How to File a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit: The Basics

Cerebral palsy is usually caused by some form of medical negligence during birth. Regarding cerebral palsy lawsuits, you should know they are commonly filed based on mistakes made during the birth process.

Negligence of doctors and staff during the birth process can result in the following problems, according to scientists:

• Damage to the Brain’s White Matter: The brain’s “white matter” sends signals throughout the body to regulate nerves and control bodily functions. When damaged because of the rough handling of the infant or mother before birth, the signals get disrupted and don’t work normally. White matter is particularly susceptible to damage between 26 weeks and 34 weeks of the pregnancy, but it can also be damaged at any time during pregnancy.
• Abnormal Brain Development: Any disruptions in the normal growth process can result in brain abnormalities. These alterations to normal growth patterns disrupt signals from the brain. For example, disruption can occur from infections, brain trauma, fever, and mutations that can cause the brain to develop abnormally.
• Brain Bleeding and Strokes: Injuries and other causes can make infants’ brains start bleeding. In addition, strokes can affect fetuses where high blood pressure and other conditions cause abnormal blood vessel development and increase the likelihood of strokes.
• Lack of Oxygen: Many factors can contribute to the cutting of the oxygen supply to the brain, such as low blood pressure in the mother, detachment of the placenta, a torn uterus, severe trauma to the infant’s head, and problems with the umbilical cord.

Most children with cerebral palsy have the congenital form, but some infants develop a type of palsy that manifests about one month after birth. The costs of treatment, therapy, and building a safe child’s environment run upwards of 1 million dollars on average. That’s why it’s important to get any available compensation.

Most cerebral palsy cases are avoidable by reducing negligence, handling infants and mothers with extreme care, and noting situations that might cause rough handling during birth, like breech births.

Getting Started Quickly on Filing a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

It’s critical to file your medical malpractice claim for cerebral palsy immediately. However, tort reforms have made it more difficult to file medical malpractice claims and reduced the filing time statute of limitation over the past few years. Obviously, you want to hire an experienced lawyer, and fortunately, most attorneys work on cerebral palsy cases on contingency, so you don’t have to pay the attorney unless they win compensation.

As we said, most cerebral palsy cases result from avoidable mistakes, which constitutes medical negligence.

As a result, brain-damaged children will need advanced care for the rest of their lives. Filing your lawsuit is your first step on a long road. Ensure you get a legal team in the state where the malpractice occurred, as you need attorneys knowing the current state laws inside out. For instance, if an infant was born in Texas, contact a cerebral palsy attorney in Dallas to get started, as there is a lot of work to do.

You and your legal team will need to identify the cause of your child’s cerebral palsy to prevail in court. Your legal team will handle the complex investigations necessary to identify what likely caused the cerebral palsy. This information can be uncovered by medical records, interviews with staff members present during the birth, and the mother’s and father’s memories.

If the facts of the case indicate medical malpractice – and most cerebral palsy cases do – your next step is to file a claim within the statute of limitations deadline. Then, send your demand letter, but ask questions continuously to be sure you understand what’s happening.

Concluding Thoughts

Your attorney might be able to settle out of court if the defendant offers a high settlement. Nevertheless, don’t forget that the costs will be astronomical. If you can’t agree on a settlement, you’ll have to go to court. That’s often a good thing because you could receive a higher award with a full jury trial, and punitive damages run high in cases where infants face a rough time just to survive. Discuss all these matters with your lawyers and make the best decisions for you and your child.

Author: How does one combine a passion for journalism with a strong sense of justice? For Crystal Davis, the choice was simple: legal journalism. Born and raised in a family of attorneys but wanting to approach the law from an investigative angle, Crystal decided that people would not hear her voice in the court, but online, in magazines, journals, and other platforms. When she is

not studying active lawsuits closely to report on them, she writes public-friendly articles detangling the complicated threads representing the American legal system