United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Speaking of lawsuits in the previous topic, my daughter was born with ROBPI. We went to two lawyers(the first one was a joke that didnt have time for us) but they both said we had a case but it was to hard to prove. My husband wants to go to another lawyer he says for the last and final time but i think we are knocking our heads together. He is think that she should have money for college at least after what he has done, i think whats done is done lets go from here. Any advice would be appreciated. (ps we are not fighting about it. We justhave two different opinions. He is respecting mine, i just dont want to be wrong so i thought i could get some input.)

How old is your daughter? I think if you really feel strongly about a lawsuit, you should look into it. Don't give up when you haven't had a serious attorney evaluate your case.
I'm not sure what the statute of limitations is in your state, but I think it's 2 years in mine. We decided to put it off and wait to see what kind of recovery he ends up having. My son is only 5 months so we aren't looking into it yet b/c right now our medical bills are very limited. Jake won't have to have primary surgery for sure and if he doesn't end up having secondary surgeries then the suit wouldn't be worth the effort b/c the settlement wouldn't be that much.
I say find a good attorney and get his/her opinion and then evaluate whether or not you want to pursue a lawsuit.

I think whose right would be hard to determine and deciding whether or not to keep pursuing the issue is even harder to decide. Ultimately, no one can tell you what is best for you and your family.

I just wanted to tell you that my view was the same as yours and after the second lawyer turned us down, I said enough is enough. We did not pursue the issue any further. I felt that pursuing it further would be, like you said, like banging our heads on a wall. I also felt very strongly that continuing to pursue finding a lawyer was taking away from the most important issue at hand, Katie and her recovery. I was afraid that she would be lost in all the legal mumbo jumbo and if I was at depositions and trials and hearings, etc. who was with Katie seeing that she got her therapy and to her doctor appointments and got the attention from Mommy and Daddy that shse deserved. I knew I needed to be there for that stuff and it was way more important to her recovery. I felt that what was done was done and I wanted to move on and do anything I could to make her have a normal life. And as I see it, no amount of money will ever make her injury go away or make it better.

Though she has not, a most likely won't ever be financially rewarded and will be like most kids these days with student loans to get her through college, she is a happy, otherwise healthy, 4 year old girl who is none the wiser on the legal issues. I guess I mostly wanted to say that whether you sue or not, your daughter will be fine and that if you choose to go no further with the legal aspect, that's OK!

Ofcourse, all this is just my opinion and I am by far no expert! I wish you all the best as you make your decision and believe me, whatever you choose, it will be what's best for your daughter! That just comes natural to us BPI moms!

Our prayers are with you!

Cheri, Mom to Katie, 4, LOBPI

Amysue:
I am not going to say you should or shouldn't pursue a lawsuit, obviously you and your husband should be deciding that.

The question I want to ask is: what is it you and/or your husband want to gain from the lawsuit? I ask, because a lot of people want some sort of "closure" from the lawsuit. They want to face the doctor in the safety of the courtroom and "have their day." Unfortunately, it doesn't really work that way.

Closure is something that comes from within. For some people it involves therapy. Some people turn to their faith. Others find a hobby into which they channel their energies. But closure is a personal event. It is not found in a courtroom.

As you have investigated two lawyers and are ready to stop while your husband is not--perhaps he is still looking for that answer and you have found it. If closure is different for people it is vitally different for men and women. Men have a totally different experience than women do with respect to an obpi birth.

If he really thinks that a third lawyer will give you the answer, one way or the other, then make sure you get a wonderful referral.

good luck,
claudia

THE OTHER SIDE WILL PICK ON YOU AND PICK ON YOU AND DIG DEEP FIND ANYTHING, AND TURN IT INTO A MAJOR. EVEN YOU POSTING HERE. I FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY. I WAS SUPPOSE TO KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT, BUT I WAS GOING MAD KEEPING IT IN. THE ATTORNEYS SAID KEEP A JOURNAL. ITS NOT THE SAME, THEY USE THAT AND CONFISCATE THAT TOO. ANY SLIP UP, THEY TURN IT INTO YOUR FAULT. GOOD LUCK, THEY ARE HARD TO WIN. YOU HAVE TO BE STRONG, BUT I HAD TO BE STRONGER FOR MY SON AND I HAD NO TIME OR ENERGY TO TRY ANOTHER ATTORNEY. LUCKILY IN MINNESOTA I HAVE NO TIME LIMIT BUT BEST WITHIN 7 YEARS. STRESS WAS A FACTOR I HAD NO TIME FOR AND I'D RATHER TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THE DOCTOR ANYWAYS, I COULDNT LIVE WITH MYSELF KNOWING ANOTHER CHILD MAY BE HURT. THERE ARE BETTER WAYS TO DEALING WITH THIS, IS LOOK INTO YOUR HEAT AND DECIDE WHAT IT RIGHT. YOU ALSO CAN GET SUED IF YOU KEEP INFORMATION FROM A PATIENT THAT YOU KNOW IS SEEING THAT DOCTOR AND KEEP IT QUIET AND THAT CHILD GETS HURT. THERE IS A LAW AND A DUTY TO INFORM AND THE RIGHT TO KNOW LAW.

Hi Amysue...My husband and I went through the same thing...the first attorney we saw said that we had a case, but they wanted to wait until our daughter was 5 or 6 to see if she had any developmental delays...the second guy did not want us because we were not a $10 million dollar law suit...I finally saw a commercial on t.v for a lawyer that specialized in BP cases...I was skeptical but thought, what could I lose but a phone call...this guy was fantastic...he went through every letter of every medical record we had, found where the doctor covered up and failed to diagnose the shoulder distocia that led to the injury...don;t let anyone tell you that they are hard to win...while I think that is somewhat true, these injuries are almost always the doctors fault...our attorney proved, using the telemetry strips from the birth, that there wsa a long delay between the delivery of the head and the shoulders...if there is fault, a truly decent attorney I believe will find it...you just have to keep the faith...and I always thought that my daughter deserved something for all that she went through and will go through for the rest of her life...I hope that this helps you, please feel free to email me! Good luck

Kim

I am not supposed to talk either. but, i truly believe that is true. i have a video so i hope it will be evident of fault! i think it is worth every inch of stress to fight for your son or daughter. these doctors need to be held responsible for their mistakes. hopefully you find another bp lawyer. i found that the bigger firms are only looking for the worst case so recovery is high. our attorney is one man. i hope things turn out well for you.

Our first attorney dropped us too. But then our second one was wonderful to us. WE ended up settling out of court.....some will say you don't have a case just to drop you......I had two sets of medical records...totally different and my first attorney dropped us....it just wasn't a high profile enough case for him I guess. The second was a woman who only took a certain number of cases at a time and reaaly didn't care if we one or lost.....she was doing it for my son. Gayle
BTW, my husband didn't want to sign the second time, I did. I needed some sort of CLOSURE !!!!