Consulting Medical Experts for NJ Birth Injury Cases

Birth injuries are both tragic and, unfortunately, all too common. If your infant suffers a birth injury due to medical negligence, you may have a claim against the doctor or medical team that provided care during labor and, potentially, against the hospital where you gave birth. In order to obtain compensation for medical bills, lost income while you had to take time off from work, rehabilitative treatments and therapies, and the cost of long-term care for your child, you will need to demonstrate that the defendant or defendants deviated from an appropriate standard of care. The right expert witness will have the medical training and knowledge to aid in proving this contention and thus, will be critical to winning your birth injury  lawsuit. If you are considering filing a claim for medical malpractice involving childbirth in New Jersey, it is important to understand how medical expert witnesses play a vital role in birth injury cases.

Why You Need a Medical Expert to Prove a Birth Injury Claim

Birth injuries encompass a broad range of preventable injuries that infants sustain either during labor, pregnancy, or shortly after birth while under medical care. Although not all birth injuries will lead to a successful lawsuit, our experienced medical malpractice attorneys can evaluate your unique situation and determine whether your child’s birth injury was attributable to negligence. If you have grounds for a lawsuit, having a team of lawyers with a proven track record of successfully handled birth injury cases is advisable to position yourself for the best possible result.

To prove a birth injury claim in New Jersey, your attorneys will need to show that your medical provider(s) and/or the facility where you received care, failed to provide you or your infant with appropriate medical care, medication, or advice during your pregnancy or during labor and delivery. To win with this claim, your attorney will need to establish that the doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider failed to adhere to a generally accepted standard of medical care. This is where a medical expert comes in.

What does a Medical Expert do?

Your attorney may retain a medical expert to evaluate your infant’s medical records and to determine whether your child’s condition resulted from a birth injury attributable to negligence, or whether that condition resulted from a genetic birth defect. This consulting expert will generally be qualified in the same area of medicine as the defendant in the lawsuit, having the same medical speciality and similar training and credentials.

A consulting medical expert may also provide your attorney with a report discussing whether the doctor who provided your infant’s care followed the generally accepted standard of care for doctors in a similar position. The consulting expert will further provide an opinion on whether the treating doctor’s failure to adhere to this standard of care caused the injury suffered by the infant.

If a consulting medical expert determines that the treating doctor’s failure to provide adequate care caused your infant’s injury, your attorney will likely proceed with your case and designate a medical expert who will testify on your behalf during the medical malpractice trial. This may be the same expert who your attorney initially consulted, or it may be a different expert who has more experience testifying in court. This testifying expert witness will again likely be an experienced practitioner in a medical field related to your lawsuit, and this expert will likely testify on the stand regarding the applicable standard of care, as well as the issue of causation.

Types of Medical Experts used in Birth Injury Cases

There are a wide variety of medical experts that may be consulted and engaged in a birth injury case. Depending on the nature and severity of your child’s injury, the circumstances surrounding his or her birth, and the medical professionals involved in the care process, your attorney may choose one or more experts to provide analysis, reports, and expert testimony. The following are some of the most commonly used medical experts in birth injury cases:

• Obstetricians (OB-GYNs)
• Gynecologists
• Perinatologists (high-risk pregnancies)
• Pharmacologists
• anesthesiologist
• Pediatric cardiologists
• Pediatric neurologists
• Physical therapists
• Speech therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Life-care planning experts
• Economists

These experts are crucial to meeting the necessary requirements for a successful claim when seeking compensation for birth injuries.

Get Help Finding the Best Expert Witness for Your NJ Birth Injury Case

The complexity and importance of medical expert selection underscores the need for a highly knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer. Our team of New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys has years of experience choosing the right expert witness based on the individual case. We have amassed a network of renowned medical experts who assist us in presenting the most compelling claim for maximum damages. If you suspect medical malpractice caused your child’s birth injury, contact us online or call us at 866-708-8617 for additional information free of charge.