Where Can I Find the Best Birth Injury Lawyer in Waltham?

One of the first things a birth injury lawyer in Waltham does is determine the type of birth injury suffered by a newborn. Although we litigate cases involving a large number of different birth injuries, a few stand out as the most frequent cases.

Cerebral Palsy

As one of the most damaging types of birth injuries, cerebral palsy represents brain trauma that can last a lifetime. Trauma to the brain can produce mental development and physical handicap issues that prevent an injured newborn from living a normal life. Doctors can prevent most of the complications that develop because of cerebral palsy. One of the most important preventive measures involves ensuring a newborn does not suffer from a lack of oxygen to the brain during delivery.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is a severe form of nerve damage that significantly weakens the arms, hands, and/or shoulders. Children that suffer from the medical disorder can also experience weakness, numbness, or paralysis in different areas of the body. Healthcare providers have the tools to treat Erb’s palsy, but many newborns never recover full use of the impacted sections of the body.

Spinal Cord Damage

Our spinal cords act as a conduit that moves signals from the brain to other parts of the body. When nerves become torn or damaged, numbness and/or paralysis can develop. Pulling too hard on a newborn’s neck is a common cause of spinal cord damage at birth, which means doctors can prevent spinal cord damage by applying minimal pressure to the neck and shoulders.

To determine the type of injury suffered by your child, contact a birth injury lawyer in Waltham to initiate a thorough investigation into your case.

The process for litigating a birth injury case requires the legal support of an experienced personal injury attorney. After you meet with one of our birth injury lawyers for a free case evaluation, you should come away with a detailed understanding of the litigation process.
Here is an overview.

Send a Demand Letter

Our goal is to avoid a lengthy trial. This means we send the lawyer representing the healthcare provider a demand letter, which requests compensation for a wide variety of expenses. Your attorney calculates a reasonable sum for compensation, as well as charges the healthcare provider with committing one or more acts of negligence. The healthcare provider can either answer the demand letter or ignore it.

Conduct an Investigation

A preliminary investigation helps your birth injury lawyer determine the type of birth injury. If the other party’s attorney refuses to answer a demand letter or answers it using a confrontational tone, your lawyer will conduct a more extensive investigation to determine the cause of the birth injury. Presenting convincing evidence at trial or during negotiations is the key to winning a birth injury case. 

File a Civil Lawsuit

Your legal counsel can negotiate with the other party’s attorney before or after filing a civil lawsuit. However, negotiations have more meaning when they unfold during a trial. Filing a lawsuit requires you to submit the proper documents, as well as file your lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out. The defendant has a limited amount of time to respond after you file a civil lawsuit.

Discovery

As one of the most important phases of the litigation process, discovery requires the legal counsel for both parties to meet and exchange information. Your attorney will present the evidence collected to date, as well as the witness statements given during pre-trial interviews. Sharing evidence and witness statements can lead to a resolution of a lawsuit before the case goes to trial.

Negotiate a Favorable Settlement

Discovery is the phase of a civil lawsuit when both parties have the best opportunity to negotiate a settlement that is favorable to the plaintiff and defendant. Negotiations can take place between the two attorneys or with the support of a mediator to keep the process moving along at an acceptable pace.

Case Goes to Trial

If negotiations fail to deliver a resolution to your birth injury lawsuit, the case goes to trial in front of a judge or jury. A verdict determines whether you receive monetary damages, as well as determines the extent of the legal liability the healthcare provider should assume. If you receive an unfavorable verdict, you have the right to file an appeal for a second trial.

The primary reason you hired a birth injury attorney is to receive monetary damages. The judge or jury hearing your case can award you up to three different types of compensation.

General Compensatory Damages

Often referred to as non-economic damages, general compensatory damages are especially impactful with birth injury cases. It is difficult to put a price tag on overwhelming grief and emotional distress, but your lawyer will calculate a reasonable amount of money that covers pain and suffering. Dealing with a newborn struggling with a birth injury is one of the most painful events you can experience during your lifetime.

Special Compensatory Damages

Special compensatory damages take care of tangible expenses, such as medical bills. You can also request special compensatory damages for future healthcare expenses. A birth injury can be serious enough to require years of treatments and physical therapy sessions. The key to receiving special compensatory damages involves keeping meticulous healthcare records, including the results of diagnostic tests and receipts demonstrating the use of an assistive device.

Punitive Damages

Although punitive damages do not pay for any tangible or intangible expenses, the money awarded for punitive damages still goes to the plaintiff. Because judges and juries consider medical negligence to be preventable, punitive damages for birth injuries cases can be larger than the money awarded for special and general compensatory damages.

Working with the best birth injury lawyer in Waltham improves your chances of receiving just compensation for your birth injury case.

Finding a birth injury lawyer in Waltham has changed over the years. Before the introduction of the Internet, potential clients let their fingers do the walking through the Yellow Pages to search for the best attorneys. Although digital marketing has taken over the searches for lawyers, you should still use one old-school tactic that can connect you with the best birth injury attorney in Waltham.

Network

Use the same effective tool you use for job searches when you search for the best birth injury lawyer. Ask trusted friends and family members for recommendations. If your innermost network runs dry with recommendations, branch out to ask neighbors and professional peers. Requesting a recommendation from a lawyer you know can be the most effective strategy for finding the best legal counsel. Lawyers typically know other attorneys that practice personal injury law.

Massachusetts Bar Association

The Massachusetts Bar Association website includes a “Find a Lawyer” page that offers you access to a large database of litigators that are licensed to practice law in the state. Simply type “personal injury” or “birth injury” into the search box to access the names of lawyers. One of the most beneficial services provided by the Massachusetts Bar Association is educating visitors about the legal credentials of every lawyer in its vast database.

Client Feedback

Morgan & Morgan encourages our clients to leave reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google. Because of our more than three decades of experience, you can read reviews that go back several years. Our clients praise us for our litigation skills, as well as the responsive communication we have before, during, and after the litigation process. You should also read the testimonials uploaded on our website.

Healthcare providers have a legal duty to prevent birth injuries. If your child suffered one or more injuries during the delivery process, you should contact Morgan & Morgan for the most effective legal support. We will conduct a comprehensive investigation that includes interviewing each member of the medical team that participated in the birth of your child. Our thorough investigation should uncover physical evidence as well.

Schedule a free case evaluation today with one of the birth injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan.