Without knowing any further details about the context of your child’s birth injury, liability and fault cannot be determined for sure. But in general, you can file a lawsuit against any party whose negligence, carelessness, or improper conduct played a part in your child’s birth injury. Parties to a birth injury lawsuit can include not just the people or entities present at the time, but also the employers of all those entities and their insurers. The companies that were responsible for producing defective hospital equipment could also be at fault for this birth injury.
Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit
In most states, civil litigation for personal injury, including birth injury, requires a determination of what the injury was and how it came about. This investigation will reveal who else might be liable, and it should be conducted with the help of a skilled personal injury lawyer in your jurisdiction. For example, if the injury was caused by a nurse or a medical technician, either of these people could be subject to a lawsuit. You could also include the hospital as a defendant in such a case.
If the injury was due to delays at the hospital, then the hospital and any other entity with a legal obligation to prevent delay would be involved in your birth injury lawsuit. If the injury resulted from a medication problem, you can file a lawsuit against the pharmacist or the pharmacy that filled the prescription. If the birth injury was caused by a defective drug or medical device, you can sue the manufacturer or distributor of the product. If the birth injury was caused because the medical equipment supplier failed to properly maintain it, you can sue the supplier. And if the injury can be traced to your HMO (e.g., to cut costs, you were sent home when you should have been kept in the hospital for monitoring), you can sue the HMO.
Getting Help with a Birth Injury Lawsuit
Seek the advice of an experienced personal injury attorney right away if you or your baby suffered from a birth injury. Fault, liability, and other legal issues can be determined with greater precision after your first meeting. You may be able to have your birth injury case assessed for free by completing the Free Advice case evaluation form.