Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlement Amounts

Many parents-to-be dream of bringing a healthy, happy baby into the world. So if that baby is born with cerebral palsy, it is easy to feel scared or overwhelmed. Your baby’s medical condition does not make you love them any less. However, it may make you worry about how you will afford your child’s medical treatment and give them the best possible chance of a full life. If your baby’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical negligence, you may be able to recover financial compensation. Here is a closer look at what you need to know about cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements.

Who Is Responsible When a Child Develops Cerebral Palsy?

Determining Fault Is Rarely Simple

Cerebral palsy is a name for a collection of neurological disorders. There are several types of cerebral palsy, and cases can vary in terms of severity. However, cerebral palsy always causes issues with movement, balance, posture, or all three. It is not always caused by medical negligence, but because cerebral palsy can occur when a baby is deprived of oxygen before or during birth, many cases do happen as a result of medical malpractice.

However, unlike many other birth injuries, cerebral palsy is not always immediately evident. If your child starts to show signs of cerebral palsy, you should consult with a lawyer with experience litigating birth injury cases. If you work with us, our team will be able to look closely at your case and determine whether your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by a medical error.

Errors that may lead to cerebral palsy include:

• Not performing a C-section when one is clearly needed;
• Not recognizing signs that the baby is in distress;
• Not diagnosing and treating infections in the mother during pregnancy; and
• Causing an injury to the baby’s head during delivery.

It is important to understand that, like all malpractice cases, cerebral palsy lawsuits can be incredibly complex and nuanced. Often, a case that initially appears straightforward will be significantly more complicated to litigate than you might expect. If we assess your case and determine that your child’s injury happened as a result of medical negligence, we will make sure we identify all responsible parties. Many cerebral palsy lawsuits are filed against both individual practitioners and the hospital systems they work for.

How Much Are Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlements?

Medical malpractice cases are highly personalized, and without knowing more details of your case, we cannot determine how much you might recover. These cases often range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to well into the millions. When you schedule a free consultation with us, we will be able to give you a general idea of how much your case may be worth. Typically, when valuing your case, we take several factors into account:

Your Child’s Medical Expenses

This is one of the most important factors when it comes to valuing a case. However, cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements are about more than reimbursing you for past medical expenses. Because cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition, your child may need some level of financial support to cover future medical expenses as well.

You should always keep meticulous records of your child’s medical expenses, and it is a good idea to have both electronic copies and hard copies. Calculating future medical expenses is more difficult, but the team at Cava Law Firm has experience assessing birth injuries and accurately estimating future medical costs.

Your Child’s Degree of Impairment

Cerebral palsy lawsuits are often more complex than lawsuits involving other birth injuries. That is because there is a significant difference between mild and severe cerebral palsy. Someone with a mild case can usually get through daily activities without relying on mobility devices. However, a person with a severe case might be confined to a wheelchair and may not be able to perform daily activities without assistance.

Part of the value of a personal injury case is determined by how much the injury impacts quality of life. Generally, children who are more significantly impaired will receive larger settlements.

The Cava Law Firm team is here to support and guide you through this difficult time. If your child has developed cerebral palsy because of a negligent medical professional, call us today at (413) 737-3430 or (413) 781-CAVA (2282) for a free consultation.

Cost of Home Care

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements also take into account the non-medical expenses your family has had to shoulder as a result of your child’s injury. One of these expenses is in-home healthcare support. If you or the child’s other parent cannot always be home with the child, you may need to hire an in-home health aide. This kind of help can have a tremendously positive impact on your family, but for the majority of people, paying for it would be difficult or impossible without the financial assistance of a settlement.

Cost of Medical Equipment and Home Modifications

Having a child with cerebral palsy does not necessarily mean you will need to make changes to your home or purchase costly medical equipment. However, in some cases, you may find that you need to invest in the following:

• Walkers, wheelchairs, or other mobility devices;
• Adaptive cutlery and other devices;
• Technologies or devices to aid in communication;
• Wheelchair-accessible vans;
• Stairlifts; and
• Ramps and grab bars.

It can be difficult to keep track of all of your child’s disability-related expenses. However, just as you do with medical bills, you should always keep a record of all purchases you make to support your child.

Lost Wages (From Staying Home to Care for Your Child)

When an adult files a personal injury lawsuit, they often seek compensation for the income they lost while healing from the injury. Similarly, if you take time off work — or even quit your job — to care for your child, you may be able to seek compensation for lost earnings. A disability like cerebral palsy already puts significant financial strain on your family, so losing some of your income may lead to financial instability.

Non-Economic Damages

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements do not only compensate you for economic losses (quantifiable losses you can assign a dollar value to). They also are meant to compensate your child for losses that are not easily quantified, such as:

• Physical pain;
• Loss of quality of life;
• Emotional distress; and
• Physical impairment.

As you might imagine, calculating non-economic damages is not necessarily straightforward. When you schedule your free consultation with us, we can take a look at your case and help you understand how much compensation your child may be able to receive for non-economic losses.

Understanding the Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Process

At Cava Law Firm, our attorneys do not only fight for your rights through negotiation and litigation — we also are here to offer you the support and understanding you need throughout the legal process. Here is a closer look at what you can expect from your initial consultation all the way to the end of your case.

Initial Consultation

Like almost all personal injury law offices, we cannot accept every single case brought to us. Your initial consultation gives us an opportunity to review your case and decide whether it is in your best interests to file a lawsuit. It also gives you a chance to decide whether you would like to work with our firm.

If we agree to represent you and you agree to work with us, we will draw up an agreement. We work on a contingency basis, which means you pay nothing up front. You agree to pay us a certain percentage of any funds we recover for you, and if we are unable to recover compensation, you pay nothing.

Building Your Case

If we proceed with your case, we will then gather as much information as we can. Evidence is important in any personal injury case, but given the complexity of birth injury cases and other cases involving medical malpractice, it is even more so. Over the course of our investigation, we will ask you for copies of your child’s medical records and receipts for all of your expenses.

Often, a strong case with plenty of evidence makes a significant difference when it comes to the amount of your settlement. Insurance companies will typically try to pay as little as possible, so it is essential to give them a complete picture of how much your child’s cerebral palsy has impacted your family. When we can present a convincing case, insurers are also far more likely to settle. If the negligent party’s insurance company feels confident that you will win at trial, they will often offer you a fair settlement to avoid the exposure and expense of going to court.

Negotiation

Most personal injury cases are settled outside of court. If both sides can agree on a settlement amount, it saves both parties time and money. It can also spare you and your child the stress of having to testify in court. During the process of negotiation, we will discuss your case with the insurance company and attempt to reach a settlement that is acceptable to you. If the insurance company agrees to settle, the lawsuit is dropped, and you will receive your payment shortly afterward. If you are awarded a settlement, our team can help you fully understand the tax implications involved to ensure you do not accidentally run afoul of the law.

One of the main advantages of settling your case is that you receive your funds much faster than you would if the case went all the way to court. However, in some cases, it is simply impossible to reach a fair agreement. When this happens, our team is prepared to take your case to court.

Trial

When a personal injury lawsuit goes to court, it is decided in what is known as a civil trial. Civil trials work much like criminal trials — each side has the opportunity to argue its case, and the court makes a decision. However, in a civil trial, the verdict does not determine that the defendant committed a crime. Instead, if the court rules in your favor, the defendant will be found civilly liable for your injuries. The court will decide how much compensation you are owed and order the defendant to pay you that amount.

But what happens if the court does not rule in your favor? This is where going to trial becomes a bit of a gamble. In many cases, court verdicts will be worth more than settlements. However, if your case goes to court and the decision goes against you, you will not receive any compensation at all.

It can be difficult to decide whether you should settle your case or take it to trial. However, we deal with medical malpractice cases on a daily basis, and our experience means we typically have a sense of whether you should settle or go to trial. Of course, we do not make decisions without you! Our attorneys are fully committed to keeping you engaged, informed, and supported at each stage of the process.

Winning Is NO Accident!

Here for You When You Need It Most

The right lawyer may be able to help you secure the compensation you need to support your child — and ensure they have the support they need throughout their adulthood, too. At Cava Law Firm, we’re determined to secure justice for families whose children have been harmed by medical negligence. However, you do not have to take our word for it — our firm’s case results speak for themselves.

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, we may be able to help you secure the compensation your family deserves. Call us at (413) 737-3430 or (413) 781-CAVA (2282) to set up your free consultation today.

Attorney Jennifer L. Cava-Foreman

Attorney Jennifer L. Cava-Foreman would like to take the guesswork out of choosing a lawyer by letting the facts and her winning verdicts speak for themselves. Attorney Cava-Foreman is known in the local courts and has firsthand experience with many types of cases ranging from personal injury to criminal defense. Attorney Cava-Foreman understands that every case and every client is different. Whether a client is injured or mixed up in a criminal matter, she will provide the legal advice needed and stand up for her client in court. [ Attorney Bio ]