Seattle Birth Injury Attorneys

Proving a birth injury claim can be a challenging process. Personal injury law requires that claimants show negligence on the part of another person or party to succeed in their claims. In birth injuries, negligence would refer to medical practitioners involved in the birthing process having a duty of care to the mother and child yet failing to satisfy that duty due to recklessness or error.

When pursuing a claim for a birth injury, claimants must be able to establish four key elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages. These are legal principles that the claimant must prove before any potential compensation is awarded.

Duty of Care

The first element for proving negligence is establishing that there was indeed a duty of care owed to the mother or child during childbirth. Medical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, must display knowledge and skill when dealing with patients. If these duties are breached through errors or recklessness during labor, delivery, or post-birth care, liability could be established for subsequent harm caused by these actions. 

Breach of Duty

The second step required for proving negligence is demonstrating how this breach of duty led to an injury sustained by either mother or child. This involves showing that the medical professional's action (or lack thereof) was directly responsible for causing harm.

Injuries & Damages

Thirdly, claimants must demonstrate that the damages incurred were caused by the negligent behavior, meaning they wouldn't have happened if not for the medical professional's action (or inaction). This means it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the harm suffered was due to poor care provided during childbirth rather than an unavoidable natural occurrence associated with labor/delivery. 

Once all three prior elements have been established, it must also be demonstrated how much money should be awarded to compensate for the negligent behavior, known as damages. This could include reimbursement for medical treatment costs associated with treating birth injuries and other losses, such as lost wages from time off work related to caring for an injured child.

When attempting to prove a birth injury case in Washington, claimants must prove that medical professionals' negligent behavior led to an injury that resulted in financial loss or loss of enjoyment of life. To do this successfully, claimants will need evidence and witness testimony that proves each step outlined above occurred and led to the incident or injury.