Cerebral Palsy Attorneys
Wilkes-Barre PA Birth injury lawyers specialized in cerebral palsy cases.
Latona Law has been fighting preventable cerebral palsy for 30+ years
At Latona Law, we believe every birth injury deserves to be investigated. Often, the injury is cerebral palsy. Many times, the condition is unavoidable. However, sometimes a doctor, nurse, or caregiver made an error or was negligent. Unfortunately, these mistakes can happen at any point of the pregnancy. Furthermore, they could be the cause of the child’s cerebral palsy. There are two major indicators that an investigation is necessary. First, if at any time during a pregnancy, the baby suffered an injury. Second, any period where there was a restricted, or lack of, oxygen to the infant.
In many cases, birth injuries are preventable. However, due to medical error or lack of timely response to an emergency, catastrophic injury can occur. If your child is newborn up to 20 years old, contact us for a free consultation. Remember, should we proceed with a claim, there are no costs or fees until we get justice.
Types of CP cases we handle:
- Spastic Cerebral Palsy
- Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy (Athetoid, Choreoathetoid, Dystonic)
- Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
- Mixed Cerebral Palsy
If you suspect your cerebral palsy diagnosis was caused by medical negligence, call us today at (570) 825-9000 to schedule a free consultation.
Get Started.
Contact us for a FREE medical malpractice case evaluation.
How do I start the process, and what can I expect?
It's simple! We can get started in just 5 easy steps!
Complete the Form
Fill out the contact form above.
Share Your Story
Tell us about your experience.
Schedule a Consult
Schedule a free consultation to discuss in detail what happened.
Post Consult
After consultation, if it has been determined that you have experienced medical negligence a suit can be filed.
Follow UP
During the litigation process you will have frequent check-ins with updates as to the progress.
Suspect CP due to a malpractice? Here’s what you should do:
- Speak to your pediatrician: First, any parent who suspects a birth injury should go to their pediatrician. Because, a pediatrician can help determine if it is a birth injury, or a normal developmental delay.
- Examine the simple indicators: Try to remember at the time of birth if the infant had a blueish cast to their skin. This could indicate a lack of oxygen to the brain. And, the possibility of a birth injury, which causes cerebral palsy.
- Analyze technical birth injury indicators: Next, you should consider A.P.G.A.R. scores. To clarify, A.P.G.A.R. stands for appearance, pulse, grimace, activity and respiration. If these scores are low, it could suggest there was some complication. Also, there could have been birth injury that caused cerebral palsy. If interested, read more about A.P.G.A.R. scores.
- Investigate Immediately- Be aware, It takes extensive medical malpractice experience to identify preventable birth injuries and too often the cases do not get the proper attention. Therefore, we suggest you investigate immediately. Contact our cerebral palsy team for a free consultation.
Newborn up to 20 years, but don’t delay, Act Now.
When dealing with a preventable birth injury, time is one of the most critical factors. While the statutes in Pennsylvania allow for lawsuits to be files up until the child’s 20th birthday, do not delay. Investigate immediately. According to the CDC, CP is usually diagnosed within 2 years after birth.
Keep in mind, the facts and details required for a medical malpractice claim are much more accurate, and easier to obtain, when investigated quickly after the delivery or diagnosis. That is why, Latona Law offers free consultations with no cost or fees to your family until we recover compensation. Initially, our CP attorneys will conduct a brief phone interview. Subsequently, a lengthier interview will be required. This is to gather details and provide your family with all the available options.
Remember you are charged NOTHING until we win.
Hiring an Experienced Cerebral Palsy Law Firm
In these cases, it is critical to make sure a law firm has the appropriate, and necessary, experience to handle your specific case. This is a crucial first step to considering filing a legal claim for medical malpractice. Remember, the healthcare providers have virtually infinite resources to avoid taking responsibility for medical errors.
Latona Law has sufficient cerebral palsy and birth injury experience in northeastern Pennsylvania. Furthermore, we bring our successful approach and all the resources needed to successfully recover compensation. Most importantly, the duration that the disabilities will affect both the child and family needs to be considered by an experienced legal team. It is possible to win compensation for past, present and future medical expenses, in addition to other damages in CP malpractice cases.
While cerebral palsy is not usually preventable, there are situations where it may have been prevented. Doctors, nurses, or other caregivers may not have properly identified, monitored, or treated symptoms late in the pregnancy, during delivery, or while the baby was still at the hospital.
- Leaving a child in the birth canal too long causing a lack of oxygen to the brain
- Lack of recognition and treatment of seizures following delivery
- Failure to detect a prolapsed cord
- Excessive use of vacuum extraction
- Failure to perform a C-section in the presence of fetal distress
- Not responding to changes in the fetal heart rate
- When risk factors are present, did not adjust or plan for a c-section.
- Failure to timely diagnose and treat jaundice, sepsis and meningitis
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that appear early in childhood. These disorders can range from mild to severe and mostly affect motor coordination and muscle movement. Cerebral palsy is characterized by damage to the brain and can be manifested both physically and intellectually.
Physical impairments may include movement, balance and posture. Legs, arms and facial muscles may be affected. All or some of the limbs may be involved. Intellectual impairments may include an inability to think or learn at an age appropriate level.
Physical impairments may include movement, balance, and posture. Legs, arms, and facial muscles may also be affected. All or some of the limbs may be involved. Furthermore, intellectual impairments may include an inability to think or learn at an age-appropriate level. Most often, injury to the child’s brain occurs during pregnancy, during childbirth, or shortly after childbirth. As a result, speech, reading, writing, and communication can also be affected. Also, seizures, vision and hearing, eating and developmental delays are also common. Finally, movement, balance, and posture are also often affected by cerebral palsy.
Signs of Cerebral Palsy
- Seizures
- Speech delays
- Delayed milestones
- Problems with muscle tone
- Intellectual disabilities
- Involuntary movements or tremors
- Lack of muscle coordination (ataxia)
- Difficulty with sucking or eating
- And others
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