When your child has suffered a birth injury, your thoughts may shift to the legal process. You both want to hold the doctor responsible for what they did and recover compensation that your child will need now and in the future.
You have the option of filing a birth injury lawsuit to seek compensation. In order to file the lawsuit, you need to comply with South Carolina law. South Carolina imposes a deadline which is called the birth injury statute of limitations. To learn about your legal rights, and the requirements for filing a lawsuit, call the Columbia medical malpractice lawyers at Rikard & Protopapas.
The Birth Injury Statute of Limitations Under South Carolina Law
Every personal injury case comes with a deadline. If you do not file a lawsuit by a certain time, you will lose the right to seek financial compensation entirely. This deadline is called the statute of limitations.
South Carolina law aims to be fair to the doctor who was involved in your child’s care by keeping them from having to defend against a lawsuit years in the future, when they may no longer have the evidence to tell their side of the story. The statute of limitations is a policy choice in the law to balance the interests of plaintiffs and defendants in legal cases.
In South Carolina, the statute of limitations in a medical malpractice case is three years from the date that your child was injured.
The time clock begins to run from the time that the injury occurred or when you should have known that your child was injured. If you miss the statute of limitations, you would lose the right to file a lawsuit entirely. You cannot miss the deadline by even a day.
Courts will entertain very limited excuses for missing the date, as the exceptions are very strictly construed. It is better not to take any chances at all when deciding whether to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.
You may not have known that your child was injured as soon as they were born. For example, it may take several months to learn that your child has cerebral palsy. Your child may need extensive testing before doctors may reach this conclusion. Thus, there may be some questions about when the statute of limitations begins to run. From your perspective, you are better off when you are diligent about getting medical care and a diagnosis for your child.
You Should Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer As Soon as Possible
Your child and family will need the compensation that you could receive if you are successful with your birth injury lawsuit. Therefore, it is essential that you at least take the first steps towards filing a lawsuit.
It is always better to err on the side of being prepared, even if you are not going to file a lawsuit immediately. You cannot do anything to enhance your legal situation until you hire an experienced lawyer for your case.
Your attorney will need some time to investigate your possible lawsuit. Chances are that they will consult with a series of experts in different areas to learn more. Perhaps the most important expert that a lawyer would talk to is the medical expert who would explain how and why the doctor breached their duty of care. You must be able to show that the doctor did something that an ordinary doctor of reasonable training would not have done.
How Long Does a Birth Injury Lawsuit Take?
It takes time for your lawyer to develop your case. They may not have to file a lawsuit immediately, but you do not want your lawyer to run out of time. You at least want to know that you have an experienced attorney on your side as soon as possible, even if you are not filing a lawsuit tomorrow.
Birth injury cases are a type of medical malpractice lawsuit. These cases are among the most challenging and time-consuming to resolve. Birth injury cases both involve a very complex set of facts and potentially significant damages.
You can expect the case to stretch for several years before you have any type of resolution.
It could even take you a long time to settle your case. The defendants will not settle your case easily.
Chances are that you may need to go through much of the litigation process before you may reach a settlement agreement.
By the time you make it through the pre-trial motions and the discovery process, it could take well over a year. That is before your case may go to trial. Ultimately, you must be patient when you file a birth injury lawsuit.
You must have a strong enough case when you file the lawsuit to allow you to move forward with the lawsuit. Even though you may get much of your evidence through discovery, your claim must be sufficient to state a ground for relief before your case can proceed through the legal system. You can rest assured that the defendant will do everything in their power to try to get your case dismissed.
Contact a Columbia Birth Injury Lawyer Today
Your child needs an experienced and fierce advocate to fight for their legal rights. The doctor, hospital and the insurance company are not going to willingly and easily surrender a check that covers the full costs of your child’s injuries.
We are ready to fight for every dollar. The birth injury lawyers at Rikard & Protopapas will be the determined advocates that your family needs at a difficult time. You can speak with one of our lawyers when you call us today at 803-978-6111 or message us online. You owe us nothing unless you win your case by receiving a settlement or jury award.