Are Birth Injuries Documented in Ohio?

Documentation Can Help in Any Birth Injury Case, But It Is Not Always Easy to Obtain.

Learning that your child has suffered a birth injury is extremely upsetting. You can file a lawsuit or birth injury claim against the doctor that delivered your baby or against any other member of the healthcare team, if their negligence caused the injury. To do this, you will need evidence to prove your case, and medical documentation is a big part of that evidence. So, yes, birth injuries should be documented, but no, they often aren’t, and obtaining this evidence is not always easy. You may need to speak to an Ohio birth injury lawyer that can help you obtain the documentation you need for your case.

Medical Records Serve as Documentation

The OB/GYN doctor,along with other healthcare personnel that are in the labor and delivery room, should write a report about what happened during the birthing process. The charts, reports, and other written documentation is very useful evidence in birth injury claims. Unfortunately, doctors are not always forthcoming about birth injuries when they happen. When they are very subtle injuries, you may not even know about them, and if the doctor does not tell you, you may not learn of them until much later.

Doctors sometimes deceptively try to hide birth injuries because they do not want the injury traced back to them. They do not want to be found liable for the injury and pay the damages you deserve. An Ohio birth injury lawyer will consult with appropriate medical specialists to determine if the attending physician or healthcare providersmade a mistake that resulted in a birth injury. In fact, in order to pursue a birth injury claim, your attorney will have to file in court an affidavit, which is a sworn statement, signed by an appropriate medical specialist attesting to the fact that the healthcare provider was negligent and caused the birth injury.

Your Own Documentation

If you learn that your child has suffered a birth injury, one of the best things you can do for your case is to document it yourself. Keep a journal that details your child’s injury, the symptoms they are experiencing, and the cost of treatment. Your own memories may fade over time, and a journal will help you remember what happened, how much you paid for treatment, and other important facts of your case.

Also include in your journal anything the doctorsor other healthcare professionals said, or did not say, at the time of the birth. These statements, or the lack of them, can help prove the doctor’s medical negligence.

Our Ohio Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help You Collect the Documentation You Need

The documentation you have, along with the documentation your Ohio birth injury attorney retrieves for you, is just the start of building your birth injury case. Some other steps include discovery, where both parties ask written questions of each other; depositions, where both parties get to ask in-person questions of witnesses and medical experts; negotiations; trial preparation; and trial. And while all of this is going on, your birth injury attorney should be reviewing medical literature and strategizing on the best way to present the case to a jury.

If your child was born with a birth injury, our Cleveland birth injury lawyer at The Eisen Law Firm can help with your case. We know that healthcare professionals do not always tell parents of a birth injury, and they often fail to document key aspects of the injury or how it occurred. We also know what documentation you need to prove your claim and how to collect it to give you the best chance of recovering the damages you deserve. Call us today at 216-687-0900 or contact us online to get the sound legal advice you need.