Cerebral palsy is a life-changing diagnosis that can require expensive lifelong medical care for your child. Sometimes cerebral palsy is unavoidable, but in many cases, it is caused by preventable errors in medical care. If you believe your health care provider committed malpractice, a Pennsylvania cerebral palsy lawyer can help you. Your medical malpractice attorney can assess your situation and determine whether you have a strong case for a lawsuit. The compensation you receive in a lawsuit can help you cover medical bills and allow you to focus on your child’s health.
Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that affects muscle tone, walking, posture, and coordination, but specific symptoms can vary depending on the severity of the child’s condition. Many patients also experience seizures and intellectual disabilities. Cerebral palsy is usually diagnosed within the first year or two of a child’s life, and missing developmental milestones is often the first sign.
Cerebral palsy is typically caused by brain damage, which can happen during pregnancy, childbirth, or early childhood. This damage can be caused by:
Premature births, multiple births, and low birth weights can also increase the risk of cerebral palsy. If you are unsure whether your child’s cerebral palsy is caused by medical malpractice, an experienced Pennsylvania lawyer can help you determine liability.
Medical malpractice leading to cerebral palsy is most common during labor and delivery, but it can also happen earlier during pregnancy or later in infancy. Sometimes complications are unavoidable, even if doctors and other health care providers do everything right.
To win a malpractice case, an attorney needs to prove that a doctor failed to provide the standard of care that another doctor in the same specialty would have given. For example, if a newborn shows symptoms of meningitis that a doctor should recognize, the doctor can commit malpractice if they fail to order tests for meningitis. If a baby contracts meningitis but does not have recognizable symptoms, the doctor will not typically be responsible.
In addition to proving the doctor failed to provide appropriate care, you and your attorney also need to demonstrate that the substandard care caused a poor outcome that could have been avoided. For example, if a doctor makes a mistake during a forceps-assisted delivery without causing any harm to the baby, the family will not have a malpractice case.
Malpractice can also occur if a doctor fails to warn a pregnant patient about their risk of complications that lead to cerebral palsy. Proving malpractice is complicated, so working with a cerebral palsy lawyer in Pennsylvania is essential.
Cerebral palsy can put long-term emotional and financial strain on your family. If poor medical care caused your child’s condition, you likely can sue the responsible doctor for malpractice. A successful lawsuit or settlement will hold the provider accountable for their negligence while providing compensation for your child’s injuries, including damages for medical bills and caretaking to ease your financial stress.
A Pennsylvania cerebral palsy lawyer will help you reach the best possible outcome. The Weitz Firm, LLC offers free consultations so you can make an informed decision before hiring us. Contact us to schedule your initial meeting now.
We are highly selective in the cases we undertake to ensure that can give each client his full attention. You can schedule an appointment for a personal injury consultation at our Philadelphia office by calling us, or by filling out our online intake form.
