Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

What Is a CP Lawyer?

A cerebral palsy lawyer is an attorney who specializes in filing lawsuits on behalf of families with children whose cerebral palsy was caused by medical malpractice or negligence.

Medical malpractice cases fall under an area of law called personal injury. These legal claims are made when a physical or mental injury is caused by negligent acts. Personal injury lawsuits are meant to help clients recover money for their losses and discourage others from causing the same harm.

However, personal injury cases can be challenging to prove and require specialized knowledge of the law. As a result, many personal injury lawyers choose to focus on a specific type of case, such as cerebral palsy caused by medical malpractice.

Cases involving birth injuries are usually complicated, which is where a CP lawyer comes into play. Birth injury attorneys help innocent families pursue financial compensation and justice against careless doctors or hospitals who have caused this life-changing condition.

Families who want the best outcome possible for their birth injury lawsuit are encouraged to work with a skilled CP lawyer. These lawyers have the experience and resources to fight against doctors and hospitals, who often have powerful attorneys and aggressive insurance companies.

If you believe your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical errors, a birth injury lawyer may be able to help. Get a free, confidential case review to learn about your rights.

Who Can Hire a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer?

Parents can hire a cerebral palsy lawyer to file a lawsuit on behalf of their child. If an injured child has a guardian, that person may be able to hire a cerebral palsy lawyer to file a lawsuit.

Because cerebral palsy cases are so complex, hiring an experienced CP lawyer is important. One factor that makes these cases challenging is the various defendants who may be responsible. Cerebral palsy caused by negligence is not always the fault of the doctor.

Cerebral palsy lawyers may file claims against:

• Anesthesiologists
• Doctors
• Health care facilities
• Other health care providers
• Pharmaceutical companies

Cerebral palsy law firms have registered nurses on staff who can listen to your story and help determine if medical negligence caused your child’s cerebral palsy. If so, you may qualify for compensation. Get a free consultation now.

Is Cerebral Palsy Always Malpractice?

Not always, but often. In some cases, cerebral palsy is unavoidable due to unexpected problems during labor and delivery. However, in other cases, cerebral palsy could have been prevented if the mother and baby had been given proper and timely care.

To determine if cerebral palsy was caused by medical malpractice or negligence, it must be proven that the standard of care was not met.

Proving cerebral palsy was caused by medical malpractice involves:

• Establishing what other health care providers would have done in the same situation
• Identifying whether the defendant made the same decisions that others would have made
• Deciding whether the defendant’s actions were the legal cause of the injury
• Calculating the full, lifetime cost of the injury

The best cerebral palsy lawyers have experienced legal teams that can help you figure out the specific reasons for your baby’s development of CP.

What Does a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Do?

Cerebral palsy lawyers file lawsuits against doctors and other health care professionals whose medical negligence caused an infant’s cerebral palsy. They make sure parents recover the compensation they need to care for their child. By filing a cerebral palsy claim, working the case, and doing the heavy lifting, CP attorneys allow families to focus on each other.

These are the steps that are typically involved with a cerebral palsy lawsuit.

Free Case Review

Many cerebral palsy lawyers have registered nurses on staff who will listen to your story during a free consultation. These trained nurses can help you understand what may have happened to cause your child’s cerebral palsy. They will answer your questions and offer emotional support, at no cost to you.

If it seems like your child’s condition could have been prevented, you will be connected to a cerebral palsy lawyer, again at no cost. At this point, you may enter into an attorney-client relationship if you so choose.

The cerebral palsy attorneys in our network only get paid if they successfully resolve your case. They never charge upfront or out-of-pocket fees.

Investigating & Building the Case

Your legal team will help you gather medical records and any other documentation needed to thoroughly investigate your case. They may also consult a medical expert to prove that what happened was due to carelessness.

With key evidence collected, your legal team will continue building your case. This may involve:

• Proving your child’s cerebral palsy was preventable
• Identifying when, where, and how the mistake happened
• Determining who is responsible for the birth injury

Of course, the other side is collecting evidence and building their case as well. This phase of the legal process is known as discovery.

Negotiating a Settlement

After the discovery phase, your cerebral palsy lawyer will meet with the defendants to discuss resolving the case through a favorable settlement. A settlement will provide you with money and officially close your case.

Most defendants in medical malpractice lawsuits would rather settle out of court because it reduces the chances of getting bad publicity. Settlements also avoid expensive, lengthy court battles against skilled trial lawyers.

In the unlikely event that a settlement can’t be reached, the case proceeds to trial.

Going to Court (if Necessary)

In the unlikely event that a cerebral palsy settlement agreement cannot be reached, your cerebral palsy lawyer will take your case to trial to seek a favorable judge or jury verdict.

Some reasons why your case may go to trial are:

• The defendant refuses to settle.
• The settlement they offer is not acceptable to you and your legal team.
• Your cerebral palsy lawyer believes you will be awarded more money by a judge or jury.

During a trial, a judge or jury will examine the evidence and determine whether it is substantial enough to hold the defendant legally responsible.

Once both sides present their arguments, a decision is made. If the defendant is found to be legally responsible, the judge or jury will order them to pay you a certain amount of money for your injuries.

How Much Are Cerebral Palsy Settlements?

Every cerebral palsy lawsuit is different, so settlement amounts will vary depending on a wide range of factors, including how severe the injury is and the expected cost of medical care over a lifetime.

When facing a potential cerebral palsy lawsuit, hospital representatives and their insurance companies may try to aggressively convince new parents to accept a sum of money. The amount they offer tends to be large enough to make parents want to accept it, in many cases, just to put the tragedy behind them.

However, it is critical to speak with a cerebral palsy lawyer before accepting any settlement offers. That’s because these amounts — while seemingly generous — are usually not nearly enough to cover the cost of care over a child’s lifetime.

A cerebral palsy lawyer will work with you to develop a life care plan, which will help you understand your current financial losses and those that you will most likely face in the future due to your child’s medical condition.

Cerebral Palsy Settlements & Verdicts

Past results — while no guarantee of future success — suggest that seeking guidance from a skilled cerebral palsy lawyer is in your best interest.

A cerebral palsy lawyer can work with you to develop a legal plan and fight to ensure you receive the maximum amount of money you are entitled to.

Factors Affecting Cerebral Palsy Settlements

These and other factors can impact how much cerebral palsy lawsuits settle for:

• Loss of enjoyment: Your child’s condition may limit them from doing things that bring enjoyment to families not facing the same challenges.
• Lost earnings: These include how much money you lost by missing work, perhaps as a result of staying home to care for your child.
• Lost earning capacity: A child with CP can mean a lifetime of career challenges that lead to lost wages.
• Medical bills: It costs an estimated $1 million over a lifetime to care for a person with cerebral palsy.
• Other financial losses: These losses cover any other unplanned expenses related to your child’s condition.
• Pain and suffering: This includes both physical and emotional pain. With cerebral palsy, mental anguish and physical pain can last a lifetime.

Types of Cerebral Palsy Costs

To better understand how your cerebral palsy lawsuit may be valued, consider the types of costs you may be responsible for because of your child’s birth injury.

Caring for a loved one with cerebral palsy may involve:

• At-home care
• Counseling
• Doctors’ visits
• Emergency room visits
• Home and car modifications
• Inpatient hospital stays
• Medical treatments
• Medications
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Rehabilitation
• Special education
• Special recreational activities

Considering all of these potential expenses, it becomes easier to see how an apparently large sum of money offered by hospital representatives is not so fair at all. In truth, these are often low-ball offers to make legitimate legal claims disappear.

A skilled cerebral palsy lawyer with a successful track record of handling birth injury cases will work tirelessly to prove why you are owed more.

When Should I Speak With a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer?

As soon as possible. It’s essential that you act without delay if you believe your child’s cerebral palsy resulted from a medical mistake. Laws called statutes of limitations place strict deadlines on the amount of time you have to take legal action.

The clock generally begins to run on the date of the injury (or the date that the injury was discovered). Once this period of time passes, you will be forever barred from filing a lawsuit.

Statutes of limitation vary by state. In some states, you have as little as one year from the date of the birth injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Therefore, it’s urgent that you speak with a cerebral palsy lawyer as soon as you can.

How Do I Find a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Near Me?

Hiring a skilled cerebral palsy lawyer is one of the most important decisions you will make when it comes to caring for your child.

LawFirm.com can connect you with a cerebral palsy lawyer from our nationwide network who has:

• Access to key resources, such as top medical experts
• A history of securing successful results for clients
• Extensive experience handling cerebral palsy lawsuits
• Nationwide availability
• No upfront legal fees

Our cerebral palsy attorneys have the experience needed to handle complex cases. They will aggressively and skillfully handle every aspect of your case, so you can focus on caring for your child and giving them everything they need.

These cases are time-sensitive, so don’t wait. Speak with a cerebral palsy lawyer near you.