer in Chicago for Free

If you need to know more about filing a birth injury lawsuit, we encourage you to contact us promptly for a free, no-obligation consultation. 

Contact Coplan + Crane today online or at 312-982-0588 to schedule a FREE case evaluation. We welcome clients from across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win.