Children with cerebral palsy typically develop it at birth or very early in life. Preventable medical mistakes often cause cerebral palsy during childbirth.
These mistakes can amount to negligence, opening the door for a cerebral palsy malpractice lawsuit.
If your baby has cerebral palsy and you suspect medical negligence is the cause, it’s important to speak with an experienced New Mexico cerebral palsy lawyer right away.
What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy often referred to as CP, is actually a group of disorders that affect a child’s ability to move or maintain posture and balance.
It’s a common motor disability in babies caused by abnormal development or damage to the brain. While cerebral palsy is not a condition that worsens as your child ages, their symptoms may change throughout the years.
Cerebral palsy doesn’t affect everyone in the same manner. Some children may require special equipment to walk, while others may not walk at all.
Children who have cerebral palsy struggle with their posture and movements. It’s pretty common to have other related conditions present as well, such as seizures, spinal changes like scoliosis, intellectual disabilities, and more.
Mistakes That Can Lead to Cerebral Palsy
One of the most common ways babies develop cerebral palsy is due to a lack of oxygen to the brain during childbirth.
Delivery mistakes can result in trauma to the mother’s body or delivering a baby prematurely. Both of these issues can also lead to cerebral palsy.
Examples of mistakes that medical providers make that can lead to a negligence claim including the following:
- Failing to monitor the fetal heart rate;
- Not accurately diagnosing and treating maternal infections;
- Not scheduling or performing an emergency C-section when needed;
- Failing to detect and correct any umbilical cord problems;
- Not using birth-assisting tools properly; or
- Failing to perform a safe surgical procedure.
In these examples, medical mistakes could’ve been prevented. If the doctor is negligent, they can be held liable for your baby’s cerebral palsy.
What Types of Damages Are Available in a Medical Malpractice Case?
Your potential compensation will vary, as each case is different.
If you can prove medical negligence against a medical provider, you could be eligible to receive compensation for:
- Medical expenses;
- Special education costs;
- Therapy such as physical, occupational, etc.;
- Transportation costs to and from medical treatments;
- Lost wages for the time you had to take off work for medical appointments;
- Pain and suffering; and
- Costs of special equipment and home remodel for installing ramps or rails.
Your attorney will go over what your damages are and what your case is potentially worth.
It’s crucial to hire an experienced New Mexico cerebral palsy lawyer to represent you. These cases are very complex, and you don’t want to risk your potential compensation by handling the claim independently.
Who Has the Legal Right to File a Medical Malpractice Claim?
To proceed with a medical malpractice claim for cerebral palsy, you need to show that the medical professional was negligent, which caused your child to develop cerebral palsy.
You must establish the existing relationship between you and the provider in question.
A doctor you’ve never had an appointment with is not someone you have a doctor-patient relationship with. However, you do have one with the doctor who delivered your baby.
Contact a New Mexico Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If your child has cerebral palsy or received a cerebral palsy misdiagnosis, you could have a claim for compensation.
Contact the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Poulos & Coates to learn what your legal options are.
Our firm knows New Mexico medical malpractice claims. We have over 70 years of combined experience, and we have a licensed medical doctor who is an attorney on staff.
We understand how stressful and terrifying it is when your child has birth injuries. You need a legal advocate on your side who can help protect your rights and isn’t afraid to take your case to trial if necessary.
Let us represent you and help ensure the defendants will be held accountable for their cerebral palsy malpractice.
Greig Coates, M.D., J.D.
Over the last thirty years, Dr. Coates has successfully represented plaintiffs in every conceivable type of medical malpractice lawsuit–from single-physician cases to complex litigation involving over a dozen doctors and several hospitals. Dr. Coates has taken several thousand physician depositions in his career involving every known physician specialty and sub-specialty, and almost as many depositions involving hospital personnel such as nurses, techs, and administrators. He has tried several dozen cases to successful verdicts.
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