The death of a child is a difficult experience for any parent to endure. It is even tougher when that death is caused by the negligence of another person. But what if the child has not been born yet? It is no easier on the parents who are suffering the loss, but does it mean you cannot pursue damages?
Fortunately, the answer is no. In 1949, Minnesota became the first state in the union to enact a law that holds negligent individuals accountable for the wrongful the death of an unborn child. Thirty-four states have since followed suit. While parents can move forward with an action to pursue monetary damages, it is important to keep in mind what they need to do to make sure the claim is proven in court.
Proving Wrongful Death
Regardless of the age of the individual, there are certain elements that must be substantiated in every wrongful death case. First, it is extremely important to be able to determine the role of the individual responsible and how their behavior caused the death of the unborn child. For this, a fetal injury lawyer will turn to traditional methods to claim wrongful death.
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An independent investigation will produce the evidence necessary to substantiate the matter in court. This could involve the collection a number of items including ultrasounds, photographs of the incident, and police reports. It must also be shown that beneficiaries have suffered from an emotional or financial loss due to the wrongful
They also stated that there was no wanton or reckless act when he was preforming his procedure on Evonne. The case was closed on October 3, 1973 and after not being found guilty Edelin stated he found himself smiling again after two and half years. I do not think the Kenneth Edelin should have been charged with manslaughter. In the state of Massachusetts the law defines a fetus that has been born a baby. Birth is the key to making someone a person and an unborn fetus is not a person which would mean an unborn fetus would not considered manslaughter. After nine months until birth we call this a fetus but once a fetus is born we call this a baby. In our book it explains that a baby can be subject homicide charges unlike a fetus. When Edelin opened the body of Evonne to remove the fetus yes it was alive but it was still a fetus. Because this fetus had not been born yet it was still a fetus and this was still an abortion that was medically being done by a doctor. By law and by definition this fetus did not have any legal or ethical rights because it had not been born and was still inside of
her own story as an eye witness, with pictures and copies of documents to prove
There is a low susses rate for a child of a maternal brain dead mother for the baby to live. When a woman is declared brain dead they are sent for burial or other final respects. In this case, however, the woman is pregnant and there is a fetus to think about. The problem lies with the susses rate of the child be born or being born without any complications. There are only 5 reported successful cases of brain death births (Lsaacson et al. 1996). The body at this point is just used for an incubator for the unborn child. The rate for the child to come out with no complications or in the body of the mother to produce complications is less than 10% (Lsaacson et al. 1996). Knowing all of this, why would one want to put their body through all of this for such a low success rate with current medical technologies.
Who would you trust with your life? In the case of the Cruzan vs Missouri Department of Health the question comes into play, do parents have the ability to choose between life and death circumstances for their child? In Missouri on Jan. 11, 1983, as Nancy Beth drove home from her job at a cheese factory in Carthage, Mo. On that day she was in a really bad automobile accident. She had been in what doctors described as an beyond repair vegetative state. Her car tipped over and she had got ejected from the car, she was found in the ditch by paramedics and they tried to save her heart for fifteen minutes. Luckily people got there in time, but was it really in time to save her life. She was found face down in a ditch, and paramedics restarted her heart. But because she had stopped breathing for about 15 minutes, she suffered severe brain damage. The car accident was so bad it left her in a vegetative state and Missouri state hospital claimed she was brain dead. She was kept alive by machines, a feeding tube, and a respirator. The
Wrongful conception is a claim that the conception of a child is due the negligence of medical professionals to prevent said conception through proper sterilization techniques and contraception. This claim is generally not related to the results of whether the child is born healthy or not, but more so, on the claim that had the doctor or pharmacist taken the correct measures to assist in the prevention of conception, the individual would not have gotten pregnant. “As with other types of injury cases, a couple can seek compensation for the cost of the failed procedure, pregnancy costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, and loss of consortium” (Steffen, 2011, http://www.seolawfirm.com/2011/12/wrongful-conception-concerns-raised-when-errors-occur-during-ivf-and-pgd-testing/).
...xpert witnesses. Interviews and statements can be used in court if they are documented properly. The expert witness is used to support the evidence that has been obtained. These three things can preserve the discovery and support the case in court.
A similar case of happened in Ireland, where a 31 year old woman was denied and abortion after the hospital told her that she would miscarry. After five months of waiting to become a mother Savita Halappanavar, finally had her chance until she started experiencing severe back pain which caused her to seek medical assistance. After the checkup the doctor announced to Savita that she will experience a miscarriage. Once the pain was too much for her to bear she asked for an abortion and was denied because of strict abortion laws stating that after the first trimester they cannot terminate it. So Savita had to go through with her miscarriage. After experiencing her miscarriage Savita was in a lot of pain and the fetus slowly died after birth.
Have you lost a loved one due to the negligent or willful actions of another? South Carolina has a cause of action for wrongful death under Code § 15-51-10. This statute allows a wrongful death claim to proceed where a person’s death was “caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of another,” and the deceased person would have been entitled to recover damages from the wrongdoer if he or she had survived.
There are three types of wrongful birth cases (Knudsen, 2011). Firstly, the failure of a sterilization procedure. Secondly, the failure caused by the care provider to inform the parents-to-be of any birth defects or abnormal in their unborn child. Thirdly, the failure of an abortion attempt (Knudsen, 2011). When a plaintiff is making a wrongful birth lawsuit against someone the plaintiff must prove to the court that the health care provider was negligent and should be held responsible for their actions (Knudsen, 2011). The plaintiff must show that the health care provider owed a duty to the plaintiff, the duty was breached, and the plaintiff suffered damages as a result of the breach. Another important key inform...
If the deceased is a minor, then their parents, regardless of marital status, can file a lawsuit.
With the guidance of their physician, Baby Does’ parents chose to withhold medical care and surgery due to the conclusion still leaving the child with severe retardation. “Officials at the hospital had the Indiana Juvenile Courts appoint a guardian to determine whether or not to perform the surgery. The court finally ruled in favor of the parents and upheld their right to informed medical decision” (Resnik, 2011). Because of the decision made to withhold surgery and medical care, Baby Doe died five days later of dehydration and pneumonia.
An unexpected death can send shockwaves through a family and community. The grief is overwhelming, causing those left behind to walk through a haze and only start to feel like life is returning to a semblance of normal months after the fact. During this time it can be difficult to even think about what led to the death. However if there was any chance of a wrongful death than timing is of the essence to file a suit. Watson Spence Attorney is here to help with the details on what to do first if you feel you have a wrongful death case.
In order to understand how to compile evidence for criminal cases, we must understand the most effective types of evidence. This topic is interesting because there are ample amounts of cases where defendants have gotten off because of the lack of forensic evidence. If we believe forensic evidence is so important and it affects our decisions, then maybe we need to be educated on the reality of forensic evidence. If we can be educated, then we may have a more successful justice system. If we have a more successful justice system than the public could gain more confidence that justice will be served. In order to do this, we must find what type of evidence is most effective, this can be done by examining different types of evidence.
Although fetuses are dependant on their mother for nutrition, they are not part of their body, and therefore mothers do not have the right to terminate a life that is not theirs. For example, the blood supply for a baby is different from that of the mother's. Otherwise it would be impossible for the fetuses to have different kinds of blood and genetic code from their mother's.
Is there really a difference between abortion and murder? If a doctor killed a child one minute after it was born it would be murder, but if a doctor killed a child one minute before the child was born it would be the mothers choice. 52% of abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the 16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions happen after the 20th week of pregnancy. (The Alan Guttmacher Institute.) You could have a baby that's born at week 22 and still have a 15% chance of living. (Siegel, Reva) If the mothers didn't want the babies she could have always put them up for adoption.