For many growing families, having a child is a miraculous and amazing experience that brings joy and excitement. For some families though, childbirth may bring about unexpected challenges and complications for your family and newborn. Even with the advancements in science, medicine, and technology, there is still a high prevalence of birth injury in the U.S. There are a number of different injuries that can be caused by medical malpractice with cerebral palsy being one of the most devastating.
Cerebral Palsy is a condition in which the newborn’s developing brain suffers damage or trauma. This distress to the brain generally occurs because of a lack of oxygen, bleeding, or head trauma during labor or the delivery process. It’s estimated that between 6,000 and 10,000 newborns and infants are diagnosed with this condition each year in the U.S. Because it affects the child’s developing brain, there can be a number of different lifelong problems caused by cerebral palsy. These developmental issues may include:
- Motor difficulty in lower or all four limbs
- Vision and/or hearing loss
- Intellectual disability
- Learning disorders
- Problems swallowing
- Attention deficit disorders
These issues can result in your child needing special accommodations and assistance for the rest of their lives, which can place extra financial and emotional hardships on you and your family. In some cases, factoring future economic loss of the child, the overall financial costs, including giving your child the proper care, can reach into the millions. Thankfully, however, rewards for successful cerebral palsy medical negligence cases can be substantial because of the high cost of a lifetime of medical care, as was the case in a local Frederick County case in which a jury awarded nearly four million dollars.
At Portner & Shure, P.A. Attorneys at Law, we understand that it’s not you or your child’s fault that they suffered this debilitating condition. That’s why we work on your behalf to discover if there was negligence or fault on behalf of the medical professionals that helped you during your pregnancy. If you believe your child’s diagnosis was the result of medical negligence, our experienced legal team works with experts across many fields such as obstetrics, pediatric neurology, neuro-imaging, maternal and fetal medicine, and child development to help your case.
If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, there are some factors that can point to medical negligence being the cause. A few common indicators that medical negligence during or shortly after delivery caused the condition include if your newborn:
- Is under-oxygenated or has bluish skin
- Has a seizure
- Has an issue with breathing
- Has an abnormal body temperature
If you believe that your child’s cerebral palsy was the result of medical negligence then our experienced birth injury lawyers are here to help you during this difficult time. With our experience, knowledge, and contacts in the medical community, we can help hold the responsible party liable while helping to secure compensation that will help your child live a happy and healthy life.
Please call us today for a free consultation at (410) 995-1515. We serve clients throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. We work on a contingency basis, which means that we don’t get paid unless your case is successful.
