New Hampshire Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

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Contact an experienced New Hampshire cerebral palsy lawyer if you believe your child was harmed by medical negligence. A lawyer will guide you through the legal process and help you get justice and compensation for your child. A qualified attorney can also assist you if your child has faced discrimination.

Why Do I Need a New Hampshire Cerebral Palsy Lawyer?

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you might be wondering what to do next. This is where a New Hampshire cerebral palsy lawyer is necessary. Retain a knowledgeable lawyer if you think you have a medical malpractice case.

A preventable mistake may have caused your child’s condition, and a lawyer can help you decide if a lawsuit is the right way to proceed.

You may also want to hire a lawyer to help you and your child with ongoing financial and legal issues. As your child gets older, for instance, you may face discrimination, denial of access or opportunities, and difficulties getting needed special education services and technologies at school.

You may need to hire a lawyer to make legal and financial decisions about wills, trusts, and conservatorships for your child.

How Can a New Hampshire Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Help?

With so many potential reasons to turn to a lawyer, it helps to have a New Hampshire cerebral palsy lawyer you trust and can rely on at your side early in your child’s life.

Establishing a good relationship with the right lawyer will help you with many decisions and legal actions now and in the future.

A cerebral palsy lawyer can help in the following ways:

• Providing you with information to make better choices for your child
• Starting a lawsuit and recovering damages for medical malpractice
• Winning the compensation that will cover the costs of care
• Being an advocate for your child at school and with special education services
• Ensuring that discrimination is successfully challenged
• Getting government benefits or rectifying reductions in benefits
• Establishing a conservatorship or trust
• Making legal documents for the care of your child

New Hampshire Medical Malpractice Laws

Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is probably the biggest reason you want to hire a cerebral palsy lawyer. The laws governing these New Hampshire lawsuits can be confusing and often are biased toward the defendants.

For example, you are limited to three years after you discover your child’s disabilities resulted from medical negligence to file a lawsuit.[1]

New Hampshire law previously required that you go before a screening panel before filing your lawsuit. This law was repealed in 2023.[2] The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that a cap on damages was unconstitutional, so you can seek as much compensation as you feel is fair.[3]

You will need a good lawyer to navigate this process, which has lowered the total number of malpractice lawsuits in the state.

Understand Disability Rights

Your lawyer can help you understand your child’s rights under state and federal law, but it helps to know some of the most critical facts. For instance, federal laws ensure your child has access to a free and appropriate education.[4]

Public schools must provide your child, within reason, with whatever is needed for your child to get the same education and opportunities as other children.

Other laws ensure your child cannot be discriminated against in public. They provide access to air travel, public transportation, and open spaces.

Your lawyer will know which rules or agencies apply when your child experiences discrimination or denial of access and opportunity.

How Much Compensation Can My Child Get for Cerebral Palsy?

The following are examples of previous cases that favored children with cerebral palsy and their families.

In 2014, a woman gave birth to a baby that suffered severe brain damage after being deprived of oxygen for too long. There were several issues, including a stalled delivery, umbilical prolapse, and low fetal heartbeat.

The doctor tried to deliver the baby using forceps but failed and finally conducted a C-section. The child now has cerebral palsy and severe disabilities. In their case, the family won $3.75 million as a settlement from the defendants.

Another case involved a midwife in Concord, New Hampshire, who settled with a family for $730,000. The midwife failed to contact an obstetrician in time despite detecting complications during the pregnancy.[5]

The midwife could not identify the baby’s heartbeat during labor yet failed to send the mother to the hospital. The baby ended up with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy.

How to Find a New Hampshire Cerebral Palsy Lawyer for Your Child

The cases above illustrate the importance of having a lawyer on your side. Lawyers help you recover significant damages, which will help you pay for your child’s care and treatment.

To find a good lawyer, make sure you select someone specializing in these kinds of cases, not just personal injury cases.

An excellent place to start your search is with families of children with disabilities. You may have a local parent group or a community organization that helps disabled children. They may be able to refer you to a good lawyer.

Also, try the state’s bar association, which can direct you to someone with the right area of specialty.

You should feel comfortable about the lawyer you choose to work with, as this expert can help you throughout your child’s life. Interview candidates, request references, and get whatever other information you need to feel good about the choice before settling on one lawyer or law firm.

With the right New Hampshire cerebral palsy lawyer on your side, guiding you and your family, you can better provide your child with all the rights to which they are entitled.

You will also have a better chance of winning compensation, allowing you to cover the costs of the treatments and therapies that will give your child the best life possible.