West Virginia Birth Injury Attorney
A child’s birth should bring tremendous joy and excitement to a new parent, but when childbirth goes wrong, this day can take a tragic turn. When your child is the victim of a birth injury, you may feel devastated and overwhelmed when considering the lifelong costs of providing care for a child with serious health issues. Fortunately, the law provides parents the right to hold medical professionals responsible when preventable birth injuries occur. Families that experience a birth injury may receive help by filing a lawsuit based on medical malpractice. A West Virginia birth injury attorney at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson in Martinsburg can help you hold the defendant liable and recover damages.
Why You Need a West Virginia Birth Injury Attorney
Parents deserve compensation for emotional trauma and future medical care when preventable medical errors result in birth injuries in West Virginia (WV). Though liability may seem obvious, proving a medical facility’s liability for a child’s birth injury is rarely straightforward. For help pursuing the damages you deserve, contact the WV birth injury lawyers at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson.
Due to the complexity of proving liability, families need assistance from skilled attorneys who are well-versed in birth injury cases. At Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson, our experienced malpractice attorneys gather evidence from medical expert witnesses and hospital records, including evidence of obstetric standards of care, to show that the doctors and nurses handling a birth breached their legal duty to provide attentive and competent care. Contact our Martinsburg, WV offices to discuss your family’s case and what your options may be to receive compensation after a birth injury.
Common Birth Injuries at West Virginia Hospitals
Despite improvements in hospital safety and scientific understanding, injuries during childbirth are still troublingly common. Some of the most common birth injuries result from a deprivation of oxygen during the birth process. A knowledgeable birth injury lawyer in West Virginia can help you identify injuries caused by negligence or mistakes during childbirth and fight to hold the responsible parties liable.
Cerebral palsy is one example of a defect caused by oxygen deprivation and is one of the most common birth injuries. This condition can cause muscular spasms, difficulty talking, brain damage, and poor ability to control movement. Other common birth injuries include:
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
- Broken bones
- Complications resulting from a breech birth
- Lacerations suffered during a Caesarian section
- Injuries caused by use of forceps or other medical devices
- Erb’s palsy
Regardless of the severity of the injury, you may be entitled to compensation for your child’s injuries. Contact a skilled West Virginia birth injury lawyer to maximize the damages you recover.
Damages a West Virginia Birth Injury Attorney Can Help Recover
A parent can recover economic, non-economic, and potentially punitive damages for their child’s birth injuries. While there is no cap on economic damages, West Virginia limits awards for non-economic damages to $250,000, with an increase to $500,000 for special circumstances such as death, permanent disfigurement, or permanent disability. Additionally, under WV Code § 55-7-29, there is a limit of the greater of $500,000 or four times the amount of compensatory damages for punitive damages in West Virginia.
Economic damages cover the financial losses a parent experiences due to their child’s birth injury. These costs can include the child’s past and future medical care and special education costs, among others.
Non-economic damages compensate for the pain and suffering or emotional distress the child and parents experience due to birth injuries. These damages also consider the lower quality of life the child and family may have due to the injuries.
While economic and non-economic damages compensate the injured child and their family, punitive damages punish the defendant. The plaintiff receives punitive damages when the defendant acted maliciously or with a conscious, reckless, or outrageous indifference to the child’s wellbeing. A West Virginia birth injury attorney can maximize the damages you recover from the defendant.
A West Virginia Birth Injury Attorney Can Handle the Lawsuit Properly
In addition to needing to satisfy the law to prove the defendant is liable, the plaintiff must also cooperate with procedural law. This begins with filing the lawsuit on time, which, pursuant to WV Code § 55-7B-4, is within twelve years of the birth injury in West Virginia, or the parent loses the chance of recovery. After the lawsuit is filed, the rules of discovery, filing and arguing motions, and properly handling a trial must also be followed for a successful recovery.
In addition to following procedural rules, an experienced West Virginia birth injury lawyer understands how to deal with the defense attorney, judge, and court personnel. Lawsuits involve negotiations and artfully presenting your arguments, skills possessed by every skilled West Virginia birth injury lawyer at our firm.
Find a West Virginia Birth Injury Lawyer at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson
When your child suffers a birth injury, it is a highly challenging and emotional time. With the help of a skilled attorney, you can recover the compensation you and your child deserve. For help, contact a West Virginia birth injury attorney at Burke, Schultz, Harman & Jenkinson at 304-263-0900 or fill out the firm’s online contact form.
