Birth injuries are an unfortunate occurrence that often happen during delivery. They can leave the newborn and the mother with a series of lifelong conditions that seriously compromise their quality of life. The family members also have to scramble to arrange care for the baby and can fall into hard times due to the costs involved. In addition, a birth injury can take a huge toll on parents’ mental and emotional well-being. Sometimes families find themselves unable to cope and don’t know what to do. 

If you find yourself in an unfortunate situation like this, one important step is to file a lawsuit against the party responsible for the birth injury. This can get you some monetary compensation that you can use to provide your child with the care they need. Moreover, you can be more at peace knowing that you’ve gotten your justice. To file this lawsuit, you will require the services of a birth injury lawyer who will guide you through the whole process. However, choosing the right lawyer can be tricky, and listed here are a few questions you can ask while searching for a good law firm to handle your case.

Which staff member will be handling your case?

Bigger law firms employ many lawyers who handle different types of cases. The person you speak to initially will most probably not be the person who will be handling your case. Additionally, your case might be passed from one lawyer to another during its course because different lawyers specialize in different areas. Hence, if you are opting for a big firm like the Birth Injury Justice Center, it is important to get to know the team handling your case and figure out a plan with them.

How long is the whole process?

Court cases are unpredictable, and it is very hard to tell exactly when a certain case will be resolved. However, if a firm has a lot of experience handling birth injury cases in your area, they can give you a general idea of how long your case may take. What is important to remember is that there are no guarantees that the actual court case will adhere to the time frame given to you. Circumstances can change out of nowhere, significantly altering the timeline given to you.

What is the statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations dictates how much time after your child sustains the birth injury you can wait before filing your lawsuit. If you wait for too long, you might not be allowed to file a case. The statute of limitations is different in each state. Make sure you know what it is in your specific state to make an informed decision about when to file your case.

How much experience do they have?

Experience is the most important thing when it comes to dealing with legal matters. A court case can be very straightforward, but more often than not, it is full of curveballs. A lawyer’s experience and ability to navigate the twists and turns of a court proceeding can be the difference between a win and a loss. So make sure you inquire how many birth injury cases like yours the firm has handled and how many of those cases your attorney personally handled. 

Also, make sure that they have a good success rate. It won’t matter how many cases they’ve fought if they’ve only managed to win a few.

How much do their services cost?

There are different types of fee agreements between clients and their lawyers. Often the legal fee is only owed to the lawyer if the client gets the monetary compensation. The fee is usually decided as a percentage amount of whatever compensation will be awarded to the client by the court. 

In some cases, clients have to pay in advance for costs like filing and retrieval fees for medical or state records and costs for expert witnesses. Some firms allow these fees to be waived off in case of a loss; others require you to pay out-of-pocket.

Will your case go to trial?

Sometimes, cases can be settled out of court. This guarantees the client the monetary compensation they need to care for their child while eliminating any risk of a loss. The only downside is that the negligent medical practitioner gets to walk free. Other times, rejecting any settlement offers and going to trial makes more sense. Your lawyer should be prepared for these scenarios as no one knows what might happen.

Conclusion

A birth injury can be traumatic for both the child and the family and may require lifetime medical care. To help with these costs and to bring the medical practitioner to justice, you should opt for a good lawyer to file a birth injury lawsuit. Before choosing one, ask the law firm about which lawyer will be dealing with your case and what kind of experience they have with similar cases. 

You should have a rough idea of whether the lawsuit will go to trial and how long it will take. Get an estimate of what it will cost you so that you can make an informed decision when choosing a law firm.