Help for Families.
At Birth Justice we understand that birth injuries don’t just affect mothers and babies — they impact the entire family.
How can I provide lifetime care for my child or loved one with disability?
If your child or loved one suffered an injury or disability because of a medical mistake, then you may be able to pursue a lawsuit to secure funds that will provide the care that your loved one now needs. A lawsuit to recover for injuries from medical mistakes is known as a medical malpractice case.
What is a life care plan?
During the lawsuit process, a life care plan is created by a specialty doctor, known as a physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor (PM&R). This PM&R doctor has experience with children with special needs and all of the care that your child is predicted to need over his or her lifetime.
The life care plan, usually dozens of pages long, lists the service, equipment, or medical treatment your child requires. Prices are assigned to each item. The total is calculated, which is the cost of lifetime care for your child.
How will my child get to medical appointments and have a safe place to live?
One of the first things our clients do after reaching a settlement or a successful verdict is buy a house and a vehicle. Parents understand that lifting a child that cannot walk, into a car and buckling them in, is back breaking. As parents age, lifting a child becomes too exhausting. Parents understand that their current house, which may have narrow doorways and a bathroom on the second floor, cannot accommodate wheelchair access for their child to safely steer around the house.
Parents want the best for their child with special needs, and keeping their child clean and able to attend medical appointments is a basic desire for all parents. But most cars and houses need to be adapted or specially built. The proceeds from your lawsuit can pay for that specially adapted house and wheelchair accessible vehicle to ensure that your child receives the quality care they need.
What equipment will my child need?
Birth Justice attorney Emily Thomas always remind parents, caring for a child is difficult; it takes a village. When your child has special needs, your village of helping hands and services needs to grow. This is because the most basic needs of a child with special needs may take more time or effort.
As parents know, children are expensive. If you have a child with special needs, add the cost of equipment like custom-made braces to help straighten out your spastic quadriplegic child's arms and legs, summer camp programs with adaptations for your child, specialty wheelchairs that adapt as your child grows.
What services will my child need?
It is important for your child to receive as many supports and services when they are young, as all children deserve to have the best possible life. Even for our youngest children, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy is available. Children with birth injuries typically need all three over their lifetime.
Therapy is often the best medicine for the after effects of a birth injury, however, to be effective, the therapy needs to be consistent and tailored for your child’s individual needs. Insurance, including Medicaid, typically only covers a certain number of therapy visits per year, therefore, it is important to have a source of funds so that your child can always receive the additional therapy they need over their lifetime.
Will my child need attendant and respite care?
Attendant and respite care are caregivers that come into your home and provide hands on care for your child. Many of the children we help have complex care needs, from diapers, feeding tubes, to medication regimens that require medication administration at exact precise times of the day and night. These care needs are overwhelming for parents, but help is available. The life care plan will specify the number of hours of attendant and respite care your child needs.
Birth Justice attorney Daniel A. Kosmowski has first hand experience with the need for attendant and respite care. Dan’s father has a rare early onset dementia. His condition, along with service in the Vietnam War, requires specially trained caregivers.
But like all of our families know, it is better to keep your loved one at home than to put your loved one in a facility. Dan, began this journey with his father and tried seven different facilities for his father. Now 10 years later, Dan’s dad lives with Dan and his wife, fellow Birth Justice Attorney Emily G. Thomas, which is only possible with the help of skilled caregivers.
Emily and Dan are thankful for the resources that Dan’s dad saved when he worked since they now are used to pay for his care. But, children injured by birth trauma will not work. And parents often stop working to care for their child, or miss out on returning to school. This means there must be a source of funds to pay for a lifetime of care.
What can I expect when I call a lawyer?
As attorneys that once sought lawyers to help their loved ones with disabilities, attorneys Emily G. Thomas and Daniel A. Kosmowski know how daunting and intimidating it can be to call a lawyer and ask for help. When you call the Birth Justice Law Firm for help, we want you to be aware of what to expect.Your First Call
Call us anytime. Our friendly receptionist will ask questions about your child, you, and your birth and prenatal care. This information is passed along to our team of Birth Justice Law Firm attorneys.Since every mother and child is unique, there may be follow-up questions from our attorneys. After gathering more information, if the Birth Justice Law Firm cannot help, we will let you know why. If we may be able to help, the next step is requesting a copy of all of medical records, but first a retainer agreement is needed.Signing the Retainer Agreement
The retainer agreement is simply a contract document. This document is the agreement between your Birth Justice attorney and you. This document lays out the responsibilities of each side. Please feel free to ask questions that you may have regarding this document or anything else, as you will surely have questions about your case and how the process works.You will not be charged any fee for our work on the case unless we are able to recover for your family. The expenses and attorney fees to pursue your case will be paid only from a successful recovery. The goal of any potential medical malpractice case is to recover funds to provide lifetime care for your injured loved one.Requesting Medical Records
Every case is individually reviewed in painstaking detail. Obtaining medical records begins the start of the next stage of the investigation. Requesting and receiving the records takes time, but there is no cost to you unless we recover. Be aware that it can take months to receive the records, as some hospitals and doctors offices are more organized and responsive than others. Along the way, feel free to reach out to the Birth Justice Law Firm for a status update.Medical Records Review
Once all the records are in, the records are reviewed. There can be thousands of pages of records. As the case moves forward, the staff at Birth Justice are busy analyzing every bit of information. The goal is to understand in minute detail how the hospital and its doctors reported the birth and care of your child. Birth Justice is experienced with medical records written by doctors after an injury to your child occurred, which were written to cover up malpractice.Once the records are reviewed by Birth Justice, at the next stage, medical experts review the history and medical records. This expert review is important because medical experts such as doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, just to name a few, must swear under oath that from their experience, there was a breach of the standard of care. The standard of care is a legal term for what is negligent care versus acceptable care in hospitals and doctors' offices. If you have questions about this, attorney Emily Thomas will be happy to explain in more detail how it relates to your case.As you can see, much work will take place. But, there is no cost to you, unless there is a recovery. These medical experts can be costly, as they are top rated medical providers often located outside of Michigan, requiring travel time by the attorneys of Birth Justice to meet with the experts. The sad truth is that even in the worst cases, local doctors protect other local doctors. We often find our medical experts from outside of the state, because they are willing to speak the truth to the medical malpractice of other doctors.The Discovery Process
Once the lawsuit is filed, the discovery process begins. The discovery process is another lengthy process that can take months to a year. This discovery process is exactly that, we discover information that is being held by the opposing side (the hospital and doctors). In turn, the defendant hospital and doctors then discover information about our case.Discovery takes the form of requesting documents including medical records and telephone records. Eventually depositions will be scheduled. Depositions are where lawyers for the parties ask questions under oath in a conference room setting. A court reporter is present to record the questions and answers, which is just like giving testimony in a courtroom.Settlement Discussions
At a certain point during or after discovery, settlement discussions may begin. The settlement discussions between plaintiff and defendants are facilitated by a mutually agreed-upon facilitator. The facilitator is usually someone who is a former judge or attorney, who is well-versed in these highly complex medical-legal cases. These facilitations have their own rhythm to them, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Your attorney from Birth Justice will be present, along with you. If an offer is made by the defendant hospital/doctors, you as the plaintiff will have the option of accepting or rejecting it. Trial
If the sides cannot reach a settlement, a trial will occur. Trials can be stressful for all that are involved. But, preparation is key and your attorneys at Birth Justice will thoroughly prepare for your case.After Settlement or a Trial
Upon settlement or reaching a successful verdict in plaintiff's favor, a special needs trust is set up for an injured child. These special needs trusts are discussed more in greater detail here. Simply put, a special needs trust allows for the child to continue to receive government benefits and holds the proceeds from the lawsuit for the child. These special needs trusts are often administered by a professional trustee, someone who will manage the checkbook and invested dollars. Record-keeping is important, imagine a checkbook just for your child's medical needs that has to comply with certain government regulations. The goal of this professional trustee is also to ensure that the proceeds from the lawsuit are invested wisely in order to grow over time to generate more dollars for your child's care. Birth Justice will introduce you to trustees and will be present with you when you meet to select a trustee. These are just an overview of the many steps. Know that your consultation with Birth Justice is free. Only upon a successful settlement or verdict in your favor, will Birth Justice be paid for its time invested in the case.