In today’s educational article I will discuss the impact of Covid-19 on birth injury and medical malpractice cases. Although many areas have some form of shelter in place investigation into these matters by my firm continues. Please be advised that the specific court related procedure information is guided by Maryland court and executive orders. If you have specific questions about these orders in your state be sure to speak with an attorney in your area regarding those questions.
At the conclusion of this article you will understand how some aspects of these cases can continue even during a sheltered in place and state at home orders.
THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES…
To prove birth injury and medical malpractice cases we must show that there was deviation from the standard of care which caused the injury. These requirements hold true for not only a birth injury but a surgical malpractice issue, for example.
To understand the standard of care and a possible deviation from it we use medical experts. These medical experts will review all the relevant information surrounding the case and give an opinion. Usually the medical records will be key for understanding these issues.
Birth injury attorneys like myself will contact the medical experts needed in the case. This is part of the investigation into the case. When families contact us, we generally will have to go through these steps before we can give them an answer one way of another as to whether we think they have a viable birth injury claim. As you can see, a bad result is not enough in these cases. We must be able to square the facts with the elements of negligence, and the standard of care, and causation, mentioned above, are parts of this puzzle.
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON BIRTH INJURY AND MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASES
As I mentioned above, we are still investigating birth injury and medical malpractice cases because the investigation takes time. It can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to have a good idea as to what may have happened in a case. Although the court system is on pause regarding a lot of cases right now, certain filings can continue.
For families who are looking to move forward initially without the help of a birth injury attorney, there are things that you can do on the front end of things. One thing that you can do is request the medical records surrounding your situation. If it is a birth injury case, be sure to request the records from not only your side as mom but be sure to get the baby’s records too. Hospitals will sometimes keep the records separate and not include them in one record. You must be specific as to what you want.
The same will hold true for medical malpractice cases dealing with a surgery for example. Because an investigation will be needed, these records will play a vital role in helping you understand what may have happened.
Before I close this section, be sure to see if you can get the records on a disk or e-file, as this will help cut costs. Remember, I am making this suggestion for people who initially do not want to have an attorney help them with these issues (usually we will just request the records for our clients in most circumstances).
If you have more questions about these, you can reach me at 301-850-4832.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
