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If your child has cerebral palsy and you feel it was caused by medical negligence, an experienced Kansas cerebral palsy lawyer may be able to assist you with a medical malpractice case. A qualified attorney can also help you if your child has been discriminated against.
Do I Need a Kansas Cerebral Palsy Lawyer?
If you have a baby or child diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you may need a lawyer to help you decide if medical malpractice played a role in your child’s disabilities.
If you think negligence may have happened, but you aren’t sure or don’t know what to do about it, you need a Kansas cerebral palsy lawyer.
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Get Help NowAnother situation where you may need a lawyer for your child is to ensure rights and access to educational and other services.
Children with disabilities are protected by law but are still often discriminated against or denied access to appropriate services and technology.
A lawyer with experience in disability rights is essential to have on your side as you go up against a school or other institute to ensure opportunities and access for your child.
How a Kansas Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Can Help You and Your Child
If you are not sure you need to hire a lawyer, consider all the ways the right legal professional can help you, your family, and your child:
- A Kansas cerebral palsy lawyer will help you understand the complicated state laws governing medical malpractice.
- The right lawyer will tell you if you have a solid medical malpractice case.
- A good lawyer can investigate your case and come up with the evidence that will prove malpractice occurred.
- A lawyer can give you expert advice about what to do next.
- Your lawyer can help you find financial assistance through government agencies.
- A lawyer can give you the best chance of getting justice for your child and recovering damages from the responsible parties.
- A disability rights lawyer can help you determine if your child is facing discrimination.
- The right lawyer will fight for your child’s rights.
- A good lawyer can help ensure your child has access to appropriate educational services, mainstream classes, and even assistive devices and technology at school.
How to Find a Good Kansas Cerebral Palsy Lawyer
Knowing that you need a lawyer for your child and choosing the right one are two different things. Make sure you only hire a lawyer who specializes in medical malpractice cases. Malpractice lawsuits are complicated and require specific expertise and knowledge of the laws.
Look for a lawyer with the right specialty by contacting the state bar association, local community groups for disabled people, and anyone you know who has been in a similar situation.
When hiring a lawyer, experience and area of expertise are essential, but so are other factors. Look for a lawyer who charges on a contingency basis, for instance, so that you do not have to find the money upfront for legal services.
Also, make sure that the lawyer you hire is someone who makes you feel comfortable and who is compassionate and dedicated to getting justice for your child.
Kansas Medical Malpractice Laws
While your lawyer will have expertise in the state’s malpractice laws, you will be more empowered to make the right choices with a basic understanding of some of the main points. For example, you need to know that there is a time limit on filing.
In Kansas, you have two years from the time of the incident or from the time you realized it happened to file a lawsuit. There is a hard limit of four years from the negligent act to file. If you are unaware of this statute of limitations, you could miss your chance.[1]
Also, Kansas law requires that the lawyers on each side of a malpractice case attempt to settle before going to trial. The process involves going before a review panel of legal and medical experts who will decide if there was medical malpractice. This ruling can be used in a trial if no settlement is reached.[2]
In Kansas malpractice cases, the amount of non-economic damages a plaintiff can recover is capped at $325,000. [3] You can seek any amount for economic damages, though.
Disability Rights in Kansas
Your child is protected by federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[4] These laws are supposed to ensure access to public places, equal opportunities in work and other areas of life, and appropriate and free educational services.
The Kansas Act Against Discrimination also protects your child. Complaints are filed with the Kansas Human Rights Commission.[5]
Kansas Cerebral Palsy Cases
Many families have successfully won justice and compensation for their disabled children living with cerebral palsy. What these families had in common was an excellent Kansas cerebral palsy lawyer on their sides.
In one case, the legal team helped a family recover nearly $5 million.[6]
The baby, born with cerebral palsy, suffered from compression of the umbilical cord during labor. The nurses and doctors failed to respond to clear signs. The result was brain damage, cerebral palsy, and severe disability in the baby.
If your family is coming to terms with a cerebral palsy diagnosis, know that the right lawyer can be your best ally during this time.
A good lawyer will keep you informed, investigate on your behalf, advise your legal actions, and help you win justice for your child and recover damages or a settlement that will provide for lifelong care.
Get Matched with a Leading Birth Injury Attorney in Your Area
Get Help NowReferences
- Medical liability/Malpractice statutes of limitation. (2014, March 20). Legislative News, Studies and Analysis | National Conference of State Legislatures.
Retrieved from: https://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/medical-liability-malpractice-statutes-of-limitation.aspx - Medical liability/Malpractice merit affidavits and expert witnesses. (2014, June 24). Legislative News, Studies and Analysis | National Conference of State Legislatures.
Retrieved from: https://www.ncsl.org/research/financial-services-and-commerce/medical-liability-malpractice-merit-affidavits-and-expert-witnesses.aspx - Marso, A. (2019, July 5). Kansas patients can finally win big in doctor malpractice suits. But at what cost?. The Kansas City Star.
Retrieved from: https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/health-care/article232071762.html - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). (n.d.). Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. U.S. Department of Education.
Retrieved from: https://sites.ed.gov/idea/ - Kansas Act Against Discrimination (KAAD) and Kansas Age Discrimination in Employment Act (KADEA). (n.d.). Kansas Human Rights Commission.
Retrieved from: https://www.khrc.net/KHRCStatuteBookUpdatedEffective07-2009.pdf - Docket for S.B. v. United States of America, 7:16-cv-08038 - CourtListener.com. (n.d.). CourtListener.
Retrieved from: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6524748/sb-v-united-states-of-america/