Questioning the actions of a medical professional is never easy. The media sometimes portrays victims of medical neglect or medical malpractice as greedy or only having a lottery mentality. Ask any mother of a child with CP if she ever feels “greedy” in pursuing everything that her child deserved when harmed by a medical professional. The answer will always be a resounding, “No!”
Making matters more difficult, politicians often push the idea of legal reform, limiting the rights of victims of malpractice, as somehow being necessary to “keep healthcare costs down.” This is a complete myth that’s been disproven time and again and yet, the story still gets play with politicians eager to earn donations by supporting the efforts of powerful insurance companies (and their lobbyists), more interested with their profitability than caring for the victims of harm caused by the doctors and hospitals they insure.
More hesitation may come from the fact that most of us like to consider our doctors as experts, while we place them high on a pedestal above us for their superior knowledge. A parent may ask ‘who am I to question their efforts?’ Unfortunately, these sorts of hesitancies heavily benefit doctors and other medical professional. As a result, errors and missteps that may be evident to someone with medical knowledge are missed and significant assistance for children who suffer an avoidable birth injury becomes a lost opportunity.
The honest truth is that every birth injury should be objectively reviewed. Just as a company or government body is expected to look deeply into an incident to understand how a mistake happened, we should have the same expectation of the medical field. Because the situation involves the health of a child who may require significant medical help, though, parents too often simply rely upon the information provided them by the doctors or hospital that may have been responsible for the harm caused. This can be disastrous, though, due to the lengths doctors and hospitals will go to hide a birth injury, including misdiagnosis, the use of whimsical terms to describe the child’s condition and more. Why would they do this? Simply stated, it’s a tactic to limit their potential liability.
A review of a birth injury can be of great benefit for any parent because the answer provided is better than the nagging worries caused by not knowing. Learning just how complex the circumstances were surrounding the child’s birth, a parent can feel relief that nothing more could be done. For parents considering having another child, a review can bring peace of mind around the cause being genetic or other circumstance, allowing for a more positive outlook on any future pregnancy. They may also learn that the care they received was exceptional, perhaps even the difference between life and death for their child.
However, if such a birth injury review reveals deviations from medical standards or significant errors by medical professionals during the pregnancy or delivery, a child may be eligible for Lifetime Benefits. Set aside in a trust and dedicated exclusively to helping a family provide the best care possible for their child, Lifetime Benefits open the doors to a wide variety of options that may not have been affordable before. Whether a child needs extensive therapy, in-home care, adaptive equipment, assistive technology, an assistance animal. Lifetime Benefits are specifically intended to make money not an issue when it comes to overcoming barriers caused by a birth injury.
So why aren’t all birth injuries reviewed by families? The truth is unfortunately simple: parents are misinformed, uninformed about the options available to them or too worried about finding out the answers. Failing to have a birth injury reviewed only benefits a medical professional who may be directly responsible for a child’s lifelong condition. On the other hand, provided free of charge, a Medical Legal Review can open doors for parents who are simply looking to provide their child the best life possible.
Questions about a birth injury review? Call us at (800) 462-5772 or fill out our online form today to learn about your options while getting connected with free resources aimed to help children with special needs.
