Special Service Costs for Injured Children

It can be heartbreaking to go through a pregnancy and learn that the baby you just birthed has a condition that is incurable and requires special education and care. You may have spent significant time dreaming of a particular life for your child, and that life may not be realizable. While the degree of disability that children with birth injuries experience can vary, many families do need help in the form of special services. If you are concerned about the special service costs for injured children incurred as a result of birth injuries, the seasoned Syracuse birth injury attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano are available to assess your case.

Many parents underestimate special service costs for injured children following a significant birth injury, and are shocked to learn what those costs are. Even medical costs may be too much for the average family to pay for. On top of that, there are other expenses and losses associated with caring for a child who was born with birth injuries.

It can be helpful to consult an attorney about special service costs in connection with a birth injury lawsuit. Our firm works with economists and life-care planners, as well as medical experts, to determine what types of services will be needed by the injured child. Depending on the degree of injuries, parents may need to obtain compensation for items such as feeding tubes; tracheostomy tubes; pain pumps; multiple prescription medications, standing frames; wheelchairs; walkers; adaptive high chairs; lifts; beds; bathtub chairs, gurneys; car seats; roll-in showers; vitamins; child and adult diapers; special food; educational materials; toys; vehicle and home modifications; ramps; redesigned kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms; widened doors; handrails and grab bars; and intercoms.

Often it's necessary to present a life care plan to the jury to show just how much the costs are and what services will be required. The plan allows the jury to get a sense of the full scope of your losses. Making this plan will require consultation with credible experts.

To recover special service costs in a medical malpractice lawsuit, you will first need to show liability. This means you'll need to prove that a health care provider owed you a professional duty of care, the health care provider breached the professional duty of care, and the health care provider caused injuries as a result of that professional breach. You will need a credible expert's opinion about what the professional standard of care is and whether there was a breach in the professional standard of care.

For example, if a baby is deprived of oxygen to the brain, the result may be that the baby is born with cerebral palsy. If, for example, an obstetrician leaves the baby in the birth canal too long due to a prolonged and difficult labor, the baby may be deprived of oxygen. Depending on the circumstances, this may be a breach of the professional standard of care. For another example, traumatic brain injury can happen where an obstetrician uses vacuum delivery or forceps to deliver a child and exercises force that exceeds what would be reasonable.

There is no cure for cerebral palsy. Nor are there cures for certain other serious birth injuries. However, experts may provide opinions about what types of therapy and other special services could assist a growing child with cerebral palsy to get better control over his or her body. It is critical to get medical attention if you suspect your child has cerebral palsy or another birth injury, because this will allow you get the appropriate services, such as occupational therapy and physical therapy, to help the child function better. Sometimes there is an intellectual disability as well — a substantial number of people with cerebral palsy also suffer cognitive impairments. Therapy and early intervention are expensive, but can provide significant help with intellectual disabilities. There may be other accommodations that help a child with cerebral palsy or another serious birth injury handle the condition.

If your child was injured as a result of medical malpractice, it may be possible to recover losses such as special service costs. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, our lawyers represent babies and families in Syracuse, Rochester, Lyons, Cooperstown, Canandaigua, Ithaca, Wampsville, Oswego, Watertown, Utica, Lowville, Cortland, Delhi, Herkimer, Oneida, Norwich, Oswego, Cooperstown, Ithaca, Binghamton, Auburn, and Elmira. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.