An injury to a baby before, during, or shortly after birth can be devastating. But what is even more devastating is when such injuries are caused by negligence committed by the hospital, doctor, nurse, or any other healthcare provider. By working with a birth injury lawyer, Indianapolis parents can file a claim against those responsible for their child’s injury.
Filing a birth injury claim is a complex process and it involves people you do not know digging into medical records. Knowing how to protect your privacy during a birth injury case is important not only for burden of proof, but also for your family’s protection.
What is HIPAA?
HIPPA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, established national privacy rules to protect patients’ personal health information by limiting who can access or share private health information. There are two categories of rules governing what information is protected under HIPAA—privacy and security rules.
These categories cover certain health information held or transferred electronically as well as by any other method of communication. Your healthcare information can include your family history, drug history, sexual history, and financial information. HIPAA has established rules to ensure that such sensitive information is protected.
Is a HIPAA Privacy Violation Considered Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice usually includes damages for injuries caused by medical mistakes. However, a healthcare provider or hospital can also be held liable for HIPAA privacy violations. Your healthcare information can expose you to harm, and if a medical worker or hospital breached their duty of care to you, causing you injury or harm, you might have a claim for damages.
Medical malpractice cases can, however, be complicated, especially if they involve hospital security. A competent medical malpractice attorney can review your case and help you understand your rights.
Serious Birth Injuries Caused by Malpractice or Negligence
Many birth injuries occur because there was no other way the doctors could deliver the babies without risking their lives. However, there are just as many cases of birth injuries due to poor communication between the doctors and other hospital staff regarding the medical history of the mothers and their children.
Minor injuries, like bruising of a child’s face, often heal quickly. Severe injuries, however, such as infant brain damage, may cause long-term symptoms or lead to disabilities like cerebral palsy. Other serious birth injuries include:
- Developmental delays
- Erb’s palsy (Brachial Plexus Injury)
- Mental retardation
- Fetal sepsis
- Folic acid disorders
- Injury from forceps delivery
- Injury from vacuum extraction
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
- Wrongful death
In such cases, the impacted families may be entitled to compensation. It is best to contact a birth injury lawyer in Indianapolis if you suspect your child’s injury could have been due to negligence or medical malpractice.
What Costs Do Birth Injury Settlements Cover?
Birth injury lawsuit settlements provide families with the financial aid needed to care for a child that suffered from a birth injury due to negligence. Some children who sustain birth injuries may require long-term treatment to manage their conditions.
Depending on several factors, including the injury’s severity, the negligent healthcare provider can agree to resolve a birth injury claim with a settlement offer. A sufficient settlement offer would cover the financial costs necessary to ensure the injured child has the best possible care and quality of life.
Birth injury settlements can cover the cost of the following:
- Assistive/mobility aids
- Adaptive equipment
- Medications
- Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Other associated costs
Many families have been awarded millions of dollars in compensation after birth injuries. Working with an experienced birth injury lawyer gives Indianapolis families a better chance of obtaining fair compensation for their birth injury claims.
Should you Sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in a Settlement?
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA) prevents the details of your settlement from being made public. If you want to keep the details of your child’s birth injury private, an NDA can be beneficial. The negligent hospital or healthcare provider may also want you to sign an NDA so that the details of the incident remain private.
As harmless as it may seem, not all cases require that an NDA be signed. An experienced birth injury lawyer is best positioned to give you information about the benefits or drawbacks of an NDA in your case.
Benefits of Working with an Indianapolis Birth Injury Lawyer
Birth injury and medical malpractice lawsuits are some of the most challenging legal cases because of the complex laws involved. While there are no laws requiring that you have a lawyer when bringing forth a birth injury lawsuit, working with a birth injury lawyer is the best way to protect your privacy and put yourself in a position to secure a favorable outcome.
Cases like these often require extensive investigation, expert medical collaborations, and technicalities that experienced lawyers are best able to handle. These legal experts know the right questions to ask to ensure that those responsible for your child’s injury or wrongful death are held accountable to the full extent of the law.
If your baby was injured before, during, or immediately after birth due to negligence made by healthcare providers, contact an Indianapolis birth injury lawyer to ensure you get the justice you and your family deserve.
Wagner Reese serves all areas of Indiana. Call our Indianapolis office today for a free and confidential case evaluation. It’s our goal to protect our clients’ futures and get them the compensation they deserve.