Catonsville Cerebral Palsy Attorney

Cerebral palsy is a lifelong motor function condition that can turn your and your child’s lives down a path you had never expected. Your child is likely to face many more challenges as they develop than they would have under typical conditions. If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you suspect it was due to birth injury caused by the medical care you received, you may be entitled to receive financial compensation.

A Catonsville cerebral palsy attorney at our firm can guide you through the process of filing a medical malpractice case that compensates you for the losses you and your child have endured. Brown & Barron is a law firm based in Maryland that offers free consultations to personal injury victims looking for justice and a path forward to healing. 

Get in touch with a cerebral palsy lawyer serving Catonsville, (410) 698-1717 for a free case evaluation.

How Cerebral Palsy Can Affect Your Child

Cerebral palsy is caused by injury to a developing brain, either in the womb, during birth, or after birth. It is a condition that primarily affects the motor functions of a child, and as a result, their balance, coordination, and muscle tone. Since cerebral palsy is a brain issue, some children also suffer from learning and intellectual disabilities. However, some do not. The extent of their disabilities depends on the parts of the brain that are injured. Generally, cerebral palsy may affect your child’s:

• Balance and coordination
• Ability to walk
• Control over body movements
• Speech
• Chewing, swallowing, or sucking
• Physical and mental growth and development
• Learning ability

A more comprehensive list of symptoms of cerebral palsy is provided by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and Research Foundation (CPARF).

Your Child’s Cerebral Palsy May Be the Result of Medical Malpractice

Medical negligence may be the cause of your baby’s cerebral palsy if they suffered a birth injury. A Catonsville medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine the cause of your child’s condition. If any of the following are at the root of the injury your child suffered before, during, or after birth, you may have a viable and compensable medical malpractice claim in Maryland:

• Pressure on your newborn’s head and/or nerves
• Oxygen deprivation
• Excessive force in extracting the baby from the birth canal
• A vacuum or forceps used to extract your baby during delivery
• Providing incorrect medications, dosages, and treatments
• Failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, or incorrect diagnosis during prenatal care
• Inadequate monitoring of the mother during labor or delivery

A Catonsville Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Can Help You Secure Financial Resources to Care For Your Child

Due to the physical injury in the brain and the resulting motor function, intellectual, and developmental challenges cerebral palsy causes, your child may have extensive care needs. Those needs almost always come with a high price tag that includes specialists and additional services, devices, and supplies beyond that of a child without a brain injury.

Recovering compensation from the negligent medical care provider can help ease the stress that these additional expenses bring on top of the stress of worrying about the health of your baby.

In a Maryland medical malpractice claim, victims are allowed to seek two types of damages:

• Economic Damages – These are damages you can claim for financial losses in connection with your accident, incident, or injury.   
• Non-Economic Damages – These are damages you can claim for losses that are not financial but nevertheless resulted from your accident, incident, or injury. 

The money you collect from your cerebral palsy case in Catonsville, Maryland may include damages for:

• Mental and physical health care
• Missed time at work due to caring for your child
• Lost earning ability (if you also suffered an injury during birthing due to negligent care)
• Assistive devices and equipment
• Travel expenses
• Additional required services for the daily care of your child
• Learning and developmental specialists
• Emotional distress
• Physical anguish
• Loss of function or impaired function of body parts 
• Lost quality of life

This is by no means an exhaustive list of damages you or your child may be entitled to. Speaking with a Catonsville cerebral palsy lawyer at our firm can help you determine the full extent of the compensation you may be able to seek. 

Contact Brown & Barron online today to schedule a free case review with a with a cerebral palsy lawyer serving Catonsville.

How Is Compensation Determined in My Cerebral Palsy Medical Malpractice Case?

Your compensation amount will be determined by multiple factors that include the following:

Your Provable Damages

We can determine the value of your case by assessing your economic damages through things like medical bills, mental health care expenses, financial statements, bills, invoices, or receipts indicating any necessary costs related to your child’s cerebral palsy. Additionally, we evaluate the breadth of your and your child’s pain and suffering using your testimony and that of medical and psychological experts.

Industry Standard Calculating Methods

Financial losses are straightforward. If the loss is determined viable, you will be compensated dollar for dollar. A $15,000 home modification that makes it easier for your child to independently get around the house yields $15,000 in compensation. Non-monetary losses are more complex. They don’t correspond to a financial value, so one must be assigned. Generally, that is through certain calculating methods that include:

• Multiplying your economic damages by a number that represents the impact of the cerebral palsy and related injuries on your/your child’s life.
• Assigning an appropriate dollar value to set intervals of time (days, months, years) and multiplying that by your child’s life expectancy measured in the same units.

The amounts awarded to others in Maryland with similar cerebral palsy or medical malpractice cases may also be factored into the compensation you receive.

Medical Malpractice Damage Caps in Maryland

Even after a careful and accurate valuation of your Catonsville cerebral palsy case, you may not be awarded that amount. While Maryland allows potentially unlimited economic damages in a medical malpractice case, it limits the amount you can receive for non-monetary damages. Currently, the cap is set at 860,000 with a $15,000 increase every year, per Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code § 3-2A-09.

Brown & Barron Is Here To Fight for the Catonsville Community

Brown & Barron, LLC is here for the community. We care about the health and future of your child and are passionate about providing legal services that demonstrate that. Over $82 million won for individuals and families in the last four years tells the story of our dedication.

If your child suffers from cerebral palsy due to the negligence of healthcare professionals, you and your child deserve to be compensated fairly. A Catonsville cerebral palsy attorney at our firm will pursue that goal on your behalf. 

Call us to discuss your case during a free consultation.