Brookline Birth Injury Lawyer

When you check into a professional medical center such as a hospital, you are under the assumption you will be receiving a certain standard of care. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals must adhere to this standard, ensuring they are doing everything they can to prevent harm to their patients. Their long years of training and education help you feel safe and protected in your medical doctor’s hands. This is especially important when you are choosing a hospital to give birth in. 

A birth injury is any injury sustained to the baby or mother during the birthing process. Sometimes the birthing process is rough, and it’s nobody’s fault. At other times, however, the process is disrupted by the negligence of your doctors and nurses. In cases like this, where you or your infant are injured due to their substandard care, you may be owed damages. At Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers, we use our 100 years of combined experience to help protect our Brookline community from medical malpractice by helping get the compensation they deserve. For a free legal consultation to discuss your options today, please give our Brookline birth injury lawyers a call at (617) 391-9001 or fill out our contact form. 

How a Brookline Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help

The last thing on your mind while recovering from a birth injury or while caring for your newly-born child is filing a lawsuit. The process is long and overwhelming and nearly impossible to navigate on your own. Even if you do manage to file your claim within the statute of limitations, it is likely you will not walk away with the most possible compensation possible and still be left with holes in your pockets and various unpaid medical bills and lost wages. In order to maximize the outcome of your claim, it is advisable you partner with a dedicated Brookline birth injury attorney who knows the ins and outs of medical malpractice lawsuits. 

At Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers, our team will stand by your side every step of the way, with a compassionate and steady presence. Additionally, a Brookline birth injury lawyer can help with the following challenging aspects: 

Determine Negligent Behavior

In order to receive damages, you must first prove you experienced negligent or substandard behavior at the hands of your medical professional. This can be done through the gathering of evidence, such as medical reports, eyewitness accounts, and expert opinions. Your attorney will have the resources and connections to gather this information in a timely manner to help build up your case. 

Common causes of birth injuries can include:

• Failure to properly monitor the mother
• Failure to perform a cesarean when necessary
• Oxygen deprivation 
• Improper use of delivery tools, such as forceps
• Failure to notice infant distress
• Improper medication 

All of these actions are considered negligent, and your Brookline birth injury attorney will help to prove just that. 

File Your Claim in a Timely Manner

In the state of Massachusetts, you have three years to file your medical malpractice claim. The statute of limitations is three years after the incident, which can be tricky to pinpoint. For many birth injuries the side effects are not visible until months or even years after. For children with brain damage, it can take a long time to recognize the damage, nonetheless connect the injury to negligence. 

It is imperative you reach out to your personal injury lawyer as soon as you possibly can so they can begin the important work of filing your claim and building your defense. 

Available Damages for Victims of Birth Injuries

If you and your family are suffering from the effects of a birth injury, you are likely owed past, current, and future damages. Damages are identified in two ways: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are losses that are measurable, such as: 

• Lost wages
• Medical bills 
• Hospital fees
• Physical therapy 
• Rehabilitative care
• In-home care
• Special education

Non-economic damages are intangible losses, like your emotional suffering. Depression, anxiety, diminished quality of life, PTSD, and loss of companionship are all considered non-economic losses. Non-economic damages are currently capped in the Bay State at $500,000, though exceptions may be made for particularly severe cases. Economic damages are not currently capped. 

Begin the Process Today by Calling a Brookline Birth Injury Lawyer

If you or your child were severely injured in a birth injury accident, compensation may be the only option for a viable future. Being able to start fresh with the resources and justice you need can provide a whole new future for you and your child. Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers understands how traumatic suffering a birth injury can be. While you focus on recovery, we will do the rest. Our team has helped recover millions of dollars for our clients. Our co-managing partner, J. Tucker Merrigan, has devoted his time to representing the state of Massachusetts, and has even been recognized as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers. 

To start the process today, give us a call at (617) 391-9001 or use our contact form. All initial consultations are free and confidential.