Portland, Maine Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

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A Portland, Maine cerebral palsy lawyer is an ally and advocate for children and families. They specialize in representing families of children diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to medical malpractice. They can help you file a lawsuit against medical professionals and recover damages.

Did Medical Malpractice Cause My Child’s Cerebral Palsy?

It’s not easy for a parent to know if their child’s diagnosis resulted from medical negligence and malpractice. A mistake or poor care provided by a doctor, nurse, or midwife might have caused brain damage in your baby that led to this diagnosis.

The developing brain in a fetus and newborn is vulnerable. Maternal illness or infection, pregnancy, delivery complications, loss of oxygen, and other factors can cause brain damage and disabilities.

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to provide an adequate standard of care, which harms the patient.

In terms of cerebral palsy, this could mean failing to monitor the fetus for distress during labor, beginning a c-section too late after identifying risky complications, or using too much force on the baby’s head during delivery.

How Can a Portland, Maine Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Help?

Contact a cerebral palsy lawyer in Portland for a free initial consultation and case review. The first thing they can do to help is to use their expertise to advise you about medical malpractice. They can give you a good idea of whether or not it played a role in your child’s diagnosis.

If they think it’s worth considering legal action over medical malpractice, the right lawyer will provide expert advice, guidance, and representation. They can help you file a lawsuit and negotiate a settlement or get a jury award.

The best reason to work with a lawyer is to get compensation for your child. Cerebral palsy requires lifelong treatment, therapies, surgery, assistive devices, and, if they can’t live independently, home care. A settlement will help you cover these costs.

Finding the Right Lawyer

It’s essential that you search for a Portland lawyer with relevant experience with medical malpractice and birth injuries. They should have worked with clients like you and won for children with disabilities.

Take some time to interview a few firms or lawyers so you can make an informed decision. Your final choice should have experience, proven wins, contingency payment, and enough time and resources to take your case seriously.

Portland, Maine Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Fighting for Local Children

There are many examples of lawyers in and near Portland helping families recover damages for birth injuries. Every case is different, but these examples help illustrate what the right lawyer could do for your child and family.

Hannah Tilton was born with severe disabilities at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, not far from Portland. She requires a wheelchair and a feeding tube. She cannot see or speak. Hannah’s father, Philip, sued on her behalf.

The Tilton’s lawyers argued that Hannah lost oxygen and suffered brain damage due to a midwife’s errors. They stated that a monitor showed fetal distress but that the midwife did not react appropriately. A jury awarded Hannah over $3 million.[1]

Central Maine Medical Center was also the subject of a birth injury lawsuit in 2007, following the 2002 birth of Sasha Edmond’s son. The midwife failed to notify a doctor of the baby’s distress during delivery.

As a result, the baby lost oxygen to his brain, suffered brain damage, and now has cerebral palsy. A jury awarded the Edmonds $7.96 million, at the time the second-largest medical malpractice award in Maine.[2]

Treatment and Support for Cerebral Palsy in Portland, Maine

Portland, Maine, is home to a world-class health system with a children’s hospital and specialty providers. There are also other resources for therapy, rehabilitation, and support from childhood through adulthood.

Maine Medical Center

Together with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, the Maine Medical Center offers the most extensive specialist pediatric care in Maine. The neurology department hosts the state’s only multidisciplinary cerebral palsy clinic.

Children here benefit from expert evaluation followed by an individualized treatment plan. Specialists are available in neurology, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and orthopedics. Care plans may also include behavioral health, surgery, nutrition, social work, and limb bracing.[3]

92 Campus Drive

Suite B

Scarborough, ME 04074

(207) 883-1414

United Cerebral Palsy of Maine

UCP of Maine is headquartered in Bangor but offers services throughout the state and in Portland. These include telemental health services, early childhood interventions, in-home behavioral health care, case management, community support, outpatient therapy, and adult residential services.[4]

700 Mt. Hope Avenue

Suite 320

Bangor, ME 04401

(207) 941-2952

Portland, Maine cerebral palsy lawyers are standing by right now to help families like yours. If your child has cerebral palsy and you aren’t sure who is to blame, contact a legal expert for answers and options.