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Could my child’s cerebral palsy have been caused by medical malpractice?

Michael Agruss

Written and Reviewed by Michael Agruss

  • Managing Partner and Personal Injury Lawyer at 844SeeMike.
  • Over 20 years of experience in Personal Injury.
  • Graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law: Juris Doctor, 2004.

Cerebral palsy, also known as static encephalopathy, is the most common of all childhood disabilities, and is a group of chronic disorders that impair the child’s ability to move and control their movements. Often, children with cerebral palsy would have otherwise been born healthy if not for human error or medical malpractice that occurred during pregnancy or childbirth. 

Approximately 10,000 infants in the U.S. are diagnosed with cerebral palsy yearly. Often, this is due to birth trauma and birth injuries that resulted in complications during labor and delivery and can include the following errors:

  • Leaving the baby in the birth canal for too long;
  • Failure to properly assess and respond to problems such as a prolapsed umbilical cord;
  • Failure to notice fetal distress;
  • Infections;
  • Medication error;
  • Failure to perform a cesarean section (C-section) in a timely manner;
  • Failure to properly perform a necessary procedure, surgery, or treatment;
  • Improper use of forceps.

While it is entirely possible that your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by negligence or medical malpractice, only a skilled personal injury lawyer can help determine if a doctor or hospital is responsible for your child’s injuries. 

When making a claim against a doctor or hospital, a personal injury lawyer will be able to guide you through the necessary steps needed to pursue legal action, which involve proving negligence. To demonstrate that negligence occurred, your lawyer will do the following:

  • Establish duty of care- This is the easiest to prove because by agreeing to provide care to you and your child, the doctor or hospital automatically agree to take on a responsibility to provide you with the accepted, reasonable standards of medical care through your entire stay.
  • Proving breach of duty-To establish negligence and medical malpractice, your lawyer will first demonstrate what the accepted, reasonable standard of care should have been. They will then demonstrate how the care you and your child received was below this standard.
  • Establishing cause-By showing that the doctor or hospital acted in a manner below a reasonable standard of care, your lawyer will show that their actions caused your child’s injuries.
  • Resulting damages-Finally, your lawyer will demonstrate that the negligent actions of the doctor or hospital caused your child’s damages and should be held responsible for their actions or inactions.

If you feel that your child suffered cerebral palsy due to the negligent actions of a doctor or hospital, it is important to discuss your case with an experienced personal injury lawyer.

We at 844 See Mike are proud to serve our fellow citizens in personal injury cases, especially when you or a loved one has been injured, and we are fully committed to protecting your rights and ensuring that the other party is held legally accountable when negligence occurs. We will fight until the very end to ensure that you are fully compensated for all injuries and losses resulting from the accident, including medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering, and you won’t owe us a dime for our services. 

We see you as a person, not just a client – and that makes us better at work we do. We listen. We learn your story. And, as we help you get the money you deserve, we go above and beyond in a way most law firms never could and never would. Because we’re not just lawyers. And you’re not just a client. We’re friends, neighbors, family. We’re all people and here at 844 See Mike, we put People, First.

Helping our clients is about counseling, advocating, and ultimately solving problems. With years of experience successfully representing the people, not the powerful, we will take care of the insurance adjusters, your medical bills, your property damage, your lost wages, and monitor your treatment so you can focus on healing and getting your life back to normal. Our unique formula has earned us over 900 outstanding client reviews on our website, an A+ BBB rating, and over 120 five-star reviews on Google.  Call 888-572-0176, e-mail us at michael@agrusslawfirm.com, or schedule meeting with us here. We’re here 24/7. 

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