Do I have a valid cerebral palsy claim?

Do I have a valid cerebral palsy claim?

About 10,000 babies are diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year in the U.S. A decent chunk of those cases trace back to mistakes made during labor and delivery—errors that could have been prevented. If you're reading this, you're probably asking yourself a tough question: Do I have a valid cerebral palsy claim?

Here's the straight answer—if a medical mistake caused your child's condition, you might have grounds to pursue legal action. But there’s more to it than pointing fingers. Medical records, expert opinions, and state laws all come into play. Don’t worry, though. We’ll break it all down for you.

If you’re ready to get answers, call (888) 894-9067. At Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance, our network of attorneys will review your situation and connect you with a local cerebral palsy lawyer who knows exactly how to handle cerebral palsy claims.

Understanding Cerebral Palsy Claims

Cerebral palsy comes in different types—spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed. But for a claim to hold water, the focus isn’t on the type of CP. It’s on why it happened. If a medical error starved your baby’s brain of oxygen (hypoxia) or caused bleeding in the brain (hemorrhage), that’s where a lawyer starts asking tough questions.

Some of the most common triggers in birth injury-related CP cases include:

• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen or blood flow. It’s like cutting off the power supply to a computer mid-update—something’s going to break.
• Untreated maternal infections: Certain infections (like Group B strep) can pass to the baby, causing brain damage.
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors: These tools are supposed to help deliver babies, not injure them.
• Failure to monitor fetal distress: Electronic fetal monitoring exists for a reason. Ignoring red flags on the monitor isn’t just careless—it’s negligence.

Not Every Cerebral Palsy Case Leads to a Claim

Cerebral palsy isn’t always caused by medical malpractice. And that’s what makes these cases complex. The law doesn’t expect perfection from healthcare providers. According to the standard of care principle, they’re expected to act the way a reasonably skilled doctor would in the same situation.

If they failed to meet that standard—if their actions (or lack of action) directly caused the injury—then it opens the door to legal action. Otherwise, no dice.

Establishing a Valid Claim

You might suspect something went wrong during childbirth, but suspicion isn’t proof. To move a cerebral palsy case forward, there has to be evidence. Hard facts. Legal claims are built on three pillars: negligence, causation, and damages. Without all three, the case doesn’t hold up. Here’s how it works.

Medical Negligence

The first step is showing that a healthcare provider made a mistake. Not a random accident. Not an unfortunate outcome. A mistake—something another doctor, given the same circumstances, would have handled differently. This is called breaching the standard of care. Every state defines this standard through case law, but the concept remains the same: it’s what a reasonably competent provider should have done.

Common examples of medical negligence in cerebral palsy claims include:

• Ignoring fetal distress. Those spikes and dips on a fetal monitor mean something. If the medical team failed to respond to signs that the baby wasn’t getting enough oxygen, that’s negligence.
• Delaying a C-section. Time matters when complications arise. If labor stalled or the baby showed signs of distress, doctors had a window to act. Missing that window can cause brain damage.
• Misusing delivery tools. Forceps and vacuum extractors require precision. Used incorrectly, they can cause skull fractures, brain bleeds, and ultimately cerebral palsy.
• Failing to treat maternal or neonatal infections. Untreated infections like Group B Strep or meningitis can pass to the baby and cause serious harm.
• Improper resuscitation after birth. If a newborn struggled to breathe and didn’t get adequate support immediately, oxygen deprivation could damage brain tissue.

Causation

Proving negligence isn’t enough. You also need to show that the mistake directly caused the cerebral palsy. This is where things usually get messy. Many children with CP have complicated birth stories, and the defense will argue that the condition wasn’t preventable.

To link negligence with the injury, lawyers bring in medical experts. They review records, analyze what happened, and testify that the doctor’s mistake caused harm. Without this connection, a case falls apart.

For example:

• If a baby showed signs of hypoxia on a fetal monitor and no one intervened, and hours later was born with severe oxygen deprivation, that’s a direct line from mistake to injury.
• On the other hand, if all procedures were followed and CP was linked to an unpreventable genetic mutation, causation isn’t there.

Damages

A valid claim also requires evidence of damages. These aren’t just financial costs, although those are part of it. Damages cover both the economic and non-economic consequences of cerebral palsy.

Economic damages include:

• Past and future medical expenses.
• Ongoing physical and occupational therapy.
• Assistive technology and equipment. Wheelchairs, walkers, and communication devices.
• Home modifications. Ramps, widened doorways, and accessible bathrooms.
• Loss of future earnings. If a child won’t be able to work due to disability, that’s factored in.

Non-economic damages cover:

• Pain and suffering.
• Emotional distress.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

Some states place caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice claims. For example:

• In California, under MICRA (Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act), non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases are capped at $350,000 for injuries occurring after January 1, 2023.
• In Maryland, the cap for non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases was $875,000 as of 2023, increasing by $15,000 each year.

But there’s no cap on economic damages in most states, meaning families can pursue the full amount needed for medical care and support.

Legal Considerations

Even if a medical mistake caused your child’s cerebral palsy, timing and eligibility shape whether a claim goes anywhere. Legal deadlines and filing rules aren’t flexible. Miss a deadline, and the court likely won’t even look at your case. These legal requirements vary by state, but they all exist to make sure claims move forward while evidence is still fresh.

Statute of Limitations

Every state sets a deadline—called a statute of limitations—for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Wait too long, and you lose the right to sue. These limits exist to prevent lawsuits years or decades after an injury, when memories fade and records disappear.

For birth injury claims like cerebral palsy, the rules shift a little. Some states extend deadlines when the injured party is a child. But that doesn’t mean there’s endless time to file. Parents need to act early to avoid legal roadblocks later.

Here are a few examples:

• New York: You get two years and six months from the date of the malpractice. For minors, the clock starts ticking when they turn 18—but no later than 10 years after the malpractice occurred (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-a).
• Illinois: Medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within two years of discovering the injury, but no later than four years after the malpractice took place. For minors, the lawsuit must be filed by their eighth birthday if they were under age 18 at the time of injury (735 ILCS 5/13-212).
• California: Parents have three years from the date of injury, or one year after they reasonably should have discovered the injury. For minors under six years old, the case must be filed within three years or before their eighth birthday, whichever provides more time (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 340.5).

Some states apply a legal rule called the “discovery rule.” This delays the clock if parents didn’t know (and wouldn’t reasonably have known) their child’s CP was caused by malpractice until later.

Eligibility to File

Parents or legal guardians usually bring cerebral palsy claims on behalf of their children. Courts assume minors aren’t able to advocate for themselves in complex legal matters. If no claim gets filed during childhood, some states allow adults living with cerebral palsy to file once they reach the legal age to sue.

The person filing must also have legal standing. That means they need a direct connection to the case. If you’re a parent or guardian raising a child with cerebral palsy caused by medical malpractice, you have standing to bring a claim. If you’re not, the court won’t consider your lawsuit.

Additionally, you can only sue healthcare providers who were directly involved in the malpractice. Hospitals, doctors, nurses, and midwives are common defendants. But the law doesn’t allow claims against people who weren’t part of the delivery or care process.

Steps to Pursue a Claim

Once you’ve figured out that you might have a valid claim, the next question is simple: What do you actually do about it? Filing a cerebral palsy claim isn’t like filling out a form and waiting for someone to cut a check. It’s a multi-step process that demands patience, evidence, and the right professionals in your corner.

Consultation

The first move is speaking with a medical malpractice attorney who deals specifically with birth injury cases. Not every lawyer knows how to handle the complexity of cerebral palsy claims. You want someone who understands both the legal and medical sides of the equation.

During a consultation, the attorney will ask a lot of questions. Expect to talk about:

• The pregnancy.
• Labor and delivery events.
• What doctors told you at the time.
• When and how your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

At this point, the attorney isn’t just listening to your story. They’re sizing up the potential for a case based on the facts you give them. Some cases are clear-cut; others need deep investigation to find out whether malpractice played a role.

Investigation

Once the attorney decides the case has legs, they’ll start digging for evidence. It’s a forensic deep-dive into medical records and timelines, looking for moments where a healthcare provider made a wrong move—or failed to act when they should have.

This process usually involves:

• Requesting and reviewing medical records. Hospitals are legally required to provide these under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
• Consulting medical experts. In most states, expert opinions are mandatory before filing a malpractice lawsuit. For example, Pennsylvania requires a Certificate of Merit, where a qualified medical expert swears there’s a reasonable basis to the claim (Pa. R.C.P. No. 1042.3).
• Interviewing witnesses. Nurses, technicians, and other staff might offer key details about what happened in the delivery room.

During the investigation, the legal team builds a case theory. This isn’t guesswork. It’s a narrative backed by evidence showing who was responsible and how their actions caused harm.

Filing the Lawsuit

When the groundwork is finished, the attorney drafts and files a formal complaint. This document lays out:

• Who’s being sued (the defendants).
• What they did wrong (the allegations).
• How their actions caused the injury (causation).
• What compensation you’re seeking (damages).

The complaint kicks off the lawsuit. Once it’s filed, the defendants—usually doctors, nurses, hospitals, or all three—get served with legal notice and a deadline to respond. From there, the case moves into pre-trial litigation.

Settlement Negotiations

Many cerebral palsy cases end in settlement before they ever reach trial. Once the defendants see the evidence stacked against them, their insurance companies may offer a settlement to avoid the risk and cost of going to court.

Settlement talks can happen at any stage but are common after discovery, when both sides have exchanged information and depositions. If both sides agree on a number, the case ends there. If not, it moves forward.

Trial

If a settlement doesn’t happen, the case goes to trial. Here, both sides present evidence, examine witnesses, and argue the case. Birth injury trials often involve complex medical testimony and timelines, and they can take weeks—or months.

A judge or jury decides the verdict. If they side with the plaintiff, they award damages. If they side with the defense, the case ends there, unless the plaintiff appeals.

Get Answers. Get Justice.

No parent should spend years wondering if a doctor’s mistake changed their child’s future. You deserve answers. You deserve action. And if the facts back it up, you deserve compensation to make life easier for your family.

Call (888) 894-9067 today. At Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Alliance, our network of attorneys will review your case and connect you with a local lawyer who fights for families like yours.