Who can I hold responsible after my child’s birth injury?

If you had a traumatic birth and as a result, your child suffered injuries, it can be hard to move on from this experience. Many new parents find that they suffer from anxiety and depression after going through highly stressful scenarios when their child was being born. While some birth injuries are unavoidable, others are the result of hospital or doctor negligence.

If you believe that the hospital staff did not fulfill their duty of care toward you and your newborn child when giving birth, it may be possible to make a medical malpractice claim and redeem damages as a result. These damages may cover the financial costs associated with your child’s injury as well as offering additional compensation for the pain and suffering caused. The following are parties that you may be able to hold responsible for your child’s injuries.

Holding hospitals liable due to negligence

Hospitals are usually held liable when an avoidable birth injury occurs on their premises. This is because hospitals are entities that are responsible for hiring competent medical professionals and for maintaining systems and facilities that are safe and effective.

You may be able to directly hold a hospital liable for negligence if a hospital’s member of staff is negligent in their care toward you, and, as a result, causes a birth injury. Even if it can be shown that a doctor, nurse or surgeon’s actions constituted medical malpractice and directly injured you or your baby, the hospital may still be held liable through the doctrine of vicarious liability.

Holding pharmaceutical companies liable

In some cases, you may believe that the medication you were using caused your child’s birth injuries. Even if this was the case, it is unlikely that you will be able to hold the pharmaceutical company liable, particularly if you received the medication while in the hospital. Pharmaceutical companies have the duty to warn physicians of the potential dangers of the drug. If your doctor ignored this advice, the hospital will be held liable. If the pharmacist breached their duty, the company by which they are employed by will likely be held liable.

If you want to make a medical malpractice claim to get justice for your child’s birth injury, you must take swift action to start the process.