birth injury medical malpractice: when something is not quite right
TRANSCRIPT
WHEN SOMETHING IS NOT QUITE RIGHT.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
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THREE TO BE is a foundation which supports children with neurological disorders and their families
Focus on education, research and therapy Brenda Agnew is Director of the Parent
Advocacy Link (PAL)
ABOUT THREE TO BE
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Neil E. SacksFounding Partner Head, Medical MalpracticeHowie, Sacks & Henry LLP
Meghan Hull JacquinAssociate Medical MalpracticeHowie, Sacks & Henry LLP
GUESTS
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Are you considering a medical malpractice lawsuit? If you need answers, just ask.
Email your questions to: Neil Sacks - [email protected] Meghan Hull Jacquin -
[email protected] Call 1-877-474-5997 or 416-361-5990
SOMETHING NOT RIGHT? ALL QUESTIONS ANSWERED
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If your child has been diagnosed with a neurological disorder
If your child was treated in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit)
If your child doesn’t seem to be developing or progressing in their milestones
If you just have an intuition
WHAT ARE THE RED FLAGS?
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Follow up with your family doctor and pediatrician
Try to get testings and investigations done
You may discover information which may have legal aspects you might to want to pursue.
TRY TO GET ANSWERS
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Find out what happened out around the birthing process.
Your family doctor and pediatrician will be helpful and well help you get records
Try to speak with the obstetrician and other birthing staff.
Your questions might not be answered to your satisfaction.
GATHER INFORMATION
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Two separate charts: the child’s and the mother’s
You are entitled to these records without question
They can be obtained from the hospital records department with a service fee for copying
Get copies as soon as you can
NEXT STEP: GET THE MEDICAL RECORDS
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BEFORE CONSULTING A LAWYER
Preliminary conversations
for hesitant parents
Talk to other parents
The more information you collect the better
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You have a right to the records which ensures that records are preserved
If your child has been diagnosed – Parent interest is long term Medical team interest is often short term
The quality of your child’s care will not be affected by your initial questions.
REMEMBER
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Initially involves a phone call – free of charge
Completely confidential conversation You can decide to pursue or walk away
at any point in the conversation The lawyer:
Carefully listensAsks questionsEducates on the process
SPEAKING WITH A LAWYER WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?
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A legal team that practices specifically in Medical Malpractice, i.e. birth injuries
Medical Malpractice is highly specialized area of law practiced by only a few lawyers
How to find:Word of mouthTHREE TO BE and other organizationsReferral from the general communityAsk your own lawyer to refer you.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A LAWYER
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Write a chronology in point form Note what your concerns are If you make notes as things happen it
can be emailed to a lawyer A chronology helps provide more
information
TIP: MAKE NOTES
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Send in the required records so that experienced lawyers can assess if there is or is not a case
No charge for the preliminary investigation
Experts will be asked for verbal opinions Lawyers will be in touch throughout the
process and share feedback on risks going forward
NEXT STEP: PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION
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Very little; lawyers are doing the work at this stage
Focus your time and energies taking care of your child
The lawyers handle:The recordsInteraction with Experts
We will report back with the results of the investigation
WHAT’S EXPECTED FROM PARENTS ?
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It could take up to six months Could be longer if all records are harder
to track down Sometimes records aren’t immediately
forthcoming from the hospital
TIME FRAME OF THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION
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No hourly rates will be charged Contingency Fee Basis once the case is taken
on Investigation Stage – there may be out of
pocket costs for medical records and medical experts/consultants
Some lawyers will ask the family to cover the costs or part of the costs upfront
Our firm will often pay those costs, possibly recovering them later as disbursements.
WHAT WILL THIS COST?
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Serious personal injury lawyers, ranked top 5 personal injury firms in Canada
Significant component of our practice is Medical Malpractice cases
Most of which are Prenatal / Labour and Delivery / Neonatal Care
HOWIE, SACKS & HENRY LLP
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QUESTIONS?
Send us your questions...
THREE TO BE www.threetobe.orgBrenda Agnew – [email protected]
Howie, Sacks & Henry LLP www.hshlawyers.comNeil Sacks - [email protected] 416-361-5811Meghan Hull Jacquin - [email protected]
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.