How do I get legal help for cerebral palsy?
The first step is locating a lawyer or firm that specializes specifically in birth injury lawsuits, not general personal injury law. Birth injuries are a distinct segment of medical malpractice law with separate standards, statutes, and case law that require specialized litigation experience.
A birth injury case is not about blame. It is about securing the resources a child will need for a lifetime of care. The single most important thing families can do is act before the statute of limitations runs, because once that deadline passes, even a strong case can be lost. A free case review costs nothing and tells you exactly where you stand.
Birth injury cases require greater skill than typical personal injury claims and involve dealing with powerful hospital groups and insurance companies. Some states have different statutes of limitations specifically for birth injury claims. We recommend finding a lawyer who focuses solely on birth injuries and has handled thousands of claims, not one who occasionally takes a malpractice case between auto accidents.
Our network of birth injury lawyers focus on cerebral palsy birth injury lawsuits in all 50 states and have secured billions in financial assistance on behalf of birth injury victims. There is no cost to your family unless you receive an award.
All legal topics
Select any topic below for a detailed guide, or continue reading for a full overview of your legal rights.
Results our partner lawyers have secured
These are results our partner lawyers have secured in birth injury and cerebral palsy cases, from $1 million to $7.5 million. What a settlement covers, how it is structured and what drives the amount are explained on our cerebral palsy settlements page.
Brain damage due to failure to diagnose placental abruption
Bilateral frontal parietal brain damage
Severe brain damage and neonatal seizures birth injury
Cerebral palsy due to medical malpractice
CP from failure to properly read fetal heart tracings; delayed delivery
Traumatic vacuum extractor injury during birth causing infant brain damage
Cerebral palsy from failure to diagnose fetal distress
Cerebral palsy due to failure to diagnose fetal distress
Cerebral palsy from failure to diagnose fetal distress
Birth injury from medical negligence
Legal advice if your baby suffered brain damage at birth
If your baby suffered brain damage at birth, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) from a lack of oxygen, three steps protect your options: request the complete records for both mother and baby, find the filing deadline in the state where the birth happened, and have a birth injury lawyer review the records. The review is free and does not commit you to a lawsuit.
Records come first, and you have a legal right to them. The HIPAA Privacy Rule at 45 CFR 164.524 requires a hospital to act on a request for access within 30 days, with one extension of up to 30 more. Request the baby’s chart and the mother’s labor and delivery chart separately, and name what you want instead of accepting a discharge summary: the fetal heart rate monitoring strips for the whole labor, nursing notes, cord blood gas results, the placental pathology report, the NICU record, and every brain scan with its report. Ask the NICU team whether your baby was assessed for cooling and when it started. In the 2005 NICHD trial that established whole-body cooling for HIE, babies born at 36 weeks or later were enrolled at or before six hours of age, and death or moderate or severe disability fell from 62% to 44%.
Deadlines vary more than most parents expect. Each state sets its own limit and its own rule for pausing the clock while the injured person is a child, and a few give the child very little extra time, so check the deadline for your state before anything else is decided. At a free consultation, ask whether the firm has handled HIE cases specifically, who will read the monitoring strips, and what happens to case costs if there is no recovery. Many brain injuries at birth involve no one’s error, and an honest review will say so.
What a cerebral palsy case has to prove
A cerebral palsy case succeeds only if three things hold: the provider owed a duty of care, the care fell below the accepted standard, and that failure was the primary cause of the child’s injury. The third is where most enquiries end, because cerebral palsy has many causes that involve nobody’s error.
Proving it takes obstetric and pediatric neuroradiology experts, a life care planner and an economist. Expert fees commonly reach six figures before trial, and the firm advances all of it. Our cerebral palsy lawsuit guide explains how a claim is built, and the lawsuit process, step by step covers what happens after filing.
How long do you have to take legal action?
All claims have a time limit called a statute of limitations. For CP birth injury claims, the parents’ own claim runs 1 to 3 years in 48 of 51 jurisdictions, and the child’s claim usually runs longer; which applies depends on who files, the type of damages, and the state where the injury occurred. Visit our statute of limitations page for your specific state.
Claims filed on behalf of the child
A parent or legal guardian files this claim on the child’s behalf. Because most states pause or stretch the clock while the injured person is a minor, it usually outlasts the parents’ claim: for an injury at birth it ends between the 5th and 13th birthday in 34 jurisdictions and runs to the 19th, 20th or 21st birthday in 14. Connecticut, Louisiana and Tennessee are the exceptions, where it closes by the 3rd birthday at the latest. The discovery rule can also move the date the clock starts in many states.
Claims filed by parents
Parents often have the additional right to seek compensation for loss of consortium, the harm suffered by family members for the loss of a child’s affection, companionship, and normal relations. Here the window is 1 to 3 years in 48 of 51 jurisdictions. Minnesota gives 4 years, Virginia gives 5 for the loss of a child’s services, and New Jersey lets parents file within the child’s own period; Oregon pauses only the parents’ medical expense claim along with the child’s.
Wrongful death claims
In the tragic case of wrongful death due to a birth injury, most states only allow 1–3 years from date of death to file a claim. Significant time is needed to properly gather evidence in these cases. Speak with a lawyer immediately if this applies to your situation.
Even states with extended deadlines for minors may have shorter windows for parental claims. And evidence (medical records, witness memories, monitoring logs) becomes harder to obtain as time passes. Contact a lawyer today to confirm your deadline and protect your rights.
How to get your case reviewed in 3 steps
A birth injury claim can involve volumes of medical records, medical experts, court pleadings and depositions. Your lawyer handles 99% of these tasks so you and your child can focus on daily life, and it starts with a free review.
Call, chat, or complete the intake form on this page. You can speak with a lawyer or nurse today to get an initial sense of whether your child’s case may qualify. This conversation is completely free and confidential.
You’ll be connected with a top-rated birth injury firm in your area to complete a detailed intake. This can be done remotely on the same day. They review the specifics of your delivery and your child’s diagnosis.
Once your case may qualify, your lawyer sends a retainer and medical release forms. These allow them to formally represent you and order all important medical records to begin building your case. If you can sign documents electronically, they can start working as soon as tomorrow. There is no charge unless you receive an award.
In most cases a mediation is held within 12 months to try to settle, and if it fails, trial is typically set around 18 months from filing. Many claims settle sooner once the evidence is gathered. See how long a cerebral palsy lawsuit takes for each stage.
Could a mistake during delivery have caused your child’s cerebral palsy?
Some cerebral palsy is caused by avoidable errors during delivery, though most is not. If you suspect your doctor or hospital staff made mistakes, it’s important to have your birth records reviewed by a lawyer or independent nurse. This may be the only way to get an unbiased explanation of what occurred.
The failures that recur are specific and documented. Ignoring abnormal fetal heart rate patterns during labor. Improper use of forceps or a vacuum extractor. Mishandling a prolapsed or compressed cord, which cuts off oxygen. Delaying or never performing a necessary cesarean. Failing to detect or treat an infection during pregnancy or delivery. Failing to recognize and respond to fetal distress. And inadequate monitoring of a pregnancy already known to be high-risk. Our cerebral palsy medical malpractice guide explains how each of these is proven and which records matter.
Families frequently report that nobody explained what happened. That is worth knowing for two reasons: a written explanation is something you are entitled to request, and a mismatch between the records and what a family was told can itself support an argument that the filing deadline was tolled. Our guide to who qualifies for a cerebral palsy lawsuit covers who can file and what a lawyer looks for in the records.
The Cerebral Palsy Center has lawyers available to discuss your case today at no cost. If mistakes were made, you may be entitled to substantial compensation for your child. Contact us today.
What affects the value of a cerebral palsy case?
Because CP affects every child differently, each lawsuit is unique. However, a 2003 CDC study estimated the average lifetime cost per person with CP at $921,000, or about $1.7 million in today’s dollars, and this serves as the baseline for economic damages calculations.
Case value is driven by the projected cost of care for one specific child rather than by the diagnosis. A life care planner projects therapy, equipment replacement, home modification and attendant care across decades; an economist converts that to present value and adds lost earning capacity. Past medical bills are usually the smallest line.
Legal factors then move the number. Whether the record clearly documents the departure. Whether causation holds against the alternative explanations. Which state the case is filed in, since several cap non-economic damages by statute. And whether the firm is credibly prepared to try the case, because insurers price their opening offers accordingly.
For the damages a claim can recover, see cerebral palsy compensation, and for typical amounts, see average cerebral palsy settlements.
The Cerebral Palsy Center works only with lawyers who specialize in birth injury litigation and have handled thousands of cases. Contact us today to speak with a lawyer and understand what your case may be worth.
Find a cerebral palsy lawyer by state
Each state guide covers that state’s filing deadlines, damage caps and local resources.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- Wisconsin
Frequently asked questions about cerebral palsy legal help
The average birth injury lawsuit takes 3 to 6 months to gather evidence and prepare for filing. After filing, a trial date is typically set within 12 to 18 months. Both sides share evidence and attend mediation during this period, and most cases settle before trial, often within 12 months of filing. Nationally, about 97% of paid malpractice claims are settled out of court. Strongly contested cases may take longer.
It’s difficult to predict without a thorough investigation, as every case is different. However, CP settlements routinely reach over $1 million due to the significant lifetime costs of care. A CDC study put the average lifetime cost of CP at $921,000 in 2003 dollars, about $1.7 million today, and damages for pain and suffering can push totals to $2 million or more in serious cases.
Families may receive monthly financial assistance from Social Security Disability, private health and disability insurance claims, and private grants. In addition, they may qualify for lump-sum compensation from legal claims against medical providers if mistakes caused their child’s condition. These legal awards are intended to cover expenses for the child’s entire lifetime and often represent the single largest source of funding available.
There are significant filing fees and costs for medical records, expert witnesses, and travel, but your attorney pays all of these costs upfront on your behalf. You owe no attorney fees or costs unless you receive an award. If you do receive an award, your lawyer deducts contingency fees and costs that typically range from 33% to 40% of the recovery depending on how far the case progressed.
While a formal diagnosis helps, your lawyer can begin gathering evidence and preparing your case even before a definitive diagnosis is received. Contacting a lawyer as early as possible is always recommended both to meet filing deadlines and to preserve evidence while medical records are fresh and witnesses have clear recollections.
As soon as possible. A parent’s own claim must be filed within 1 to 3 years in 48 of 51 jurisdictions, and while the child’s claim runs longer in most states, in Connecticut, Louisiana and Tennessee it closes by the 3rd birthday at the latest. Beyond the deadline, evidence (medical records, fetal monitoring logs, witness memories) becomes harder to obtain as time passes, and cases prepared under time pressure contain more errors. Contact a birth injury lawyer today to confirm your specific deadline.
