Birth Injury and Cerebral Palsy Legal Questions

Once your child receives a diagnosis for cerebral palsy, you could have a hundred questions running through your mind on how to proceed. You may even have cerebral palsy legal questions because of how the doctor was legally responsible for the injury to the patient. What is the process of the law and how does it work? Let’s have a look at how to proceed with it.

How Do I Know if I Can Take Legal Action?

The big question becomes about whether or not you can take legal action against the doctors, the nurses and the medical provider for causing a birth injury to your child. The answer to this could be followed up with another question. Did the birth disorder happen as a result of something that they could have prevented? If it could have been prevented, you could have a legal case against them. Why should you have to let the medical bills pile up for someone else’s mistakes? Here are the cases where you could take legal action:

  • Failure to diagnose the risks
  • Failed to deliver the child despite the signs
  • Failed to treat congenital disorder after birth
  • Using excessive force with birth assisting tools
  • Not delivering the child quickly
  • Surgical errors from a C-section
  • Making a mistake with the administering of anesthesia

If you feel that your baby was disabled because of any one of these medical mistakes, you could be legally entitled to compensation.

How Long Do These Cases Take?

A case with cerebral palsy can become quite the ordeal where your lawyer will have to gather testimonies from experts, he will gather paperwork and he will have to go through the waiting periods and the requirements for it. In general, these cases will usually take between 18 months to 24 months to see a court decision from the point of filing. That’s why you want to file as soon as possible. In some cases, the cases will go faster if you have a willingness to settle. This prevents it from going to court where it will take longer.

What's the Statute of Limitations?

You should be aware of the statute of limitations with many of these cases. Every state will have a different set of statute of limitation, so you should look it up in your individual state. After a certain period, it will be too late for you to file. Since many children don’t get diagnosed with this right away, you will have extra time to file. Nevertheless, you should speak with your lawyer to better understand it.

What Does the Settlement Look Like?

One of the great cerebral palsy legal questions, the settlement will most likely depend on the severity of the injury. It will take your child’s needs into consideration and what will be needed throughout his lifetime. This most likely will get established in what is known as a life care plan to establish the financial help needed.

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