Chicago Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

If your child suffers from cerebral palsy or a similar birth injury due to excessive pressure placed on the shoulder or neck areas during delivery, you are entitled to compensation in the eyes of the law.

Working with an experienced cerebral palsy lawyer or a Chicago birth injury lawyer who specializes in birth injury lawsuit cases can be the first step towards recovering damages in these complicated and difficult situations.

While we understand that nothing can truly make things better or even okay in the event of a birth injury like cerebral palsy or Erb's palsy, if your child has been injured at birth due to asphyxiation or lack of oxygen, or damage to the shoulders and neck, you may be owed compensation.

The experienced and established cerebral palsy lawyers at Zayed Law Office are ready to represent you and your child or family member's interests in court if you or they have been involved in a situation that resulted in a birth injury due to causes that may include but are not limited to:

• Failure to recognize that a C-section should have been performed
• Failure to perform a C-section early enough during delivery
• Failure to monitor the fetus during childbirth
• Brachial plexus birth injuries (shoulder nerve injuries)
• Shoulder dystocia birth

Dealing with a child or family member who suffers from cerebral palsy is complicated and can be heartbreaking and devastating, especially if their cerebral palsy or related health condition occurred as the result of an avoidable injury or medical malpractice.

Our cerebral palsy lawyers understand that compensation for your medical bills and other costs is only one part of what you are seeking help with.

We offer emotional support, legal guidance, and advocacy for you at all times during your case.

We recognize that you are being faced with innumerable challenges and we will do whatever is necessary to protect your best interests during a cerebral palsy lawsuit or any other legal claim.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect an individual's ability to move easily or freely and maintain their balance and posture.

The name comes from the Latin “cerebrum” or to do with the brain and “palsy” describing a weakness in or problems with the muscles.

This common motor disability is often caused by a birth injury or other injury caused by damage to the brain, usually during labor and delivery or traumatic childbirth.

The types of cerebral palsy caused by these types of birth injuries result in abnormal development of the brain or damage to the fragile developing brain that affects a child's future ability to control their muscles.

Any type of cerebral palsy that develops during, before, or immediately after birth is referred to as congenital cerebral palsy.

Although the exact cause of cerebral palsy is not always known, congenital cerebral palsy is considered to make up around 85% - 90% of all cerebral palsy cases.

What is Erb's Palsy?

Erb's palsy is a specific condition similar to cerebral palsy that can occur in a newborn that is the result of a birth injury like shoulder dystocia or brachial plexus injuries that cause damage to the neck nerves.

Brachial plexus and shoulder dystocia are injuries that involve a specific nerve group that stems from the spinal cord.

Specifically, Erb's palsy or cerebral palsy affects the baby's ability to rotate, move, and flex one or both arms.

Depending on the severity of the birth injury, the effects of cerebral palsy or Erb's palsy can last a lifetime and require significant ongoing medical care.

What Causes Cerebral Palsy?

There are a number of causes for cerebral palsy.

Birth injuries can play a significant role in causing cerebral palsy and are often the cause of action for a cerebral palsy birth injury lawsuit.

Cerebral palsy often occurs due to a lack of oxygen to the brain; this is because when the flow of oxygen to the baby's brain is interrupted or cut off during delivery (asphyxiation) the cells in the brain begin to die quickly.

Cerebral palsy can also be caused by an infection of the brain like meningitis that occurs before birth, during birth, within a month of birth, or during the early years of a child's life when the brain is still developing.

What are the Signs of Cerebral Palsy?

General symptoms of cerebral palsy include stiff movements or spasticity, uncontrollable movements or dyskinesia, and poor balance and coordination or ataxia.

However, in infants, the signs can be harder to detect. Some of the indicators of cerebral palsy in infants include but are not limited to:

• Delayed milestones (such as inability to sit up at 8 months or not walking by 18 months)
• Hypotonia (the infant seeming too stiff or too floppy)
• Weak arms or legs or both
• Fidgety, jerky, or clumsy movements
• Random and uncontrolled movements
• Muscle spasms
• Tremors or shaking hands

Watch the video above to learn more.

Always contact a medical professional if you think your child or a family member has cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, or other health condition (and personal injury attorneys with experience handling birth injury cases) if you have reason to suspect a birth injury or traumatic birth as the cause of cerebral palsy.

Current Cerebral Palsy Laws

There is precedent to filing lawsuits for cerebral palsy and other birth injuries.

You may be able to sue for cerebral palsy or related health conditions if your child or family member's birth injury was caused by a negligent mistake, medical negligence, or other medical malpractice that happened during childbirth or shortly thereafter.

Is Cerebral Palsy Caused by Medical Malpractice?

Cerebral palsy can be the result of medical malpractice or medical negligence in some cases; for instance, if there was a failure to perform a C-section or to perform a C-section in a timely fashion causing a break in the flow of oxygen to the baby's brain.

Other types of shoulder, neck, or brachial plexus birth injuries or shoulder dystocia can also be caused by medical negligence or malpractice.

Always contact a birth injury lawyer with experience handling cerebral palsy cases if you think you may have a cause of action for a lawsuit.

Why Do I Need a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer or Medical Malpractice Lawyer?

You may require a cerebral palsy or birth injury lawyer if you believe that medical malpractice occurred during the birth of your child resulting in cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy can have long-term effects on your child's health and well-being, they may be permanently disabled and require life-long care, or they may otherwise experience a reduced quality of life.

If you are unsure if you have a case, you can always schedule a free consultation with the experienced cerebral palsy attorneys at Zayed Law Offices.

Your consultation will always be free and you will not pay lawyer's fees unless we recover compensation for you.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice is a term used to describe conduct by a healthcare professional that deviates from the applicable standard of care.

A standard of care is generally defined as the minimum level of care that should be exercised by a health care provider, and it requires all medical professionals (such as doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and any other healthcare professional you may encounter during the course of treatment) to exercise the same degree of knowledge of care that a reasonably careful healthcare provider would use in similar situations.

When medical malpractice is committed, the standard of care is considered to have been violated.

Violations of the standard of care occur in two situations:

• When a health care provider does something that a reasonably careful provider would not do in that situation.
• When a health care provider fails to perform an action that a reasonably careful provider would perform.

While doctors often undertake risky procedures in tough circumstances without any guarantee of success for their patients, a poor result alone is not sufficient evidence of medical malpractice.

However, if the results of a medical procedure are very unexpected, it can be evidence of malpractice and be solid grounds for a future medical malpractice claim.

If you or a family member undergoes a medical procedure and the results seem to be completely at odds with expectations or otherwise extremely unusual or unlikely, then you should consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible.

A medical malpractice lawyer will review the medical records of the health care professionals who treated the individual in question and may order additional tests and exams in order to clarify the situation and move forward with the case.

Why Should I Hire a Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawyer?

If you suspect that your child or a family member has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to a birth injury and associated trauma from delivery, then you should seek the counsel of an experienced birth injury lawyer who understands the nuances of cerebral palsy cases.

At Zayed Law Offices, our cerebral palsy lawyers are highly qualified to litigate birth injury cases and help you and your family through this difficult and challenging state in your lives.

Our attorneys ensure that cerebral palsy birth injury clients receive the compensation deserved and that the best quality of life and care is secured and its costs mitigated for children suffering from cerebral palsy and similar conditions.

Contact the cerebral palsy attorneys at Zayed Law Offices to learn more about your rights.

Who is at Fault in a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit?

Multiple parties can be at fault in a medical malpractice or cerebral palsy birth injury lawsuit.

For example, the individual health care provider or providers (the doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, and other professionals involved in the case) can be considered responsible, as well as the institutions they are affiliated with or employed by.

Your cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer or malpractice attorney will be able to identify all responsible parties and file the suit accordingly and in the proper jurisdiction.

When Do I Hire a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer?

While the statute of limitations on filing a lawsuit for an injury or wrongful death in Illinois is two years from the date of the event when medical malpractice or negligence occurs there are some nuances involved.

This is because depending on the facts of the case, the statute of limitations on medical malpractice is from one to seven years or even longer in the case of birth injuries like cerebral palsy based on the facts of the case.

Accordingly, if you think that you have a cerebral palsy medical malpractice case due to a birth injury or related delivery complications, it is best to contact a personal injury lawyer who specializes in birth injuries as soon as possible so they can guide you through the gauntlet of the statutes of limitations as they apply to your particular case.

How Do I File a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit?

The cerebral palsy lawsuit process begins when you contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your potential case.

They will advise you as to the next steps and contact the appropriate parties from your insurance company, the healthcare provider's insurance company, and others.

Do not speak to insurance company representatives or anyone else involved in the potential or current lawsuit unless it is via your birth injury attorney.

You will also want to obtain copies of your medical records.

All patients have a legal right to obtain a copy of their medical records, and parents have a right to obtain the medical records of their minor children.

A request for medical records should be made in writing and must include details like the patient's social security number, address, date of birth, and other pertinent details.

Requesting medical records must be done in a timely fashion and may require payment or fees due to the records department of the medical facility or institution providing the records.

How do I Start the Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Process?

The cerebral palsy lawsuit process begins when you contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your potential case.

They will advise you as to the next steps and contact the appropriate parties from your insurance company, the healthcare provider's insurance company, and others.

Do not speak to insurance company representatives or anyone else involved in the potential or current lawsuit unless it is via your cerebral palsy lawyer.

You will also want to obtain copies of your medical records.

All patients have a legal right to obtain a copy of their medical records, and parents have a right to obtain the medical records of their minor children.

A request for medical records should be made in writing and must include details like the patient's social security number, address, date of birth, and other pertinent details.

Requesting medical records must be done in a timely fashion and may require payment or fees due to the records department of the medical facility or institution providing the records.

Statute of Limitations for Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Cases

In Illinois, the statute of limitations on any type of birth injury claims or lawsuits clearly states that lawsuits may be filed within eight years of the birth injury.

However, if the child is disabled due to a birth injury such as cerebral palsy, the statute of limitations extends until that individual reaches twenty-two years of age, since the extent of birth injuries may not become truly apparent until the child is older.

Consent to Medical Treatment and Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits

While any medical treatment requires that you or your guardian (in the case of a minor or child) sign the necessary consent forms, merely signing the form does not mean that you do not have a cerebral palsy medical malpractice case or that you have consented to medical treatment below the applicable standard of care owed by all health care providers and professionals to their patients.

Types of Recovery and Damages in Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits

When a child suffers a severe birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy that is caused by medical malpractice or medical negligence, the family involved may be owed monetary damages to compensate for their losses.

This compensation or recovery of damages can cover both monetary losses (e.g., medical bills) and intangible losses such as a reduced quality of life.

The damages recovered during a cerebral palsy lawsuit include but are not limited to past and future medical expenses, additional health care costs including counseling, occupational therapy, in-home care providers, special vehicles or equipment, and modifications to the home, lost wages, loss of society and companionship, loss of life's enjoyment, and pain and suffering or emotional distress.

While the exact amounts recovered for damages in a cerebral palsy lawsuit case vary based on the type of injury, the extent of the damage, and a number of other factors unique to each case, the total compensation typically covers immediate and future medical costs and the care required to maintain the best possible quality of life for the child who suffered the birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy.

Compensation for pain and suffering or emotional distress may also be involved. If there was a fatality related to a birth injury, then there may be a case for a wrongful death lawsuit as well.

Amounts recovered from medical malpractice lawsuits are generally not taxable in Illinois or most other states.

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Trials

While a cerebral palsy birth injury case may be settled out of court for a monetary amount agreed upon by both the defendant and plaintiff and their lawyers, a medical malpractice or cerebral palsy birth injury case may go to trial if a satisfactory settlement cannot be reached.

Cerebral palsy lawsuits go to trial due to a number of reasons.

For instance, if the health care provider or negligent party or parties are solely at fault but their insurance won't acknowledge the fault of the policyholder, the case may be taken to trial to enable a judge and jury to decide if damages should be awarded and in what amounts.

Chicago Is Home to Many Hospitals and Care Options

If you are pregnant or have another medical necessity, you can choose from hospitals in the area, including the following:

• Advocate Christ Medical Center
• Loyola University Medical Center
• NorthShore University HealthSystem-Metro Chicago
• Northwestern Memorial Hospital
• Rush University Medical Center
• University of Chicago Medical Center

Each of the hospitals in this list has many staff members who are respected members of the medical community. As with any hospital, you enter hoping that healthcare providers will complete your procedure without issue, and you will not encounter any out-of-the-ordinary complications. This includes expecting a birth to go as planned and not compromise your child's health or safety.

However effectively staff might manage a hospital, mistakes do happen, and problems will arise. This is especially true during the pandemic when both supply and staff are experiencing strain due to the tremendous national demand associated with the issue.

If you have gone to one of Chicago's medical centers and received a procedure that led to a complication or an unforeseen development, you may have experienced medical malpractice.

If you think you might have experienced medical malpractice, do not accuse your healthcare provider directly.

Doing so alerts them to the potential of an issue, and they may have lined up an attorney and begun the process of assembling their defense before you even reach the point of realizing what damages you have suffered. Simply ask for your medical records and reach out to a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible for assistance on your cause of action.

Zayed Law Offices Has the Medical Malpractice Experience You Need

When it comes to attorneys, you must seek out someone with related experience to your case so that they know the procedures and case precedents in similar situations. Attorneys are like doctors in that they might focus their work in one area, for doctors that might be the feet or brain, and for attorneys that might be car accidents or medical malpractice.

An attorney with experience in a particular area learns the norms of filing and negotiating similar cases and what amounts courts awarded in prior cases. This makes negotiating on your behalf streamlined and more logical than if you attempt to identify your damages and collect them without decades of combined legal and case experience as the attorneys at Zayed Law Offices have.

Zayed Law Offices works tirelessly to ensure that you recover the full damages you are entitled to due to your medical malpractice situation. Within the context of a claim and the related recovery, a lawsuit for your injuries can regain as close a position as possible, as though the accident had never happened. This means that you do not have any out-of-pocket expenses linked to your injuries, either immediately after the medical malpractice injury or in the long term.

To be made whole for an injury, you are entitled to recover short-term medical bills associated with recovery, as well as long-term medical costs linked to treatment, medication, and rehabilitation. Suppose you have experienced an injury that has caused a disability that prevents you from returning to your normal lifestyle or earnings ability before the accident. In that case, you may recover compensation for your lost earnings and changes in lifestyle.

Measuring and Collecting Damages Is a Complex Process, and Zayed Law Offices Can Help

Accurately measuring your total damages, including your short and long-term costs and any inhibitors or changes to your working and personal life, is very complex. For example, suppose you have experienced a disability because of your medical malpractice injury that limits your ability to return to a job that pays as well as before. In that case, your compensation will include your lost earnings potential.

You calculate your lost earnings potential by measuring the difference in your earnings ability before the accident and after, from the time of your injury through your working life. If you will make $10,000 fewer dollars each year and you have 30 years of working life remaining, then you will multiply $10,000 by 30. You will then have to account for inflation, the cost of living changes, and compute that amount into present-day value.

To calculate the amount you deserve after your medical malpractice accident requires experience in the field and knowledge of related lawsuits. There might be a norm established by other cases that have settled out of court. Such settlement amounts are not public knowledge, but experienced attorneys like those at Zayed Law Offices have worked dozens of similar cases and know the norms in the field and how to ensure that your claim meets or exceeds them.

Your Medical Malpractice Attorneys Advocates for the Best Outcome in Your Case

When you are working on collecting damages for your medical malpractice injury, being fully compensated depends upon accurately measuring your damages, then negotiating a settlement or winning a lawsuit that covers them. To accomplish this task, extensive knowledge of local law and procedure is necessary to begin the filing and negotiation process and an understanding of how to calculate damages and measure your injury to accurately identify the amount you deserve.

Connecting with a medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible after your procedure that may have caused the improper injury will support the collection of the evidence you need to achieve the best possible outcome in your case.

Your attorney steps into your shoes and handles all negotiations and communications with the doctor and the healthcare institution that injured you.

In reality, the parties that you will ultimately be dealing with are the claim specialists and attorneys of the insurance companies that represent your doctor and their employer. Doctors and healthcare organizations carry medical malpractice insurance. If they injure a patient, they are covered for related damages and do not need to pay from their own pockets.

You will not take money out of your doctor's pockets or from the hospital's budget; instead, it is more likely that you will recover compensation from an insurance company.

Insurance companies have teams of full-time attorneys and claim specialists working to deny and reduce whatever claims they can. You can level the playing field by hiring your own attorney.

OUR CEREBRAL PALSY LAWYERS ARE HERE TO HELP

A birth injury like cerebral palsy or traumatic birth can be a catastrophic event that affects you, your child, your family, and even your career in many complicated and devastating ways.

Furthermore, the effects of suffering from cerebral palsy and related complications can last for many years into the future, affecting you and your child's health, medical costs, current and future income, and even the rest of your family's future if you lose earning capacity or you or someone else in your family has to become a caretaker for your child, or your child requires long-term health care.

And if you've lost a loved one to a birthing injury or health condition like severe cerebral palsy, you deserve a settlement and to deal with the grieving process as best you can without the additional stress of dealing with insurance companies and other third parties.

All of the above reasons are why you should work with a birth injury attorney who has experience dealing with cerebral palsy and associated health conditions who can help you recover costs for the pain and suffering, loss of earnings, loss of earning capacity, medical bills, disability, and emotional distress for you, your child, and your family.

Does your child or family member suffer from cerebral palsy and do you think you need a birth injury lawyer to help you file a lawsuit and recover compensation for damages?

Read on to learn more about medical malpractice claims, what damages you might seek, and how a medical malpractice attorney can collect the full amount you deserve so that you and your family can move on from your medical malpractice injury without having to pay any related bills in the future.

We welcome the opportunity to speak with you about your legal situation and help you determine the next steps.

Please contact Zayed Law Offices in Chicago and schedule a free case review and confidential initial consultation by completing our short contact form.

We'll schedule a time that is convenient for you and please note that you will not pay lawyer's fees unless we recover compensation for you.