Best Birth Injury Lawyers In Idaho

Best Birth Injury Lawyers in Idaho

What Makes a Lawyer the Best

A preventable birth injury can have significant physical, emotional, and financial ramifications for the affected family. And while nothing can fully heal the pain of knowing that medical negligence has impacted your child for life, a top birth injury attorney can advocate for the financial compensation they deserve. But how can parents discern who are the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho?

To start with, the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho will have experience successfully handling medical malpractice lawsuits. An extensive track records of high dollar settlements and verdicts is essential for determining insight and expertise. Given the highly emotional nature of a birth injury lawsuit, however, we also believe that the best lawyers are those who exhibit compassion towards families and a commitment to seeking justice. Finding the most dedicated birth injury lawyers means examining professional accolades and reviews from past and current clients. The best birth injury lawyers in Idaho are highly respected by colleagues and clients alike.

It Starts with Results

Impressive verdicts and settlements in past birth injury lawsuits should not be the only criteria by which lawyers are judged; however, successful result in previous birth injury lawsuits is a good place to start when looking for the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho. Given the highly complex nature of the birthing process itself, it should come as no surprise that when a preventable injury occurs the resulting lawsuit is just as intricate. Therefore, the search for the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho begins with looking for lawyers who have a proven track record of getting results.

Lawyers Who Get Results

Using a demonstrated track record of successful results as our starting point, we then searched for lawyers who also have the additional qualities necessary to rank among the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho. Lawyers who combine compassion, commitment, accolades, and achievements with proven results include:

Patrick Mahoney of Mahoney Law, PLLC located in Boise, Idaho – Mahoney is listed in the Mountain States Super Lawyers magazine’s medical malpractice section and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates forum and the invitation-only National Trial Lawyers Group. Among his past successes are a $7.2 million cerebral palsy birth injury settlement and a $3 million settlement against doctors and a hospital for an anoxic brain injury due to failure to perform a timely cesarean section. His compassion and commitment can be summarized by his firm’s stellar Google reviews from past and current clients.

Eric S. Rossman of Rossman Law Group, PLLC with offices in Boise, Meridian, and Nampa, Idaho. – Rossman has obtained over one-hundred-million dollars in verdicts and settlements for his clients, including a $5 million settlement for a birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy. He was named the Idaho State Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2021 and is a member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, and the American Association for Justice. His dedication to the pursuit of justice and compassion for clients is evident in the numerous five-star Google reviews for his firm.

Charles Hepworth of Hepworth Holzer with offices in Boise and Meridian, Idaho – Hepworth has a history of high dollar results for his clients, including a $7.55 million birth injury verdict as well as a $2.93 million medical malpractice verdict. Along with being named among the Best Lawyers in America for each of the past ten years, attorney Hepworth also has the distinction of being Idaho’s only member of the highly selective Inner Circle of Advocates and being selected by his fellow Idaho trial lawyers to receive the 2022 James J. May Award as Trial Lawyer of the Year. Finally, attorney Hepworth’s personalized attention and commitment to injured victims can be found in numerous client Google reviews.

Chad Nicholson of McConnell Wagner Sykes and Stacy, PLLC with offices in Boise, Idaho – Nicholson has over ten years of experience in high level personal injury litigation. Together with his colleagues at McConnell Wagner Sykes and Stacey, he has recovered tens of millions of dollars in plaintiff verdicts and settlements. He is a member of the Idaho State Bar, the Idaho Trial Lawyers Association, and the Idaho Supreme Court. As evidenced by his firm’s high Google review ratings, Nicholson has earned recognition from satisfied clients as well as his professional peers.

Examples of Idaho Birth Injury Lawsuits

For the parent of a child who suffered a birth injury to recover monetary damages, they must prevail in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed on their child’s behalf against all potentially negligent (at-fault) parties. Prevailing in a medical malpractice lawsuit, in turn, requires the plaintiff (parent) to prove that one or more defendants breached the applicable standard of care, causing injury to their child. In Idaho, the applicable standard of care compares what a defendant did, or failed to do, with “similarly trained and qualified providers of the same class in the same community, taking into account his or her training, experience, and fields of medical specialization, if any.” Birth injury lawsuits are among the most difficult of all personal injury cases given the likelihood of multiple defendants, complicated facts, and the imposition of a unique standard of care.

For example, in a case handled by attorney Patrick Mahoney, health care providers failed to perform a timely cesarean section when the mother was in labor. As a result, the baby suffered anoxic brain injury and cerebral palsy. Attorney Mahoney filed a birth injury lawsuit against the doctors and hospital, recovering a $3 million settlement for the injured child and parents.

Both actions and the failure to act can result in negligence in an Idaho birth injury lawsuit. The numerous ways in which a health care professional could commit negligence during the birth process is one reason birth injury lawsuits are difficult to litigate. Some common negligent acts and omissions include:

Lawyers for Idaho Cerebral Palsy Cases

Cerebral palsy birth injury cases are among the hardest medical malpractice cases to successfully litigate because the oxygen deprivation that causes cerebral palsy can happen prior to or during birth. To prevail, the plaintiff must prove the lack of oxygen occurred during birth. Oxygen deprivation can occur while a baby is in the womb, or it can occur during delivery. These attorneys have proven that they are among the best birth injury lawyers in Idaho for cerebral palsy cases:

Patrick Mahoney successfully recovered a $7.2 million settlement in a cerebral palsy birth injury case. In that case, attorney Mahoney was able to prove that the baby suffered intrauterine growth restriction during the last phase of the pre-natal period as well as suffering a lack of oxygen during the labor and delivery process. The oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery established negligence on the part of the defendants, resulting in a substantial monetary recovery for the family.

Eric S. Rossman whose track record includes a $3.55 million settlement for birth injuries that resulted in cerebral palsy caused by oxygen deprivation during the labor and delivery process. Within the same law firm, attorney Erica S. Phillips also focuses her practice of law on medical malpractice cases, including cerebral palsy injuries caused by negligence that occurred during the birth process.

Common Birth Injury Defendants in Idaho

Along with proving that negligent conduct caused or contributed to a birth injury, a plaintiff must also prove whose actions or failure to act resulted in that negligence. For this reason, birth injury lawsuits often involve multiple defendants, any, or all of whom could be held legally liable for injuries that occurred during the birth. The hospital where the birth occurred is commonly included as a potentially negligent party. In Idaho, hospital defendants in a birth injury lawsuit may include:

About Idaho Birth Injury Cases and Birth Injury Law

The statute of limitations on medical malpractice lawsuits in the state of Idaho is two years. This means that a lawsuit must be filed prior to the expiration of the two-year time period or a victim loses the right to pursue legal action. Idaho Code Section 5-219 states that the statute of limitations period begins to run “as of the time of the occurrence, act or omission complained of…” The only exception to the two-year limit that could be applicable in a birth injury lawsuit applies if the health care provider fraudulently concealed the malpractice.

Idaho Code 6-1001 also requires birth injury lawsuits in Idaho to go through a pre-litigation screening process by the Idaho Board of Medicine (IBM) before a Plaintiff is allowed to proceed with a lawsuit. The panel will review evidence, records, and testimony and issue findings on whether the claim appears to be frivolous or meritorious. Although the pre-litigation process is informal and non-binding, it is compulsory for a potential medical malpractice Plaintiff. Furthermore, Section 6-1012 of the Idaho Code requires a Plaintiff to provide expert testimony establishing that the defendant breached the applicable standard of care in most medical malpractice lawsuits.

Finally, Idaho Code Section 6-1603 limits non-economic damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit to $400,000, adjusted yearly for inflation. If, however, it is found that the defendant acted recklessly or willfully the $400,000 damage cap does not apply. Non-economic damages refer to the subjective, psychological injuries suffered in a personal injury lawsuit, such as pain, suffering, and mental anguish. There is no limit, however, to the amount of economic damages a plaintiff may be awarded in an Idaho birth injury lawsuit. Economic damages are intended to compensate the plaintiff for the objective expenses caused by the defendant’s negligence, such as hospital and doctor bills, therapy expenses, and lost wages.

A Successful Birth Injury Case Starts With Choosing the Best Representation

One of the most important things to understand about choosing the best Idaho birth injury lawyer is that no two birth injury cases are created equally. Every scenario is different, and the best Idaho birth injury attorneys know that there’s no “one size fits all” when it comes to advocating for the injured.

Therefore, you need to find a birth injury lawyer in Idaho who understands not only the law’s complexities but also the nuances of your specific situation. You need someone who will be able to do their due diligence and paint a complete picture of what happened, why it happened, and who was responsible. That’s why choosing the best Idaho birth injury attorney – one with proven results and recognition from professional peers and past and former clients – is the most essential component of a lawsuit’s success.