When medical malpractice or practitioner negligence causes your child to develop cerebral palsy, you may need help holding the negligent party accountable for their actions.
A birth injury of this nature can affect your child’s entire life, requiring extensive medical treatment and ongoing care. The costs of caring for a child with cerebral palsy can range over one million dollars – expenses that no parents can cover themselves. The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help you pursue a birth accident claim to ensure that you have all the resources you need to provide for your child, now and in the future.
To schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with a cerebral palsy lawyer in Port St. Lucie, FL, contact us at 1-800-747-3733.
The Link Between Medical Negligence & Cerebral Palsy
Although cerebral palsy range can originate from congenital factors, most babies develop this neurological disorder due to prenatal infection or a traumatic injury during or immediately following birth. Unfortunately, medical malpractice and negligence cause many of these injuries.
During labor and delivery, a baby may experience birth asphyxia, a condition that deprives the child of critical oxygen flow to the brain and results in damage to portions of the brain that control movement and cognitive function.
Babies may also incur brain damage due to improper use of forceps or a vacuum as doctors attempt to expedite delivery.
Other factors that may contribute to the development of cerebral palsy include:
- Insufficient prenatal treatment and care
- Undetected and untreated prenatal infection
- Failure to monitor the vital signs of the fetus
- Waiting too long to perform a cesarean section
- Performing an improper or unneeded cesarean section
If you suspect that a doctor, nurse, or medical professional was negligent in your treatment or during the birth of your child, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help.
The Devastating Effects of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy can affect your child’s motor development, leading to significant impairment in function. This condition can also affect cognitive and sensory development as well as:
- Poor coordination
- Tremors
- Muscle weakness
- Difficulty walking
- Language impairment
- Sensory impairment
- Involuntary, spastic movements
- Immobility
- Trouble swallowing
- Breathing impairment
- Inability to think or reason
- Inability to control bladder or bowels
- Learning disability
A common manifestation of cerebral palsy is the inability to maintain posture, which can impair breathing and other physical functions. Children may not have the ability to walk, talk, or take care of their personal needs. Many cannot even feed themselves.
As a result, seriously affected children require constant care and ongoing medical treatment throughout their lives.
Determining the Value of Your Cerebral Palsy Claim
Although the value of your birth injury claim will depend on the unique aspects of your case and the needs of your child, the dollar value of cerebral palsy settlements can be substantial. Lifetime care costs of cerebral palsy are over $1 million, based on research published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Our legal team will assemble documentation to substantiate your claim, which may include:
Current and future medical treatment costs: This includes doctor and hospital bills to date and the projected cost of treatment your child will need in the future.
Home or institutional care costs: This includes home healthcare services, respite care and, if necessary, projected costs for inpatient care your child may need later in life. If one or both parents leave the workforce to care for the child, this may also include lost wages and future income and benefits lost.
Mobility and adaptive devices and modifications: This includes wheelchairs, assistive devices, and any modifications your home may require to make it accessible for your child.
Therapeutic and educational services: This includes physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy.
Mental and emotional damages: This includes pain and suffering, mental anguish, lost life enjoyment, and diminished quality of life.
The Importance of Having a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer on Your Side
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, our legal team is dedicated to helping parents obtain the financial compensation they need to care for their special needs child. We will help you hold the at-fault party responsible for their negligence while making sure you have the resources you need for your child.
We will put our network of resources to work to investigate your claim and to assemble supporting documentation to prove negligence. We will negotiate aggressively on your behalf and push to compel the insurance company to make an acceptable settlement offer. If they refuse, we will stand ready to make your case in court.
Throughout the process, we stand by your side, providing compassionate support and protecting your legal rights. We will work tirelessly for your family while making sure you have everything you need to focus on your child’s well-being.
How Your Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Establishes Liability
Making a strong case for medical malpractice related to a birth injury and cerebral palsy presents a significant challenge – but one that our legal team is well prepared to take on.
Using our team of investigators and medical experts, we will obtain witness testimony and records to support your claim. Once we establish the party or parties who had fault in your child’s birth injury, we will document the four legal elements of negligence to prove malpractice.
Duty of care: The at-fault party owed you and your baby a duty to provide reasonable and safe care.
Breach of duty: The at-fault party breached their duty of reasonable care by deviating from established standards and acting in a way that another medical professional in their position would not have.
Causation: Because of the at-fault party’s violation of reasonable care standards, events occurred that led to your child’s birth injury and development of cerebral palsy.
Actual damages: After establishing liability, we will demonstrate your actual damages by providing documentation to substantiate your economic, mental, and emotional damages.
Schedule a Complimentary Consultation with a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer in Port St. Lucie
If your child received a cerebral palsy diagnosis and you believe medical malpractice is to blame, contact the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today.
Call us now at 1-800-747-3733 to schedule your appointment with a cerebral palsy lawyer in Port St. Lucie, FL.
We Can Help.
