Cerebral Palsy Lawyers

If your child has suffered cerebral palsy or other serious birth injuries due to a medical practitioner’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation through a birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit. While money can never fully compensate for your child’s suffering, a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer can help take the financial burden off you and allow you to provide your child with the best medical treatment, educational opportunities, and special care.

Wapner Newman holds a long track record of recovering life-altering birth injury compensation for families in Philadelphia. Our Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorneys are available to meet with you and discuss your financial options after a birth injury leaves your child with cerebral palsy.

Call (215) 569-0900 today to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer at Wapner Newman.

Why Choose Wapner Newman?

Leaders in Philadelphia Birth Injury Compensation

Wapner Newman is a Philadelphia personal injury law firm with a reputation for achieving outstanding results in the field of birth injury compensation. Our Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyers have spent decades fighting for families whose children have suffered avoidable injuries at the hands of negligent medical professionals.

Some of our many birth injury case results involving infant brain damage compensation include:

  • $9 million: Brain damage during labor
  • $7 million: Birth trauma involving infant brain damage
  • $6 million: Infant hypoxic brain injury
  • $5.8 million: Obstetrical malpractice causing infant brain damage
  • $5 million: Infant brain damage caused by forceps
  • $5 million: Birth asphyxia
  • $4.5 million: Infant brain damage
  • $4.2 million: Infant brain damage caused by shoulder dystocia
  • $4 million: Infant hypoxic brain injury.

Birth injuries can lead to wide-ranging results. However, when an infant suffers brain damage that leads to a condition like cerebral palsy, compensation often reaches seven figures to accommodate the costs of life-long care associated with such injuries. Wapner Newman’s case results and client testimonials illustrate that our Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorneys know what it takes to produce a winning outcome in a Philadelphia cerebral palsy birth injury case.

How Our Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Prove Medical Negligence

Before we can help your family recover birth injury compensation, our Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyers must prove that your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by a medical practitioner’s negligence or fault. Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage before or at birth, typically due to reduction in an infant’s oxygen supply to the brain. While damage is not always caused by medical malpractice, mistakes and negligence by medical personnel during the labor and delivery process may lead to brain damage that results in cerebral palsy. Examples of mistakes that may be malpractice include:

  • Failure to properly interpret fetal heart rate monitor tracings and to notice signs of distress
  • Improper use of delivery instruments (such as forceps and vacuum)
  • Failure to perform a C-section in a timely manner
  • Failure to properly monitor a mother or child
  • Medication errors
  • Untreated child injuries
  • Negligent treatment or failure to treat maternal infections
  • Failure to detect or address prolapsed umbilical cord.

These types of situations can lead to hypoxia (insufficient oxygen) or anoxia (lack of oxygen), which damages the brain and may result in cerebral palsy.

Proving Negligence in Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Cases Is Complicated

In medical malpractice cases, it can be difficult to prove negligence. Doctors and hospital staff may be evasive or flat-out deny responsibility. We can help prove negligence by:

  • Investigating the causes of your child’s condition – This may involve examining medical and hospital records, videos and photographs; interviewing witnesses present during labor and birth; and hiring expert witnesses to testify as to the connection between the malpractice and the injury.
  • Calculating what the case should be worth – Cerebral palsy brings life-long consequences and expenses. Our birth injury attorneys want to ensure that the compensation you receive reflects these costs.
  • Building the case and demanding fair compensation – We will prepare documents and presentations and get testimony from experts in the field to make your case as strong as possible. We will demand and negotiate for fair compensation from the responsible health care providers and their insurance companies.
  • Taking the case to trial – If necessary, we are fully prepared to take your case to trial and handle all aspects of presenting the facts and arguing in front of a judge and jury.

When you come to the Philadelphia birth injury lawyers at Wapner Newman to discuss a cerebral palsy claim, our experienced legal team will get to work immediately to investigate the cause of your child’s birth injury.

In order to shield health care providers from false claims, Pennsylvania law requires more proof than for a standard personal injury case. To win your case, our cerebral palsy medical malpractice attorneys must show:

  • There was a doctor-patient relationship and the physician had a duty of care not to cause harm and to handle the birth according to the accepted standard of care.
  • This duty was breached and the doctor was negligent by acting or failing to act in a way a competent doctor would behave according to the standard of care.
  • Your child was injured and suffered cerebral palsy as a result.
  • The injury resulted in actual damages such as additional medical expenses or pain and suffering.

Our cerebral palsy lawyers in Philadelphia can help you uncover the truth about your child’s injury and establish a strong case for medical negligence to ensure that your child’s needs are met in the years to come.

Need help with birth injury compensation? Call Wapner Newman at (215) 569-0900 and speak with a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer today.

Damages Our Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy Attorneys May Win for You

Understanding Cerebral Palsy Compensation

Our Wapner Newman lawyers will fight for an award that covers all the damages and costs you and your child are facing. In Pennsylvania, compensatory damages cover both your economic damages for calculable costs and your non-economic damages for costs such as pain and suffering that do not have a specific dollar value. Economic damages may include:

  • Medical expenses
  • Ongoing care
  • Costs associated with assisted living
  • Loss of future income or ability to work
  • Modifications needed to a child’s home
  • Special adaptive equipment.

Non-economic damages may include:

  • Disability
  • Shortened life expectancy and diminished quality of life
  • Mental and physical pain and suffering.

In some rare cases of extremely reckless or willful actions (such as attending childbirth while under the influence of drugs or alcohol), punitive damages may also be awarded. These are intended to punish the defendant and deter further acts of medical negligence in the future. (Consolidated Statutes Title 42 § 8528 limits punitive damages against a medical provider to 200% of compensatory damages. This cap can be waived if it can be proved that the defendant acted intentionally in causing the harm.)

Factors That Impact Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy Compensation

There is a wide range of damage amounts, from the thousands to millions of dollars, that may be awarded in a successful birth injury case. While judges and juries tend to be sympathetic to the plight of injured newborns with cerebral palsy, amounts of settlement may depend on factors such as:

  • The severity of the damage and whether the child will be able to live a normal life, work, and have normal relationships
  • Whether the child will require continuing care, special education, or institutional care
  • The costs of care involved, such as adaptive equipment and home and vehicle modifications
  • The availability of evidence and witnesses to testify
  • The availability of insurance and assets
  • The inclination of the individual judge and jury
  • The skill of your attorney in building and presenting your case.

Case value is unique in every Philadelphia cerebral palsy birth injury case. However, what’s true in all cases is that cerebral palsy is a debilitating health condition that incurs significant lifetime expenses. Any family raising a child with cerebral palsy needs financial support to meet their children’s physical, emotional, and medical needs, both in childhood and throughout adulthood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions About Cerebral Palsy Compensation

Families in need of cerebral palsy birth injury compensation have many questions. Here are some of the most common questions answered by the Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyers at Wapner Newman.

Is cerebral palsy always the result of medical malpractice?

Medical malpractice is not the only possible cause of cerebral palsy, but it is a common one. If your child is diagnosed with this condition, you should promptly consult a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer for help identifying whether medical malpractice was the cause.

Do I need a Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorney to recover birth injury compensation?

Medical malpractice is one of the most complex areas of personal injury law, and infant birth injuries are one of the most complicated types of medical malpractice cases. You need an experienced Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorney on your case if you hope to recover adequate compensation after a birth injury in Philadelphia results in cerebral palsy.

How do I choose the right Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorney?

Recovering cerebral palsy compensation requires in-depth knowledge and experience of medical malpractice, birth injuries, brain injuries, catastrophic injuries, and insurance law. Taking a close look at a firm’s case results is the best way to identify the right Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer. A firm that can demonstrate past success in the area of infant brain injuries likely has the skill and experience you want on your side.

Will I have to go to court to recover cerebral palsy birth injury compensation?

The decision to go to court is made on a case-by-case basis. In general, most personal injury cases are settled through negotiation rather than by court verdict. However, in some cases, a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer will determine that a family has a better chance of recovering the compensation they need by filing a lawsuit. Most of Wapner Newman’s seven-figure infant birth injury outcomes were obtained through successful negotiation, saving clients from the stress and delay of court proceedings.

How long do I have to contact a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer? 

It’s always best to contact a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer as soon as possible after the birth injury is discovered. In some cases, infant brain damage may not be immediately diagnosed. Most personal injury cases in Pennsylvania have a two-year deadline for filing in court. However, deadlines can become complicated in cases involving minors. The best way to safeguard your ability to provide for a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy is to contact a lawyer as soon as you receive the diagnosis.

How much does a Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyer cost?

The Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorneys at Wapner Newman take cases on a contingency arrangement. With this fee structure, payment for legal fees comes directly out of the compensation we recover for your family. This allows you to pursue cerebral palsy compensation without needing to pay for attorney costs up front.

Birth injuries are one of the most complicated areas of personal injury law. You can learn more about your options by contacting an injury attorney at Wapner Newman and coming in for a free consultation with one of our Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorneys.

Contact Our Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Today

Get Help with the Lifelong Costs of a Birth Injury

A cerebral palsy diagnosis usually means your infant suffered a severe injury at the hands of the medical professionals you trusted to do their jobs. In addition to the emotional toll a cerebral palsy diagnosis can take, this illness leads to significant lifelong expenses. The Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyers at Wapner Newman can’t restore your child’s health. However, we can fight to ensure you don’t struggle financially to provide your child with the best possible care.

Cerebral palsy is expensive, but financial support is available with the right legal representation. Wapner Newman has a long history of successfully recovering birth injury compensation for families in Philadelphia, and we’re prepared to fight for justice.

Contact Wapner Newman today at (215) 569-0900 and schedule a free consultation with a Philadelphia cerebral palsy attorney to discuss your financial options.