Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
Cerebral palsy refers to a group of medical conditions or disorders that affect a person’s mobility and motor skills. The onset of cerebral palsy begins before, at, or shortly after a person’s birth. Cerebral palsy may be caused by abnormal development of a baby’s brain due to genetic or environmental factors, or it may be caused by a birth injury inflicted during pregnancy or delivery.
If you believe your child may have suffered cerebral palsy due to a birth injury, contact Serious Injury Law Group today for a free, no-obligation case review with a cerebral palsy attorney. We’ll discuss your case in detail and help you understand the rights and options your family may have. We want to help you hold those responsible for your child’s injury accountable and secure the financial compensation your family needs to treat and care for your child.
We are a locally owned law firm whose attorneys and staff live and work in the Birmingham community. You can trust that our legal team has the tenacity and skill to fully pursue your rights and interests in negotiations as well as in litigation. We are ready to meet and speak with you wherever and whenever is most convenient for you and your family.
What Is the Main Cause of Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is caused by an abnormality in the brain that impacts brain development and motor skills. This abnormality may occur naturally due to genetic or other unpreventable issues that arise during pregnancy, such as gene mutation. In many cases, the abnormality results from an injury that is caused during pregnancy or during or shortly after birth. A birth injury can result from:
- Infections suffered by mother or baby during pregnancy
- Jaundice suffered by the baby during pregnancy
- Placental detachment
- Uterine rupture
- Problems with the umbilical cord
- Hypoxia or anoxia (low or no blood/oxygen flow to the baby’s brain)
- Improper use of birth-assisting equipment such as vacuum extractors or forceps
- Excessive force placed on the baby during delivery
Can You Sue for Cerebral Palsy?
Not all cases of cerebral palsy are caused by the doctors and medical providers treating the mother and baby during pregnancy and delivery. However, you may be entitled to bring a legal claim or lawsuit if your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy that was caused by your treating healthcare providers’ medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice occurs when a provider’s treatment fails to meet the accepted standard of care in the patient’s case. The standard of care is typically defined as the actions and decisions that other healthcare providers of similar training and experience would undertake in identical circumstances. In essence, if other doctors or healthcare providers would have acted differently during your pregnancy or labor, you may have a claim for malpractice.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for Cerebral Palsy?
Under Alabama’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims, you would typically have two years from the date of a healthcare provider’s negligent conduct to file a lawsuit to recover compensation. However, the statute of limitations also includes a special provision for children harmed by medical malpractice prior to age four, allowing those children and their families to bring suit prior to the child’s eighth birthday.
If you file a lawsuit after the statute of limitations expires, the court will likely permanently dismiss your case, meaning you could lose the right to seek financial recovery for the harm your child has suffered.
What Are the Steps in a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit?
You can choose to settle your claim at any point if you prefer to avoid a trial and believe the settlement offer is fair. If you and your attorney choose to file a cerebral palsy lawsuit, you will proceed through several steps if your case goes all the way to a trial. These steps include:
- Filing the complaint – After filing the complaint in court and serving the complaint on the defendant or defendants in the case, the other side has the opportunity to respond to the lawsuit.
- Discovery – Once the parties’ initial pleadings are filed with the court, the next step involves discovery, where both sides exchange information and take depositions of witnesses to uncover all the facts and evidence they might present at trial.
- Settlement negotiations – Although negotiations for a settlement may have taken place before a lawsuit was filed, those negotiations usually continue throughout the duration of the case, as more facts and evidence are uncovered and the respective strength of each party’s case becomes clearer. In many cases, the prospect of taking the resolution of the case out of the parties’ hands and placing it with a jury or judge usually encourages the parties to reach a settlement agreement before trial.
- Trial – If a settlement cannot be reached, the parties will present their arguments and evidence to a jury or to a judge sitting as the factfinder. The jury or judge will then render a verdict determining liability and the amount of compensation you and your family are entitled to, if any.
How Long Does a Cerebral Palsy Case Take?
It is often difficult to estimate how long a cerebral palsy case will take. Factors that can affect the length of a case include the strength of your legal case, the financial resources of the at-fault parties, and the extent of expenses and losses that your child and your family have incurred.
If the medical providers at fault for your child’s cerebral palsy accept liability and you have determined the full extent of your child’s losses, a case might be settled within a few months. However, if the medical professionals at fault deny liability, or if your child may require extensive future treatment and care, it can take longer to resolve a case, especially if your claim goes to court. A cerebral palsy case that goes all the way to trial could potentially take several months or years to resolve.
How Our Birmingham, Alabama Attorneys Can Help in a Cerebral Palsy Case
At Serious Injury Law Group, our Birmingham, Alabama medical malpractice attorneys can help you and your family pursue a legal claim for compensation when your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to a birth injury. Turn to our legal team to assist you and your family by:
- Thoroughly investigating the underlying facts and circumstances to determine if negligence caused your child’s cerebral palsy
- Organizing the evidence to show how your child’s injury occurred and to identify the party or parties responsible
- Working with medical experts whose testimony can help build a strong, persuasive case
- Pursuing a negotiated settlement with the at-fault healthcare professionals and the insurance companies
- Taking your case to court and to trial if the other side won’t agree to a settlement that provides fair compensation to your family
Don’t wait another day to start pursuing compensation and justice for your child and your family. Contact Serious Injury Law Group today for a free initial consultation with a cerebral palsy lawyer from our firm to learn more about how we can help.