Your child is missing milestones, struggling with muscle control, or showing signs that no one explained after birth. You may be wondering whether something happened during labor and delivery that should have been prevented.
A cerebral palsy lawsuit can help a family learn whether delayed delivery, poor fetal monitoring, oxygen loss, infection, or another medical failure caused or worsened a child’s brain injury. It can also provide financial support for therapy, equipment, medical care, and lifelong assistance.
Brown & Barron represents Maryland families in serious birth injury claims. A cerebral palsy lawyer in Maryland can review the records, consult qualified medical professionals, and determine whether the care fell below accepted standards.
Call Brown & Barron at (410) 547-0202 for a free, confidential consultation.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a group of conditions that affect movement, posture, balance, and muscle control. It results from abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain.
Cerebral Palsy Can Affect Each Child Differently
Some children walk independently and need limited assistance. Others may use a wheelchair, communication device, feeding tube, or daily personal care.
Possible effects include:
- Stiff, tight, or weak muscles
- Involuntary movements
- Poor balance and coordination
- Delayed sitting, crawling, standing, or walking
- Difficulty speaking or swallowing
- Seizures
- Problems with vision or hearing
- Learning or developmental disabilities
- Joint contractures or changes in the spine
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that cerebral palsy does not worsen over time, although symptoms and support needs may change throughout life.
There Are Several Types of Cerebral Palsy
Spastic cerebral palsy causes stiff muscles and limited movement. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy causes movements that may be difficult to control. Ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance and coordination. Some children have features of more than one type.
A diagnosis explains the child’s movement condition, but it does not always explain why the brain injury occurred.
When Can a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Be Filed?
A cerebral palsy lawsuit may be possible when a medical provider’s failure caused or worsened damage to a child’s developing brain. The family must usually prove both negligent care and a connection between that care and the child’s condition.
The Care Must Fall Below Accepted Medical Standards
A difficult delivery or cerebral palsy diagnosis does not automatically establish malpractice. The question is whether the obstetric, nursing, neonatal, or other medical team acted as reasonably careful providers would have acted under similar circumstances.
Possible failures may include:
- Misreading fetal heart rate patterns
- Failing to respond to signs of oxygen deprivation
- Delaying an emergency cesarean section
- Failing to treat maternal infection
- Mismanaging umbilical cord or placental complications
- Failing to resuscitate the baby properly
- Delaying treatment for severe jaundice
- Failing to diagnose or treat a newborn infection
The Failure Must Be Connected to the Brain Injury
The medical records must also show that timely and proper care would probably have prevented or reduced the injury. This often requires review by professionals in obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, neonatology, pediatric neurology, or other relevant fields.
A cerebral palsy malpractice attorney must separate a preventable birth injury from cerebral palsy caused by genetics, early brain development, prematurity, infection, or another factor unrelated to negligent care.
What Medical Errors May Cause Cerebral Palsy?
Medical errors may contribute to cerebral palsy when they interrupt oxygen or blood flow, allow an infection to spread, or delay treatment for a newborn emergency. The precise cause can only be determined after the pregnancy, delivery, and newborn records are reviewed together.
Errors During Labor and Delivery
Potential errors include:
- Inadequate fetal monitoring
- Failure to recognize recurring heart rate decelerations
- Delayed response to fetal distress
- Delay in ordering or performing a cesarean section
- Poor management of shoulder dystocia
- Failure to respond to an umbilical cord prolapse
- Failure to diagnose placental abruption
- Unsafe use of labor-inducing medication
Errors After Birth
Newborn care failures may include:
- Delayed breathing support or resuscitation
- Failure to recognize seizures
- Failure to treat severe jaundice
- Delayed treatment of meningitis or another infection
- Failure to control dangerously low blood sugar
- Poor monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit
- Delay in transferring the baby to a higher-level facility
The timing of the brain injury matters. A cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer may compare fetal monitoring, blood test results, imaging, and newborn examinations to determine when the damage most likely occurred.
What Signs May Point to Cerebral Palsy?
Signs of cerebral palsy may appear during infancy, but some become clearer as a child misses movement milestones. Parents are often the first people to notice that one side of the body moves differently or that muscle tone does not seem typical.
| Possible Sign | What a Parent May Notice | Medical Follow-Up That May Occur |
|---|---|---|
| Abnormal muscle tone | The baby feels unusually stiff or floppy | Neurological and developmental examination |
| Delayed head control | The baby’s head falls back when lifted | Motor milestone assessment |
| Uneven movement | One hand, arm, or leg is used less | Physical examination and imaging |
| Scissoring legs | The legs stiffen or cross when lifted | Muscle tone and reflex testing |
| Delayed milestones | Late rolling, sitting, crawling, or walking | Developmental screening |
| Feeding difficulty | Weak sucking, coughing, or trouble swallowing | Feeding and swallowing evaluation |
| Seizures | Staring, twitching, stiffening, or unusual movements | EEG and neurological review |
These signs may have other explanations. A medical diagnosis and a legal investigation answer different questions: what condition the child has and whether preventable medical care contributed to it.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONHow Does a Cerebral Palsy Attorney Investigate the Claim?
A cerebral palsy attorney begins with the medical timeline. The goal is to identify when the baby first showed distress, how providers responded, and whether a safer response would probably have changed the outcome.
Reviewing Pregnancy and Delivery Records
Important records may include:
- Prenatal examinations and test results
- Maternal medical history
- Ultrasound reports
- Labor and delivery notes
- Fetal heart monitoring strips
- Medication records
- Nursing notes and physician orders
- Cesarean section records
- Umbilical cord blood results
- Apgar scores
Reviewing Newborn and Developmental Care
The investigation may also examine:
- Resuscitation records
- Neonatal intensive care records
- Brain imaging
- EEG results
- Neurological examinations
- Infection and jaundice treatment
- Therapy evaluations
- Developmental assessments
Consulting the Right Medical Professionals
Different parts of the case may require input from several medical fields. The records must show not only that an error occurred, but also that the error caused or worsened the child’s brain injury.
A detailed review can uncover delays, missing documentation, conflicting accounts, or system failures that were never explained to the family.
What Compensation May Be Available?
Compensation in a cerebral palsy lawsuit should reflect the child’s present needs and the care that may be required through adulthood. A child diagnosed in infancy may need services for many decades.
Medical Care and Therapy
A claim may seek compensation for:
- Hospital and physician care
- Physical and occupational therapy
- Speech and feeding therapy
- Medication and seizure care
- Orthopedic treatment and surgery
- Behavioral and mental health services
Equipment and Daily Assistance
The child may also need:
- Wheelchairs and mobility devices
- Communication technology
- Braces and adaptive equipment
- Modified vehicles
- Accessible housing
- In-home nursing care
- Personal care assistance
Education and Future Financial Needs
Damages may include special education support, vocational services, reduced future earning ability, and a life-care plan estimating long-term costs.
The purpose is to provide the child with access to necessary care and reduce the financial strain on the family.
How Long Do Families Have to File in Maryland?
Maryland medical malpractice deadlines are complicated when the injured patient is a child. The child’s claim and the parents’ individual claims may also be governed by different dates.
Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 5-109, medical malpractice claims are generally governed by a three-year discovery period and a five-year outside period, with special rules affecting minors.
Families should begin the review early because:
- Fetal monitoring data may become harder to obtain
- Providers may leave the hospital
- Witness memories may fade
- Parents may have separate filing deadlines
- Medical review takes time
- Maryland requires specific filing steps for malpractice cases
A child’s young age should not be treated as a reason to wait. Early action protects evidence and helps the family plan around the dates that apply.
Why Choose Brown & Barron for a Maryland Cerebral Palsy Claim?
Your child’s case should be handled by a firm that regularly investigates medical institutions and serious birth injuries. These claims require time, medical support, and the resources to challenge a hospital’s version of events.
Birth Injury Work Is a Central Practice
Brown & Barron focuses on medical malpractice, birth injuries, nursing home neglect, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death. A cerebral palsy claim is not treated as a side practice or routine injury file.
Medical Knowledge Supports the Investigation
The firm works with an in-house nurse paralegal and outside medical professionals. This support helps the legal team review fetal monitoring, delivery decisions, newborn care, imaging, and long-term needs.
Results Reflect the Ability to Handle Serious Claims
Brown & Barron has recovered more than $169 million for clients since 2017 and has received more than 235 five-star reviews. For your family, those figures mean the firm has the resources to prepare a complex medical case while remaining available when you need answers.
You receive the strength needed to challenge a hospital and the direct attention of a focused Baltimore firm.
Maryland Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Questions
Is Cerebral Palsy Always Caused by a Birth Injury?
No. Cerebral palsy can result from abnormal brain development, genetics, prematurity, infection, stroke, injury, or other causes.
A claim may be possible when negligent medical care caused or worsened the brain damage.
Can Oxygen Loss During Birth Cause Cerebral Palsy?
Yes, but oxygen loss during labor accounts for only some cases.
The records may show whether placental problems, cord compression, fetal distress, delayed delivery, or poor resuscitation deprived the brain of oxygen and blood flow.
What If My Child Was Diagnosed Years After Birth?
A later diagnosis does not automatically prevent a claim.
The investigation may connect developmental findings with events documented during pregnancy, delivery, or newborn care. Filing deadlines should still be reviewed promptly.
Does a Normal MRI Rule Out a Claim?
No. Imaging is important, but it is not the only evidence.
Fetal monitoring, blood tests, neurological examinations, therapy records, and the child’s developmental pattern may also help explain the injury.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire Brown & Barron?
The initial consultation is free and confidential. Brown & Barron handles birth injury claims on a contingency fee basis, so the firm is paid only if it obtains a recovery.
A record review can determine whether the available evidence supports further investigation.
Talk With a Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawyer
You should not have to identify the medical error before asking whether your child received safe care. A focused investigation can provide answers and help secure resources for the future.
Brown & Barron can help by:
- Obtaining pregnancy, delivery, and newborn records
- Preserving fetal monitoring data
- Building a detailed medical timeline
- Consulting qualified medical professionals
- Identifying responsible providers and institutions
- Calculating lifelong care needs
- Completing Maryland’s filing requirements
- Preparing the claim for settlement or trial
If your child developed cerebral palsy after fetal distress, an emergency delivery, oxygen loss, infection, or another serious birth complication, Brown & Barron can review what happened.
Call Brown & Barron at (410) 547-0202 for a free, confidential consultation.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONRestoring Lives. Restoring Justice.