Chicago, IL
Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological disorder caused by brain injury that occurs while a child’s brain is under development, affecting body movement and muscle coordination. The condition can be severe, and those on the more severe end of the spectrum may also develop problems with learning, seizures, and visual and hearing impairments.
If you suspect your child’s cerebral palsy was a result of medical negligence, it is your right to seek legal help. Finding the right CP lawyer in Chicago, IL, can make a world of difference in the care of an individual with CP and the quality of life they and their family experience.
What Are the Causes of Cerebral Palsy?
Head trauma and oxygen deprivation are the two main causes of cerebral palsy. These can happen before, during, or after birth. While birthing complications account for only a small percentage of cerebral palsy cases, other times a lack of proper and timely medical intervention for complications experienced by the fetus may be to blame.
When medical professionals’ actions or inactions are responsible for a child’s CP, the results can be devastating.
Who and What Can Be Affected?
Cerebral Palsy affects not only the individual with the condition, but everyone in their immediate family, who must adjust their lives to account for the special care that person is likely to need—both now and into the future. Frequent medical appointments, daily care needs, and the financial toll of medications, therapy, and procedures all significantly impact individuals with CP and their families.
But it’s the financial toll on families that can be most devastating, because the cost of caring for someone with CP is lifelong—and can run into the millions of dollars. When you consider that many people with CP will never be able to earn an income, and at least one parent may need to stay home to care for the individual with CP full-time, the costs of the condition are even more pronounced.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
Individual members of the medical team, from those who delivered prenatal care to the doctors, midwives, and/or nurses who delivered the child, to those who provided monitoring and care post-birth may be held liable, depending on the specific circumstances of a case.
Proper prenatal care is a duty that all doctors and healthcare providers are expected to give their patients. Failing to provide adequate prenatal care, such as failing to diagnose or properly treat conditions that might have resulted in the CP, and which another competent professional would have caught, is negligence. Likewise, during birth, nurses have a duty to carefully monitor both the mother and child, and communicate any medical risks and needs they become aware of to attending doctors.
While mishandling the delivery can certainly result in CP, more subtle forms of negligence center around failing to act swiftly and properly.
Unfortunately, because the birth process can be hectic, with many beeping machines and medical professionals swirling around a new mother and her baby, it can be difficult to tell if the actions of any one person contributed to the child’s CP. A capable Chicago cerebral palsy attorney can request medical records, seek expert opinions, and gather evidence related to the processes and procedures followed by a hospital and medical team to find out if negligence is to blame.
Potential Compensation in a CP Case
A cerebral palsy diagnosis, particularly a more severe one, means a lifetime of doctor’s appointments, therapies, surgeries, medications, and personal care. Plus, there are many unanticipated procedures and assistive devices that a child with CP may need in the future. All of this can cost millions of dollars.
A legal win against a medical facility or individual medical providers can not only alleviate the costs, but also provide compensation for loss of potential income. It can also account for loss of income from a parent who must stop working to stay at home to care for a child with CP. In addition, the emotional toll can be accounted for, as individuals with CP and their caregivers often develop mental health conditions such as depression.
Finding Legal Help for Your CP Case
CP is life-altering for everyone involved, not just the individual with the CP diagnosis. Finding a Chicago cerebral palsy lawyer who understands the implications of the condition and its causes, and who will put your family first, can make the process of filing suit more bearable.
The Cerebral Palsy Family Lawyers at Janet, Janet & Suggs have worked on myriad CP cases and bring more than 40 years of experience representing individuals with CP and their families. Its legal and medical team understands how disorienting and disheartening it is to be faced with a diagnosis like cerebral palsy, and how challenging the idea of a lawsuit can feel. With compassion and respect as priorities, the team at Janet, Janet & Suggs stands out, having recovered more than $3 billion for their clients, achieving record-breaking CP verdicts and settlements, resulting in thousands of lives changed.
The firm has its own in-house medical experts, including a board-certified OBGYN with over 20 years of medical experience. The attorneys at Janet, Janet & Suggs understand that CP can be a huge financial burden on families, and they don’t add to that burden. Case evaluations are free, and clients only pay when the firm recovers compensation on their behalf.
However daunting seeking legal help and facing those responsible for your child’s condition may seem, it’s a decision that can positively impact your lives. Contact JJS today to see if a medical malpractice case may provide relief for your child and family.
