Cerebral palsy lawsuits are generally filed because there was medical negligence on the part of a physician or healthcare facility that led to the child suffering birth injuries. Cerebral palsy in infants is caused by a brain injury that affects the part of the brain that is responsible for controlling the muscles. People with cerebral palsy suffer the majority of the effects of the disorder in the form of problems with their muscle tone. This can lead to myriad problems throughout their lives and, because of that, the family sometimes pursues a lawsuit to recover financial compensation that can help pay for the resulting expenses.
The first part of any cerebral palsy lawsuit will involve meeting with a lawyer who is experienced with these types of legal actions. The attorney will have to take into account the exact circumstances of the birth and, with this information, they will be able to determine whether or not it is likely that negligence did play a part in your child suffering brain injuries. It sometimes takes expert advice to make this determination but, to make sure that people do get a chance to speak with an attorney, most of these attorneys offer free consultations.
After the consultation, the attorney may have to do some additional work to determine whether or not they think they can help you. Attorneys who work in areas of the law such as medical malpractice and liability generally work on a contingency basis. If they don’t win your lawsuit, they don’t get paid. This means that the attorney has to be certain that your case actually has a viable chance of winning. If they don’t think they can argue it successfully for you, they will turn down your business, eliminating the chances that you’ll end up paying legal fees for a case that your attorney doesn’t think is going to win.
Your attorney will be able to help you determine how much money you want to pursue. There are many different factors that play into determining the amount of money that you seek from the negligent parties. There is a chance that the people you are suing will offer you a settlement so that they can avoid the costs of going to court. If you do have to go to court, your attorney will argue your claim to the jury and try to persuade them that your family deserves the compensation that you’re seeking.