Should You Settle Your Birth Injury Claim or Go to Trial?

Birth injuries can be traumatic and difficult to understand legally.

It is important that you understand your family’s legal rights before you accept a settlement offer. When your baby is injured during the birthing process, and the injury is caused by some negligence on the part of the treating physician, this is a birth injury and you and your family may be entitled to compensation. Insurance companies may offer a settlement before you can fully grasp the extent of the injuries and the impacts that those injuries will have on your family for the years to come. This is why it is very important to consult with a medical malpractice attorney before you make any decisions.

Birth injuries can be more successful than other types of medical malpractice cases and birth injury cases will usually result in larger awards than other injury cases. This is because birth injuries can have life-changing effects on the life of the injured child. This can include a lifetime of medical expenses.

Before considering a settlement, discuss the case with an experienced medical malpractice attorney. Your attorney will need to prove that the doctor did not exercise a reasonable standard of care when treating either mother or child and that the care provided resulted in an injury to the baby.

Discussing your case with an attorney who has successfully handled birth injury cases is important. An insurance company will attempt to get you to accept a settlement of as little money as possible. You should not begin discussions with an insurance company until you have consulted with an attorney who can offer advice. Settling too soon would be a mistake, as you may not yet realize the full extent of the costs of the injury and the way that the birth injury will affect your child’s life and the life of your entire family for the years to come.

If you cannot come to a settlement agreement with the insurance company, your attorney will take the case to trial. But because going to court can be expensive and a decision can take years to come to, reaching a settlement is preferable.

Advantages of settling your birth injury claim:

• Quicker resolution. A trial and decision can take several years.
• A settlement provides immediate money for medical care and other injury related expenses.
• Settling your claim will keep legal costs down.

Accepting a settlement means that you will no longer be able to sue, so you should make the decision carefully after consulting with your attorney.

Taking a birth injury case to trial
Going to trial may result in a larger award than you would receive in a settlement. While the process is longer, it may be worth it. The U.S. Department of Justice reported that when it comes to medical malpractice the, average award in a lawsuit is more than double the settlement offer. Filing a lawsuit can show an insurance company that you intend to take the case all the way and they may offer a settlement once you file that is higher than the original offer.

Making your case public and going to trial can inform more people of the experience you went through and could save others from going through a similar experience. Raising awareness in this way can protect other parents and babies.

In order to go to trial you must be willing to make a serious commitment to the process. Trials can be both expensive and time-consuming. You will need to prove that your doctor failed to meet the acceptable standard of care and in most situations this will require the testimony of expert witnesses, extensive documentation, and the ability to show a correlation between the care that the doctor provided and the birth injury that occurred. This can all be very costly.

If you and your family have experienced a birth injury you should consult with a Missouri medical malpractice attorney. Weigh the pros and cons before ultimately deciding what is in the best interests of your family.

Zevan and Davidson Law Firm – Medical Malpractice Attorneys

Our firm has over 20 years of experience handling malpractice lawsuits, recovering millions of dollars for victims of medical malpractice. To schedule a free consultation, call us today at (314) 588-7200 or fill out our online contact form.