If your child was recently diagnosed with cerebral palsy, I know there are many thoughts swirling around in your mind.
Emotionally, you are going from sadness to anger, to fear to anxiety, to happiness when you see your beautiful baby is here, with you.
There is a lot for you to sort through right now, and I want to help you answer one question so you may have less to think about:
Can I sue my doctor if my child has cerebral palsy?
The answer is: YES, in certain circumstances…
What is Cerebral Palsy
First and foremost, let’s start with defining cerebral palsy and describe some of its causes.
Cerebral palsy is a group of brain disorders that appear in infancy or early childhood and affect muscle movement.
Some symptoms may include the following:
In a Baby Younger Than 6 Months of Age
- His head lags when you pick him up while he’s lying on his back
- He feels stiff
- He feels floppy
- When you pick him up, his legs get stiff and they cross or scissor
In a Baby Older Than 6 Months of Age
- She doesn’t roll over in either direction
- She cannot bring her hands together
- She has difficulty bringing her hands to her mouth
- She reaches out with only one hand while keeping the other fisted
In a Baby Older Than 10 Months of Age
- He crawls in a lopsided manner, pushing off with one hand and leg while dragging the opposite hand and leg
- He cannot stand holding onto support
Not all causes of cerebral palsy are due to the fault of your doctor. Certain genetic conditions or abnormal fetal development during pregnancy could all be causes that would not be your doctor’s fault.
In fact, about 90% of cerebral palsy cases diagnosed each year are due to conditions outside of your control or your doctor’s.
However, there are some cases which cerebral palsy is due to your obstetrician or gynecologist’s (obgyn) failure to perform certain medical procedures correctly…
How is it caused by your doctor?
In the event where your doctor, nurse or hospital is, in fact, the cause of your baby’s cerebral palsy, these are some common reasons why they can be found at fault:
1. Failing to detect fetal distress
2. Failing to quickly perform a C-Section after detecting fetal distress
3. Incorrect use of forceps or vacuum suction during birth
4. Failure to diagnose certain maternal infections during pregnancy
5. Improper administration of certain drugs given to mom during pregnancy
6. Failing to properly prevent or treat an umbilical cord wrapped around baby’s neck
And many more…
Your legal rights in Louisiana
If you feel like your doctor caused your baby’s brain injury, you have legal rights in Louisiana that protect her so that she will have the money she needs to get the health care she needs for the rest of her life.
Also, you can live knowing you received the justice and the compensation you deserved, so that your family can live a happy life, without the stress of medical bills piling up.
Louisiana’s medical malpractice law provides victims $500,000 in general damages also known as pain and suffering, plus past and future medical expenses for cerebral palsy victims.
The process to get there is a marathon and not a sprint.
You will most likely need to file a case with the State of Louisiana’s Division of Administration to start a Medical Review Panel who will review your case.
However, these panels follow court procedures and, in 96% of the time, the plaintiff loses.
Choosing your guide
It is an extremely complicated and long process to get justice.
So, it is important that you hire a lawyer who practices almost exclusively in the area of birth injury law.
Even if you do win at the medical panel stage, you will need someone who knows how to present the case to the panel and quickly get your case resolved in court or with the doctor’s lawyers, afterwards, so you get the most compensation for your baby’s injuries.
Often times, the insurance company doesn’t want to pay, and will dangle a carrot that seems like a lot of money in front of you.
Don’t take it.
There is a reason they are doing it, and, I can almost guarantee you, it has nothing to do with looking out for your best interests.
So, you will want to hire someone who knows how to deal with them; someone who values you and your family as people first, and not, as a paycheck; someone whom you can spend hours talking to and who will always welcome your call as a friend.
After all, that’s what happens after spending so much time together. We become friends.
Not all lawyers are built for that, but I am, because of what happened to me and my family.
Your next steps…
It is simple. Call me for a free case evaluation.
I will spend time with you talking about your case and will tell you what I think. For Free.
Many times, I will ask for you to get your medical records so I can review them after we speak, and, if necessary, send them to an expert doctor to review them further for a medical opinion.
In the end you will get an answer to at least one of your questions that is, undoubtedly, occupying your mind daily.
It is not fair what happened to your child and the person who caused that injury must answer for that.
You will find that through this process you get back something you lost; your power and strength.
And, at the very least, you can move on knowing that you did everything you could to help your baby, even if it means that you find out the doctor didn’t do anything legally wrong.
How much time do you have?
You should call me now. I’m not saying that to be pushy. Truly, I am not.
I am saying it because all too often people call me too late.
I don’t enjoy having to tell them the bad news that the law only gives you a short time to file a medical malpractice case.
And you missed it because you waited.
I am waiting to hear from you and look forward to helping you answer this burning question of whether you have a case.
Once it is answered you will have one less thing to think about.
All my best,
Ramesh
