Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlements

What Are Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlements?

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements are financial payouts to families of children who developed cerebral palsy (CP) due to medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice occurs when a health care provider fails to meet the standard of care and harms a patient. Medical mistakes before, during, or shortly after childbirth can cause brain damage that leads to CP.

The majority of cerebral palsy lawsuits end in out-of-court settlements, sparing families the hassle of a trial and providing access to much-needed money faster.

See if your family may be eligible for a cerebral palsy settlement during a free case review.

Get the Help Your Child Deserves

Take the first step toward compensation and justice for cerebral palsy.

Get a Free Case Review

What Is the Average Settlement for Cerebral Palsy?

The average settlement for cerebral palsy is over $1 million, according to a study by The Doctors Company, a medical malpractice insurer.

The researchers looked at 1,215 birth injury claims over a 9-year period and found the average payout to be $936,843. This amount includes settlements and jury awards and works out to over $1 million today.

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements vary by case. Many families who worked with the birth injury lawyers in our network have received more compensation than this average.

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlement Amounts

LawFirm.com has a network of top cerebral palsy lawyers who have recovered over $1 billion for families affected by CP and other birth injuries.

Cerebral palsy settlements and verdicts secured by our legal partners include:

• Over $10 million for a family in Missouri
• $9 million on behalf of a 5-year-old in Colorado
• $8.8 million for an Ohio family whose baby suffered severe fetal distress
• $8 million to a North Carolina family
• $7.8 million for a Florida child injured at birth
• $6 million to a New York family with a child who developed CP from untreated jaundice
• $5.9 million for a child in Texas who received delayed medical care
• $5.6 million to a Utah family
• $5.5 million on behalf of a family in Oklahoma
• Over $4 million for a New Jersey family whose infant experienced fetal distress
• $4 million for an Arizona family
• $3.35 million to a child in New Hampshire
• $2.4 million on behalf of a Massachusetts family
• $6.5 million to a Washington child deprived of oxygen due to a delayed delivery

A cerebral palsy lawyer can give you an idea of how much your birth injury lawsuit may be worth and fight for maximum compensation.

Call (888) 726-9160 right now or chat with a case manager to see if a top lawyer may be able to seek cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements for you.

Play Video

Find out what causes cerebral palsy and how a birth injury lawyer can help if a medical mistake may have played a role.

Duration: 1 min 32 sec

Eligibility for a Cerebral Palsy Settlement

Parents or guardians of children who developed cerebral palsy due to a medical error are generally eligible to pursue cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements.

Examples of medical malpractice that can cause cerebral palsy include:

• Failing to test for or treat infant or maternal infections
• Ignoring signs of fetal distress leading to oxygen deprivation and brain injury
• Misusing delivery assistance tools, like forceps or vacuum extractors
• Neglecting to treat jaundice (buildup of cell waste in the blood)
• Not performing a cesarean section (C-section) when medically necessary

Medical professionals are trained to identify risk factors and act quickly to protect the health of the mother and baby.

LawFirm.com has registered nurses on staff who can listen to your story for free and help you figure out whether medical malpractice may have played a role in your child’s CP.

“What I’ve learned from working in the hospital is what is supposed to happen or what we would expect to happen during a normal delivery. And it helps me be able to differentiate the red flags or the situations that could potentially cause an injury to a child or a mother.”

– Kristin Proctor, Registered Nurse and LawFirm.com case manager

Fill out our form to speak with a labor and delivery nurse so you can get the answers you deserve.

Steps to Pursue a Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Settlement

LawFirm.com has a network of birth injury lawyers who strive to make the cerebral palsy lawsuit settlement process as easy and stress-free as possible.

“They understand the profound impact birth trauma can have on a family, and they have the knowledge, experience, and resources to fight for the justice and compensation your child deserves. Their commitment to helping families navigate the legal system and obtain the support they need is unparalleled.”

– Laura R., a birth injury client helped by one of our partner law firms

Learn more about the process of seeking cerebral palsy settlements with the help of an attorney below.

1. Get a Free Case Review

You can find out if your family may be eligible to pursue a cerebral palsy lawsuit settlement through a free case review.

During this process, a case manager will listen to your story and ask questions to determine if a health care provider’s medical error may have played a role in your child’s condition.

2. Collect Evidence

Your cerebral palsy lawyer and their legal team will investigate your child’s birth and gather evidence like medical records and witness testimony to establish that medical malpractice took place.

They may also consult with medical experts to strengthen your case and determine the amount of damages your family may be owed.

“There are standards of care that OBGYNs and nurses must uphold. Because of the training involved, both to achieve these degrees and to maintain licensing, medical experts can help to spot details and moments where interventions were needed but not given, or incorrect interventions were made that led to patient harm.”

– Katie Lavender, Registered Nurse and LawFirm.com medical expert

3. File a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

Your lawyer will file your cerebral palsy birth injury lawsuit in the correct court before any legal deadlines.

It’s important to act quickly once you suspect that something went wrong during the birthing process. If the deadline in your case passes, you won’t be able to pursue compensation and justice for your child again.

4. Negotiate a Cerebral Palsy Settlement

Relying on their knowledge of the law and experience in past cases, your lawyer will work to secure the most money possible through a cerebral palsy birth injury settlement.

Cerebral palsy lawyers are skilled negotiators who can even the playing field for families by going head-to-head with hospital attorneys and medical malpractice insurance carriers.

If a settlement isn’t reached, your lawyer will present your case in court and fight for a cerebral palsy verdict that provides enough compensation to secure your child’s future.

Statute of Limitations for a Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Settlement

Every state has laws called statutes of limitations that set time limits on how long families have to file birth injury cases.

In cerebral palsy cases, these deadlines typically start to run on the date the child is diagnosed with the condition. This could be at birth or even months or years later.

A lawyer can take action to protect your right to sue while your cerebral palsy medical malpractice case is being investigated.

Once the statute of limitations has expired, you will no longer be able to pursue a cerebral palsy settlement.

5 Factors That Affect Cerebral Palsy Settlements

Several factors can affect the amount of compensation families may receive from cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements.

5 factors that impact cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements are:

1. Severity of CP: The symptoms and severity of cerebral palsy and any related disabilities vary. Children with more severe forms of CP are more likely to receive larger cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements.
2. Economic damages: The child’s lifetime medical expenses, therapies, and more will be taken into account. Many children with cerebral palsy need treatment for the rest of their lives and may be unable to work.
3. Extent of medical negligence: The level of medical malpractice can play a role in cerebral palsy settlement amounts. Cases involving extreme negligence often lead to larger cerebral palsy settlements.
4. Number of parties sued: Many medical malpractice lawsuits name multiple defendants, like the doctors who provided care and the hospital where the delivery occurred. It’s possible to settle with each defendant named in the lawsuit.
5. State where the child’s birth injury occurred: Some states have caps that limit the amount of money people can receive from a medical malpractice case.

A cerebral palsy law firm can calculate the amount of compensation that your child may require over the course of their lifetime and fight for maximum compensation.

See if a top firm may be able to pursue cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements for you.

Get the Help Your Child Deserves

Take the first step toward compensation and justice for cerebral palsy.

Get a Free Case Review

How Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlements Help Families

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements provide families with financial support to help with medical expenses, long-term care, and more.

Cerebral palsy economic damages typically include things like medical bills and loss of earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover things that don’t have a price, like pain and suffering and a lower quality of life.

Cerebral palsy damages may include money for:

• Assistive technology
• Caretaking
• Lost wages, if parents need to stay home to provide care
• Medical bills
• Medications
• Modifications to the home
• Physical therapy
• Special education
• Surgery
• And more

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements help families afford the care needed to give their children the best possible quality of life.

2025 Update: Cerebral Palsy Verdicts and Settlements

In the past year, several notable cerebral palsy settlements and verdicts were awarded to families affected by medical malpractice:

• A Wisconsin jury awarded $10.2 million to a 6-year-old child who developed CP due to a lack of oxygen. Her mother had been given too much Pitocin to induce labor.
• Tower Health agreed to pay a $32.5 million settlement to the family of a 5-year-old boy who was born at Reading Hospital in Pennsylvania. He sustained a brain injury from an untreated infection that caused him to develop CP.
• A jury awarded $120 million to a Michigan family after medical professionals at Henry Ford Hospital delayed a cesarean section, causing oxygen deprivation and brain damage that led to CP.
• A judge upheld a $183 million verdict awarded to a Pennsylvania family that sued the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for medical malpractice. The hospital’s delay in performing a C-section had caused their child to develop CP.

Not only do cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements provide families with financial compensation to care for their children, but they also hold negligent hospitals and doctors accountable for cerebral palsy malpractice.

Get Help Seeking Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settlements

Health care professionals are expected to meet a certain standard of care when delivering babies and should be able to make the safest medical decisions when an emergency arises.

When they fail to do so, innocent families and children pay the price. Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements allow families to seek compensation and justice.

LawFirm.com is here to help. The cerebral palsy law firms that we work with:

• Can help families in all 50 states seek cerebral palsy settlements
• Have secured over $1 billion in birth injury compensation
• Never charge any upfront or hourly fees

Call (888) 726-9160 right now or get a free case review to see if you may qualify to pursue cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements.