There are birth injury medical malpractice cases. There are other medical malpractice cases. And then there are all the other lawsuits, like personal injury cases. What is the difference? Read on to learn the important factors that distinguish one from another.
Generally speaking, personal injury cases involve someone suffering an injury as the result of someone else’s negligent action or omission. An “injury” can be physical (eg, a broken leg), emotional (eg, depression), or reputational (eg, customers no longer come to your store because of your damaged reputation).
And while “injury” describes damages to your body or mind or heart or good name, actual “damages” is a broader and more conceptual term. You can have economic damages. These are quantifiable damages, such as lost wages (eg, you had to stop working for six months to recover from your injury so you lost six months of wages). Other obvious examples of economic damages are medical bills and co-pays, pharmaceutical costs, and drugstore purchases – all expenses you had to undergo to treat the injury caused by the defendant.
In addition to economic damages, you can collect non-economic damages. These are damages that are real, but not easily quantifiable. For instance, pain and suffering are non-economic damages. They are to compensate you for the inconvenience, the physical discomfort, and the emotional anguish you suffered following the injury. Other examples of non-economic damage include loss of enjoyment of life, scarring and disfigurement, and emotional distress.
In addition to the injury in your personal injury lawsuit, you also must establish that the defendant was negligent. Negligence is, simply put, the failure to take appropriate care in doing something.
Sometimes it’s easier to understand this concept of negligence with concrete examples. In the context of a car accident, let’s say a truck driver drove through a red light and hit a car that was driving through the intersection when it had the green light. The truck driver was negligent because he didn’t take care to stop at the red light, as he should have. So, in that case, it was the truck driver’s action that caused the accident.
But sometimes someone is negligent when they fail to act at all. The next example demonstrates this negligence by omission circumstance.
In the context of a slip and fall, perhaps a box of beads fell on the floor of an art store and the beads spilled all over the aisle and no one cleaned up the beads as they should have. A man was walking through the aisle, focusing on the paints on the shelves, and stepped right onto the beads. The beads caused his feet to slip and he fell hard on his back. The art store would be considered negligent for failing to sweep up the scattered beads. So, it was the art store’s failure to act – its omission – that caused the person’s injuries.
How does medical malpractice differ from personal injury negligence? There’s one key difference: medical malpractice is when negligence occurs in the context of medical treatment. In other words, the wrongdoer is a healthcare provider, such as a doctor, nurse, hospital administrator, hospital staff member, or even the hospital itself – as a corporate entity.
While the identity of the defendant is a key distinguishing factor between a standard personal injury case and a medical malpractice case, there are other very important distinctions:
In a medical malpractice case, instead of asking whether the defendant simply failed to take care, the question is more about what the reasonable professional standard of care was for the defendant to follow. And to measure that, your medical malpractice attorney would have to hire a good expert to review the medical records and make that determination.
As stated, your medical malpractice attorney will need to hire a good expert to review your medical records and determine whether or not your healthcare provider was negligent, or failed to meet the standard of care. Not only do you need a medical expert to help prove that medical negligence occurred in your case – but you also need a medical expert who practices the same field of medicine as the healthcare professional who harmed you. For instance, if your injuries occurred during orthopedic surgery, your medical malpractice attorney will likely discuss the case with an expert who is an orthopedic surgeon.
Typically, there are more medical records in a medical malpractice case compared to a standard personal injury case and the records are more complex. The question isn’t simply is the plaintiff injured, yes or no? The medical records are instead evaluated to determine both liability and injury. In other words, was the patient injured, and did a healthcare provider contribute to the cause of the patient’s injury? Thus, your attorney must help you collect and preserve all forms of evidence including blood work, radiology reports, medical records, prescription history, intake forms, discharge instructions, etc.
The evidence in a medical malpractice case is often different from a standard personal injury case in that, in many cases, you’d have to get the evidence from the defendant. In other words, if your injury occurred in the hospital where the defendant was your doctor, you’d need your medical records to help determine whether there was medical malpractice. So, your medical malpractice attorney would have to ask the defendant to supply a good portion of the evidence. Naturally, this is not always easy, and often the defendant will not hand over all the essential evidence immediately. This is why you need to hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney who knows what to ask for and how to ask for it (and then, if necessary, how to file a motion to compel the defendant to produce it).
The statute of limitations is the time you have to file a lawsuit. In a standard personal injury case, like, for instance, a car accident, this is two years from the date of the accident. In other words, the day you first encountered the defendant and were injured is the day the clock starts ticking, and you have two years to file a complaint. But, in medical malpractice cases, your injury might not occur the day you first encountered the defendant. You may be treating the defendant for days, weeks, months, or years before your injury occurs. Also, you are not required to file the lawsuit within two years until you know or should have known that your injury was the result of the defendant’s negligence. For instance, say you had abdominal surgery and were discharged from the hospital and felt fine. But within days, you start to become feverish and very ill. An x-ray determines that the abdominal surgeon accidentally left a surgical tool in your abdomen and it caused an infection. While the negligent act occurred the day of your surgery, the statute of limitations doesn’t begin to toll until the day you discover that the negligent act occurred. It’s a different timetable.
Birth injury cases are similar to medical malpractice cases in that they occur in the context of a medical setting and the defendants are doctors, nurses, hospital staff, etc. They are also similar because they require expert review and testimony and complex review of medical records.
Birth injury cases, though, are arguably more complex than medical malpractice cases for the following reasons:
–Evidence. In birth injury cases, your birth injury lawyer needs to evaluate both the baby’s and the mother’s medical records. These include fetal heart monitoring strips, the mother’s blood pressure readings, the prenatal medical records, the delivery report, bloodwork, etc.
–Statute of Limitations. In birth injury cases, the parents have two years after the child turns eighteen to file the lawsuit. However, the parent’s right to file the lawsuit for a birth injury case is two years from the date of birth. This is the law in Pennsylvania. To make sure you don’t lose your right to sue, it is imperative to contact an experienced Pennsylvania birth injury attorney.
Because birth injury cases are more complex than run-of-the-mill personal injury cases and often more complicated than other types of medical malpractice cases, it is advisable to connect with a birth trauma lawyer in Pennsylvania who has the background and experience to help you navigate this highly specialized and complex area of law.
The experienced birth injury, neonatal, and cerebral palsy lawyers at VSCP Law can help.
If you believe you have been injured because of what a doctor has done (or has not done), then you might have a valid medical malpractice case. Now what? How do you file a lawsuit? And how do you win the case?
A successful medical malpractice case in Philadelphia starts with an experienced Philadelphia medical negligence lawyer. There are some legal cases that people try to handle pro se – on one’s own behalf. While pro se litigation is generally ill-advised, it’s downright nonsensical in the case of a medical negligence lawsuit. You should not attempt to handle your own medical malpractice case. This is not the kind of case that can be done properly without an attorney. Pennsylvania medical malpractice law is highly specialized.
Below are additional elements of a successful medical malpractice lawsuit.
Your attorney will review medical records, health summaries, hospital notes, lab results, and all other necessary paperwork to fully understand the actions (and sometimes inactions) of the health care staff who may have been responsible for the medical mistake. It takes an experienced attorney to know how to analyze piles and piles of medical records and which pieces of evidence are key to the success of the case.
Whether a medical malpractice case is a winning one can depend heavily (and sometimes exclusively) on the evidence. This is another reason you need to hire an attorney to try your medical negligence lawsuit. Your attorney will know which pieces of evidence are essential to your case and how to get them. Remember: a lot of the evidence you will need for your medical negligence case is in the possession of the defendants. In many cases, the defendants won’t initially give you every piece of evidence you are entitled to. Your medical negligence lawyer will ask for what you need to win the case and if the defendants fail to produce it, your medical negligence attorney will file a motion with the court to compel the defendants to produce it. Again, the evidence in a medical malpractice case is too important to overlook and only an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you get what you need when you need it.
Pennsylvania medical malpractice law can be complex. There are several important statutes that must be followed in order to successfully file your lawsuit. For instance, under Pennsylvania’s Statute of Limitations law, you have two years to file a lawsuit, starting from when you knew or should have known that your injury was the result of the defendants’ medical mistake. In the case of a deceased party, Pennsylvania law allows you two years from the official death date to file a wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit. If you miss this crucial deadline, you may lose the right to file a lawsuit.
An important exception to the Pennsylvania statute of limitations is in cases of “fraudulent concealment.” This statute provides that if a plaintiff is persuaded or lulled by the defendant medical care providers that the cause of their injury was not actionable in court because they did nothing wrong and/or concealed relevant facts from the plaintiff, the plaintiff may argue that they have two years from the date of when they knew or should have known their injury was caused by the defendants to file a case. The potential exception means that the plaintiff may have two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their injury.
As mentioned above, it’s complicated. Your medical malpractice attorney will have to figure out the best timing for filing the Complaint. In addition to the question of when to file the lawsuit, your attorney needs to figure out where to do so. Your medical malpractice attorney should spend considerable effort figuring out the best venue for your case. Several factors go into this analysis, including location of medical treatment, the location of defendants’ offices and practices, and whether the county is typically supportive of medical malpractice plaintiffs.
Not only do you need a medical expert to help prove that medical negligence occurred in your case – you need a medical expert who practices the same field of medicine as the healthcare professional who harmed you. For instance, if your injuries occurred during gastrointestinal surgery, your medical malpractice attorney will likely discuss the case with an expert who is a gastrointestinal surgeon. Your experienced Philadelphia hospital malpractice lawyer has a vast database of the top experts across the country, hailing from various disciplines and practices. Hiring the right expert for your case is an important element in the anatomy of a winning medical negligence lawsuit.
Assuming the expert described above agrees that a medical error took place and caused your injuries, the expert will prepare a Certificate of Merit. Your Philadelphia medical negligence attorney will file a Complaint along with the Certificate of Merit in the court.
The Complaint will list all possible claims for medical injury compensation.
There are two main categories of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are quantifiable, the exact figure can be established with documentation. They include lost wages, medical expenses, loss of future earnings, disability expenses, physical therapy, etc.
Non-economic damages are not quantifiable – they are more of a subjective assessment of the
sad consequences of a medical malpractice case. They include loss of quality of life, loss of companionship, pain and suffering, disfigurement, scarring, and emotional distress.
Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia understands how to maximize the value of
your hospital malpractice lawsuit. They will work with you to establish the extent of your damages and to make sure that the Complaint that they file contains all possible causes of actions and claims for damages.
Your case will resolve either in a medical malpractice settlement or it may go to trial.
The medical negligence trial might take anywhere from a couple of days to several weeks, depending on how much evidence your lawyer needs to present to the jury. Either way, an experienced medical negligence attorney will help to ensure that you receive the most compensation possible for your medical malpractice claim.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney in Philadelphia or Scranton will help you file (and win!) your medical malpractice lawsuit. Find one at VSCP Law.
A birth injury can occur before, during, and/or immediately after childbirth. A parent might suspect that a child who fails to hit developmental milestones has failed due to a birth injury. Or perhaps there’s a medical condition that can be traced to trauma during delivery. The best course of action, when a parent has such concerns, is to contact a birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia. Your birth injury medical malpractice attorney can help you understand whether your child’s deficits or problems may be related to a neonatal injury and whether you have a valid birth-related medical malpractice claim.
How do you know if your child suffered a birth injury? This article examines what could have caused the birth injury as well as the major signs of a birth injury.
The brain is one of the most delicate organs during childbirth. It is also the most important organ in a person’s body because it controls bodily functions as well as cognitive
processing. Thus, birth injuries resulting in brain damage can be the most devastating of any birth injury. There are a variety of brain injuries including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE or, also, perinatal asphyxia), brain bleeds (hemorrhages or hematomas), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), kernicterus, cerebral palsy, caput succedaneum, and hydrocephalus. Many of these are caused by hypoxia or a lack of oxygen in the blood.
Major signs of brain injury include physical symptoms such as headaches and seizures; sensory symptoms such as sensitivity to loud noise, bright lights, and vision problems; cognitive symptoms such as executive functioning deficits, memory problems, and inability to form age-appropriate thoughts and conclusions; speech symptoms such as difficulty communicating, enunciating, or speaking at all; and behavioral and emotional symptoms such as anxiety, disinhibition, poor regulation of impulses, and depression.
Sometimes after birth, a baby will appear to be blue in color. This blue skin tone is due to a lack of sufficient oxygen to support healthy red blood cells. (Blood cells are only red when they have
enough oxygen.) If the appearance of blue skin remains for several minutes after the birth, this could be indicative of a serious medical problem.
A baby could be born blue because of issues during the labor and delivery that were not managed by their healthcare team.
Major signs of a child who had insufficient oxygen in their blood include developmental delays, cognitive deficits, and serious and possibly life-threatening heart and lung problems.
The brachial plexus is a series of nerves near the neck that provide movement and feeling to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Erb’s palsy describes the weakness and loss of motion in these body parts. Erb’s palsy is the most common type of brachial plexus palsy. This physical injury can result from difficult deliveries, such as with a large baby or where the baby was in a breech position. The injury can also result from a prolonged or delayed labor — or when the person assisting the delivery exerts excessive force in pulling the baby from the birth canal.
Major signs of a brachial plexus injury include the following issues in the child’s arm, wrist, or hand: numbness, tingling, discomfort, pain, limpness, or paralysis (meaning, the child cannot move the arm, wrist, or hand at all).
Birth injuries can be tragic, but parents of children who suffered birth injuries are not without legal options. If you believe your child suffered a birth injury, contact the Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia at VSCP Law.
If your loved one died as the result of the intentional, negligent, or reckless conduct of another person, you might have a valid wrongful death claim. Naturally, when you receive news of your loved one’s death, the last thing you’re thinking about is calling a wrongful death lawyer in Philadelphia. You are likely overwhelmed with grief and anger and confusion. And you have to juggle your work and personal lives while having to plan a funeral and burial and deal with your loved one’s assets and estate.
And yet, “as soon as possible” is the best time to contact a Philadelphia wrongful death attorney so they can have enough time to review the evidence and file a wrongful death lawsuit on your behalf. This article examines how long you can wait to file your wrongful death claim and offers an example scenario to illustrate the need for swift action.
Under the Pennsylvania wrongful death statute, you have two years after the official death date to file a wrongful death lawsuit.* This restriction is typically referred to as the wrongful death statute or the statute of limitations.
Two years may seem like a long time, but your wrongful death attorneys will need ample time to investigate the circumstances surrounding your loved one’s death. They will need to order records such as medical records or employment records. They will need to interview various individuals who were involved in or had substantial knowledge about the circumstances leading up to your loved one’s death. They will need to fully understand whether someone or multiple people are at fault for your loved one’s death. Thus, in order to comply with the wrongful death statute of limitations, you should contact an attorney as soon as possible after your loved one dies.
*An important exception to the Pennsylvania wrongful death statute is in cases of “fraudulent concealment.” This part of the statute can occur in the medical malpractice context. It provides that if a plaintiff is fraudulently persuaded or lulled by the defendant’s medical care providers that the cause of their loved one’s death was not actionable in court because they did nothing wrong and/or concealed relevant facts from the plaintiff, the plaintiff might argue that they have more than two years from the date of death. The plaintiff could have as much as two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their loved one’s death.
Let’s say that someone was in a fatal motor vehicle accident on November 1, 2023. Under the law, technically, the loved ones of the decedent could file the wrongful death claim by October 31, 2025. But it would be very unwise to wait until the last legal moment to do so.
In fact, if someone was killed in a fatal accident on November 1, 2023, the family should contact a wrongful death lawyer as soon as possible so that the lawyer can begin the arduous task of collecting all possible evidence. Examples of evidence that needs to be preserved as soon as possible include the vehicles that the decedent and the defendant were driving; photos and videos of the accident, which may be in the possession of eyewitnesses, local businesses, or highway cameras; police reports; eye witness statements; and medical records.
Wrongful death attorneys understand the immense grief associated with wrongful death lawsuits and will do everything in their power to work with you to ease your burdens during the stressful time after your loved one’s death.
If you believe your loved one has died as the direct result of someone else’s actions or omissions, you may have a viable wrongful death lawsuit. Don’t hesitate to contact the experienced wrongful death attorneys at VSCP LAW.
Wrongful Death Lawyer in Philadelphia is a civil cause of action brought by family members or legal representatives of the decedent against the person or multiple persons who caused the death of the decedent. The defendant(s) might have caused the death intentionally or they might have caused the death unintentionally (or “negligently”) and either way, the plaintiffs referenced above would have a wrongful death claim. The following are various situations that could lead to a wrongful death lawsuit.
Healthcare providers often misdiagnose patients, which could lead to death. For example, a woman may come to the emergency room with symptoms of nausea and fatigue. The poorly-informed doctor incorrectly concludes that she’s suffering from menstrual issues or indigestion. The doctor prescribes some antacids and a painkiller. The woman was suffering a heart attack. When women suffer heart attacks, they don’t have the same symptoms as men suffering heart attacks. Most doctors only know the typical male symptoms and often misdiagnose women, which could lead to their untimely deaths.
Many medical conditions require prompt intervention by healthcare professionals. For example, time is of the essence when a patient is suffering a stroke. A stroke is when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted or reduced. This is an urgent medical issue and requires a timely diagnosis. Sometimes medical staff will mistake a stroke for a migraine and prescribe painkillers. Unfortunately, during a stroke, every minute that passes is a minute that the brain is losing precious oxygen. And if the proper diagnosis is delayed for too long, the person could die.
When a hospital or other healthcare facility allows a patient to leave their care when the patient’s health condition requires more close monitoring in the healthcare setting, that’s called early discharge medical malpractice. Releasing a patient before it’s physically safe to do so could end in the patient’s death.
Car, truck, or other vehicle accidents can often be fatal. Such accidents can result in the death of the driver, the passenger, and pedestrians. Fatal accidents can result in wrongful death lawsuits against whichever party is found to be at fault for causing the collision.
A product can be defective in its design or its assembly and in some cases, a defective product could kill the user of the product. A defective product could also kill people who aren’t directly using the product, but who are physically near the product user. Wrongful death litigation can result from such defective products.
If a person falls or otherwise gets hurt and then dies as a result of a dangerous condition of a property, the property owner could be liable to the family of the decedent. Business owners and private property owners must keep their properties safe and free from hazards.
Some workplaces (for instance, construction sites, factories, and aircraft) are more dangerous than others. If someone dies from a workplace accident, their family or legal representatives can sue the employer and/or the company that owns the site for wrongful death.
Sadly, even though a person is just trying to have fun at the water park, ATV course, or an amusement park, they can experience a deadly accident.
A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege. Citizens have the right to be free from false arrest, malicious prosecution, and excessive use of force by law enforcement. Wrongful Death Lawyer in Philadelphia can occur particularly in that last example: excessive or unreasonable use of force against a citizen.
Regardless of what type of case is at issue, an experienced wrongful death attorney will help you navigate the complicated legal landscape. To talk with an experienced wrongful death attorney, contact the lawyers at VSCP Law.
If you believe you have been injured because of what a healthcare professional has done (or has not done), then you might have a valid medical malpractice lawsuit and you should contact an attorney right away to discuss your options. But there are so many lawyers in Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Philadelphia and in the whole state of Pennsylvania, how do you decide whom to hire?
To start, you wouldn’t hire a math teacher to help your child learn how to play the piano. Just as there are education specialists, so, too, are there law specialists. Thus, for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Philadelphia, you should hire a Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer. And not just anyone. You need to hire an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney. Here’s why.
In every medical malpractice case, time is of the essence. If your Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyer does not act efficiently and swiftly, critical information could be permanently lost, or worse: You could lose the opportunity to file a lawsuit! You need to hire an experienced attorney who appreciates the time-sensitive nature of your medical malpractice claim.
Pennsylvania law allows you two years from when you knew or should have known that your injury resulted from the defendants’ medical mistake.
In the case of a deceased party, Pennsylvania law allows you two years from the official death date to file a wrongful death medical malpractice lawsuit.
In some exceptional cases, the plaintiff can show that the defendants “fraudulently concealed” their negligence (for instance, if they persuaded the plaintiff that their actions or inactions did not cause their injury). In the case of fraudulent concealment, the plaintiff is granted two years from the time they discovered (or should have discovered) that the defendant’s actions or omissions could likely have caused their loved one’s death.
An experienced hospital malpractice attorney knows what actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records including hospital intake forms, nurses’ logs, doctors’ notes, lab results, diagnostic orders and test results, etc.
Other examples of evidence that needs to be gathered in a timely fashion include witness statements, photographs and videos, and physical objects that are related to the medical malpractice claim such as prescription bottles and medical devices.
The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could dictate whether your medical negligence lawsuit is successful or not.
Despite aggressive advertising to the contrary, many attorneys do not have experience working on Philadelphia or Scranton medical malpractice cases. Many law firms list “medical malpractice” on their websites because they want people to come to them with medical malpractice cases, but they don’t have any significant experience trying these types of complicated cases.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney will have tried at least dozens of cases in an actual courtroom. With each case, the medical malpractice attorney becomes more and more capable because they learn something new every time. And not only do you want an attorney who has tried many medical malpractice cases, but you want an attorney who has tried many medical malpractice cases successfully. So it’s not just experience, per se, that matters – success rate is important as well.
If you believe you or a loved one has been injured as the result of a medical error in Philadelphia or Scranton, contact the experienced medical negligence lawyers at VSCP Law.
Philadelphia personal injury lawyers know that one of the most important actions they can take to increase the value of a personal injury case is to aggressively pursue and preserve evidence. They know what actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records; reviewing police reports; and collecting witness statements, photographs, and videos. The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could determine whether your lawsuit is successful or not. Much of the critical evidence is in the possession of the defendant and if those items aren’t requested early in the process, the defendant might destroy them, even inadvertently. And of course sometimes the defendant has the evidence in their possession and still fails to hand it over. In that case, your personal injury attorney can file a motion to compel the production of the evidence. If the motion is successful, the court will order the defendant to hand over the evidence. Thus, you need an experienced Personal Injury Attorneys in Philadelphia to know what to ask for, how to ask for it, when to ask for it, and what to do if the defendant fails to produce it.
And while personal injury attorneys will aggressively seek as much evidence as possible, the clients, themselves, need to do some work too. Personal injury clients usually have firsthand access to medical records, financial documents, police reports, photographs, and videos, and all of these items can be useful in increasing the value of your personal injury case.
Your Philadelphia negligence attorney will review medical records, health summaries, hospital notes, lab results, police reports, workplace reports, insurance documents, and all other necessary paperwork to fully understand what took place that led to your workplace injury, slip and fall, car accident, or other catastrophic personal injury case. Your personal injury lawyer knows how to analyze piles and piles of records and determine which pieces of evidence are key to the success of the case.
An experienced catastrophic injury attorney evaluates your case with knowledge of all possible causes of action and claims for damages, and will draft your Complaint utilizing that key knowledge. The Complaint will also comply with all applicable statutes. In other words, an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney knows how to craft your claim in the way that puts you in the best position to win.
Even if you file your personal injury lawsuit promptly, there will still be a wait time of at least a couple of years before your case goes to trial. Between the time your attorney files the Complaint and the actual trial date, there is a lengthy period called “Discovery.” Discovery is where both sides to the lawsuit request, exchange, and examine information and evidence pertaining to the case. This includes depositions of parties, experts writing reports, and often a series of motions and hearings on evidentiary issues.
And notwithstanding the considerable length of the discovery period, another delay looms large in Personal Injury Attorneys in Philadelphia: cases are backlogged due to the COVID pandemic. So, there is a long line of postponed trials that get priority over recently-filed cases.
This is why it’s essential to connect with a Personal Injury Attorneys in Philadelphia as soon as you are injured; it will help your personal injury lawyer to get the ball rolling so that you can be compensated for your injuries as swiftly as possible.
To find an experienced Philadelphia personal injury attorney, contact the lawyers at VSCP Law.
It is unimaginably difficult when your child suffers a birth injury. Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia can assist you every step of the way, relieving you of certain burdens so you can focus your attention on the care and well-being of your child. The following is a list of some of the steps experienced Birth Injury Lawyers in Philadelphia take to help you protect your child’s rights.
When your child suffers a serious birth injury, it’s common for you to be so overwhelmed that you don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to deal with this massive injury that is afflicting your child. You don’t know whom to talk to, how to navigate various hospital systems, and how to obtain the appropriate medical care for your child. Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia can help by connecting you with the proper healthcare professionals who can provide thorough medical evaluations, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other critical care.
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult a lawyer. If your baby suffered a birth injury, you need to contact birth injury advocates as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault. It is thus critical that you connect with experienced Philadelphia birth injury attorneys as soon as you suspect your child was injured.
Another way a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia can help you is by collecting evidence that could be crucial to your birth injury lawsuit. The medical terms may seem complicated and the medical records may be hard to understand; this is where experienced birth trauma lawyers come in. They will review and digest all the necessary information because it is essential to your birth injury lawsuit – it supports the argument that the healthcare professional’s actions or omissions caused your child’s injuries. This evidence will also help establish the extent of your child’s injuries, detailing every related issue whether it’s physical or emotional.
When you hire a birth injury lawyer, you may want to ask how big their network of experts is. An experienced birth injury lawyer is connected to a huge network of highly knowledgeable medical professionals. The lawyer will find you the perfect expert for your case – one with the appropriate level of background, expertise, and knowledge in obstetrics, labor and delivery, pediatrics, and/or women’s healthcare.
An experienced birth negligence law firm is obviously equipped to handle the complicated legal system with its various statutes, discovery schedules, motions practice, brief writing, and depositions. They can also help navigate other complex systems that may arise. Whether it’s a large hospital system that refuses to give you medical records, for example, or the need to find a lifecare planner to help you figure out the costs of caring for your child over their lifetime, your birth injury law firm can help navigate these complicated systems.
It goes without saying that no amount of money will take away the pain your child and your family feel after a birth injury. But, when you hire the right birth injury law firm, you can at least rest assured that you will get the most compensation possible for your birth injury case. Your birth injury lawsuit may be very complicated and it may take several months or years from the time you contacted the attorney to the time the case is finally resolved. But, after all is said and done, your Philadelphia birth injury attorney will have helped you protect your child’s rights and achieve the best possible outcome.
There is no birth injury case that is too complex for the lawyers at VSCP Law. Contact them today to protect your child’s rights.
You’ve been injured in a healthcare setting. Now what? Here are five steps you and your Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Philadelphia can take to help you protect your rights.
The first step in any Philadelphia medical malpractice case is to contact an experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Philadelphia as soon as you believe your injuries are the result of a medical error. Because there is a law called the Statute of Limitations that prevents you from filing your lawsuit after a certain amount of time, it’s imperative that you contact a lawyer immediately. You do not want to lose your right to file suit so this is the first step to protect your rights.
Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Philadelphia know that one of the most important actions they can take to increase the value of a medical malpractice case is to aggressively pursue and preserve evidence. They know what actions must be taken early in the process such as ordering medical records; reviewing labs; and collecting witness statements, photographs, and videos. The presence or absence of these crucial forms of evidence could determine whether your lawsuit is successful or not. Much of the critical evidence is in the possession of the defendant and if those items aren’t requested early in the process, the defendant might destroy them, even inadvertently. Thus, you need an experienced Philadelphia patient rights advocate to pursue and preserve any and all necessary evidence.
Your Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Philadelphia will aggressively seek as much evidence as possible, but the clients, themselves, need to do some work too. Medical malpractice clients usually have firsthand access to medical records, health insurance documents, pharmaceutical slips, photographs, and videos, and all of these items can be useful in increasing the value of your medical negligence case.
Let’s say you coached your kids’ football teams for years until you were injured by your doctor. You also played football on an intramural team. Now, as a result of the medical error, you can no longer play football or even coach your kids’ teams. How do you prove that you were once a great player and coach? Photographs, trophies, etc. How do you prove that you’re too injured to play and coach? Document your physical struggles, journal your pain, and take photos/videos of yourself on days you cannot get out of bed. Make sure to report your symptoms to your medical provider and follow their instructions on care. How you were before your injury and how you suffered since your injury all help to increase the value of your medical malpractice case. And you are in the best position to attain and collect this evidence.
An experienced medical negligence attorney evaluates your case with knowledge of all possible causes of action and claims for damages and then drafts a Complaint that reflects that knowledge. The Complaint will also comply with all applicable statutes. In other words, an experienced Philadelphia medical negligence attorney knows how to craft your claim in a way that puts you in the best position to win.
Even if your attorney files your medical malpractice lawsuit promptly, there will still be a wait time of at least a couple of years before your case goes to trial. Between the time your attorney files the Complaint and the actual trial date, there is a lengthy period called “Discovery.” Discovery is where both sides to the lawsuit request, exchange, and examine information and evidence pertaining to the case. This includes depositions of parties, experts writing reports, and often a series of motions and hearings on evidentiary issues.
And notwithstanding the considerable length of the discovery period, another delay looms large in Philadelphia: cases are backlogged due to the COVID pandemic. So, there is a long line of postponed trials that get priority over recently filed cases.
This is why it’s essential to connect with a Philadelphia medical negligence attorney as soon as you are injured; it will help your lawyer get the ball rolling so that you can be compensated for your injuries as swiftly as possible.
To find an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney, contact the lawyers at VSCP Law.
If your child has suffered a birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia, you may feel overwhelmed by your child’s injuries, confused by the medical jargon, and you may not know whether to file a birth injury lawsuit. Read on to learn what every parent should know about a possible birth trauma lawsuit for their child.
In Philadelphia, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. If your baby suffered a birth injury, you need to contact a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
And while your child’s legal case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault. Your claim as the parent could be for, e.g., out-of-pocket expenses, emotional suffering, etc. Parents lose their individual right to sue the healthcare providers after those two years expire.
A neonatal injury attorney in Philadelphia, with sufficient notice, can ensure that you and your child don’t lose your rights to file a lawsuit.
If your child has suffered a serious birth injury, you may be so overwhelmed that you don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to deal with this massive injury that is afflicting your child. You don’t know whom to talk to, how to navigate various hospital systems, and how to obtain the appropriate medical care for your child. Your birth injury lawyer will help by connecting you with the proper healthcare professionals who can provide thorough medical evaluations, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other critical care.
There is evidence that is simply crucial and indispensable to the success of your birth injury lawsuit, such as medical records, rehabilitation reports, hospital notes, lab results, photos, etc. Some of the crucial evidence is produced by healthcare systems and some of this evidence will be produced by you! Indeed, you should be documenting your child’s injury and recovery with photographs, videos, and journaling. These pieces of evidence will help establish the medical malpractice that occurred as well as the extent of your child’s injuries, detailing every related issue whether it’s physical or emotional. Your Philadelphia birth injury lawyer will collect this evidence, review it, retain the appropriate experts, and conduct depositions – all of which are key steps in obtaining a successful outcome for your birth injury lawsuit.
And the mere act of collecting evidence is not as simple as it may sound. Your maternal birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia would have to ask the defendant to supply a good portion of the evidence. Naturally, this is not always easy, and often the defendant will not hand over all the essential evidence immediately. This is why you need to hire an experienced birth trauma attorney who knows what to ask for and how to ask for it (and then, if necessary, how to file a motion to compel the defendant to produce it).
Your birth injury attorney will need to hire a good expert to review your child’s medical records before, during, and after birth as well as those of the mother. Then, the expert and the birth trauma lawyer in Philadelphia together will determine whether or not your healthcare provider was negligent, or failed to meet the standard of care. This is a highly complex analysis that requires deep knowledge of both medicine and law. Only an experienced obstetric malpractice attorney can connect the right expert to your case and with that expert, evaluate whether you will have a high likelihood of success in your birth injury lawsuit. And only an experienced birth trauma attorney can file a lawsuit and help you win your case!
If you believe your child has suffered a birth injury, contact the experienced birth injury lawyers at VSCP Law will help you every step of the way.