Baltimore Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

We know that hearing the words cerebral palsy after what should have been a joyful birth can turn your world upside down. In one moment you are celebrating a new life, and in the next you are facing questions about lifelong medical needs, therapy costs, and your child’s future quality of life.

Baltimore cerebral palsy lawyer Jonathan Schochor and fellow trial attorney Kerry Staton have guided Maryland families through this heartbreak for more than three decades. Together, we have helped secure over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for victims of medical malpractice, including birth-injury cases involving preventable oxygen deprivation and delivery errors.

Our office at 1211 St Paul Street in Baltimore is minutes from Johns Hopkins, UMMC, and other hospitals where avoidable mistakes sometimes occur despite excellent reputations. Because we handle only serious malpractice claims, we understand the medical issues, the Maryland legal process, and the experts needed to prove negligence when a child’s brain injury could, and should, have been prevented.

We welcome you to call (443) 909-2792 for a free, no-pressure consultation. In the pages that follow, we answer the questions most parents ask after a cerebral palsy diagnosis and explain exactly how we pursue justice and lifelong support for your child.

What Is Cerebral Palsy, and Why Does It Matter to Your Legal Case?

Cerebral palsy is a group of lifelong neurological disorders that impair a child’s muscle control, movement, and posture. The condition results from brain damage or abnormal brain growth that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth, and it does not worsen over time even though its effects last a lifetime. Roughly 1 in 345 U.S. children live with cerebral palsy, and 8,000–10,000 babies receive the diagnosis each year.

How Can You Recognize the Signs and Types of Cerebral Palsy in Your Child?

Early signs of cerebral palsy often show up in the first two years of life and usually involve delayed or unusual movement. Parents may notice floppy or very stiff muscles, a baby who cannot hold up the head, or developmental milestones, like sitting or crawling, that come later than expected. Some infants favor one side of the body, have persistent newborn reflexes, or struggle with feeding and swallowing.

Doctors classify cerebral palsy into distinct sub-types so therapists and lawyers alike can tailor support and proof of damages.

• Spastic CP (≈70–80 % of cases) causes tight, stiff muscles and jerky movements that make everyday tasks difficult.
• Athetoid/Dyskinetic CP produces uncontrolled, writhing motions and fluctuating muscle tone, so a child may drop objects or have trouble speaking clearly.
• Ataxic CP is the rarest and affects balance and coordination, leading to shaky movements, wide-based walking, and trouble with precise tasks.
• Mixed CP means a child shows features of more than one type.

Knowing which form of CP your child has is critical because each type carries different therapy needs and lifetime costs. When families bring these facts to us, we work with pediatric neurologists and life-care planners to value future expenses accurately for a malpractice claim.

What Causes Cerebral Palsy, and Could Better Care Have Stopped It?

Cerebral palsy begins when a baby’s brain is injured before, during, or just after birth, disrupting muscle-control pathways for life even though the damage itself doesn’t worsen.

Most cases stem from unavoidable factors, prenatal infections such as rubella or CMV, genetic anomalies, placental failure, extreme prematurity, or later events like severe neonatal infection or head trauma.

Medical studies still find about 1 in 5 CP diagnoses come from preventable delivery errors: prolonged oxygen loss, mismanaged breech births, untreated cord prolapse, or delayed C-sections. If labor felt rushed, monitors flashed warnings, or staff offered vague explanations, those details could signal negligence. We scrutinize every fetal strip, nursing note, and NICU record to see if prompt, proper care would have spared your child’s lifelong challenges.

How Can Medical Negligence Turn a Safe Birth Into a Cerebral Palsy Crisis?

Medical negligence during labor, delivery, or the fragile minutes after birth can deprive a newborn’s brain of oxygen or inflict trauma that produces permanent cerebral palsy. A single delay or mishandled procedure in those moments can mean a lifetime of muscle stiffness, therapy, and mobility aids for a child who should have been healthy.

Delivery errors we see most often include:

• Delayed C-Section: When fetal monitors show distress yet the surgical team waits too long, the brain can suffer preventable hypoxia.
• Ignored Fetal Distress or Umbilical-Cord Problems: Prolonged abnormal heart tracings or a prolapsed cord demand immediate action; hesitation prolongs oxygen loss.
• Improper Use of Forceps or Vacuum Devices: Excessive traction or misplacement can fracture the skull or trigger intracranial bleeding that damages motor centers.
• Anesthesia Complications: Maternal blood-pressure crashes or over-sedation can silently starve the baby’s brain of oxygen.
• Botched Intubation or Neonatal Resuscitation: A misplaced tube or delay in ventilation leaves a struggling newborn without the oxygen vital organs require.
• Untreated Severe Jaundice (Kernicterus): Failing to manage high bilirubin lets toxins injure brain tissue and can result in athetoid CP.
• Other Rare but Devastating Mistakes: Mismanaging breech extraction, excessive fundal pressure, or inadequate staffing can all cascade into catastrophic brain injury.

When families bring us these red-flag events, we collaborate with obstetric, neonatal, and anesthesia experts to reconstruct the timeline, quantify how long the brain was deprived of oxygen, and prove that decisive care would have avoided the harm. Our goal is simple: show exactly where the standard of care broke down so your child receives the resources needed for a full life.
 “We would highly recommend the firm to anyone needing legal assistance as we did. Jim and his team were always available to answer questions and guide us thru (sic) the process.” Mike Mantua

How Can You Know If Medical Negligence Caused Your Child’s Cerebral Palsy?

Determining whether cerebral palsy stems from unavoidable complications or a preventable error requires a focused investigation of the pregnancy, delivery, and neonatal records. Parents often first suspect malpractice when they recall frantic staff activity, unexplained delays, or vague explanations after an emergency C-section.

Warning signs that merit a closer look include

1. Newborn charts referencing “hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy,” “loss of oxygen,” or “shoulder dystocia.”
2. Fetal-monitor strips that showed abnormal heart rates for an extended period with no prompt intervention.
3. A baby who needed therapeutic hypothermia, NICU ventilation, or immediate resuscitation because breathing never started on its own.
4. Discharge summaries or specialist notes hinting at birth trauma, such as skull fractures, brain bleeds, or prolonged Apgar recovery.
5. A parent’s gut feeling that something went wrong during labor, yet hospital staff offered few answers.

What we do next
We order every prenatal, labor, delivery, and NICU record, plus fetal strips and incident reports, and send them to independent obstetric, neonatal, and neurology experts. Maryland law requires a certified medical expert to confirm negligence before a lawsuit is filed, and our team secures that certificate and handles the arbitration paperwork so families focus on their child, not legal red tape.

The case review is free, and there are no upfront costs. If the evidence proves malpractice, we pursue full compensation; if it does not, you at least gain clarity and peace of mind.

What Will Our Baltimore Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Actually Do for Your Family?

We take over the complex legal and medical legwork so you can focus on loving and caring for your child. From the very first call, our attorneys create a clear plan to uncover what happened, prove negligence, and secure the resources your child needs for a lifetime of care.

Our step-by-step approach includes

• Comprehensive Investigation
• Identifying All Responsible Parties
• Meeting Maryland’s Legal Requirements
• Filing and Litigating the Lawsuit
• Ongoing Guidance and Support
• No Up-Front Costs, Ever!

By blending deep medical knowledge with proven courtroom strength, we transform unanswered questions into financial security and accountability for those who caused your child’s cerebral palsy.

What Compensation Can Your Family Recover Through a Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Claim?

Compensation in a cerebral palsy lawsuit is designed to fund a child’s lifetime of medical and personal needs, needs that can reach millions of dollars over seventy-plus years. Because cerebral palsy is permanent, every projected expense must be accounted for before any case settles or reaches a verdict.

Economic damages cover concrete costs such as

• Medical treatment: past hospital bills and future surgeries, medications, and therapies at facilities like Kennedy Krieger Institute.
• Rehabilitation and assistive devices: ongoing physical, occupational, and speech therapy, wheelchairs, communication tablets, and adaptive tech.
• Home and vehicle modifications: ramps, widened doorways, roll-in showers, or a wheelchair-accessible van.
• Special education and in-home care: tuition for specialized programs, aides, and respite care.
• Lost income: wages parents forfeit when caregiving duties force reduced hours or career changes.

Non-economic damages seek to balance the intangible losses, a child’s pain, loss of independence, and a family’s emotional anguish. Maryland law caps this portion, but we work with life-care planners to ensure every recoverable dollar is secured within that limit. Punitive damages are rare, as they require proof of reckless disregard, yet we pursue them when egregious conduct justifies additional punishment.

Because each family’s situation is unique, our attorneys calculate damages with meticulous precision, partnering with economists and medical experts so a final award truly safeguards the child’s future.

How Long Do I Have to File a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit in Maryland?

Maryland gives medical-malpractice victims five years from the date of injury or three years from when the injury was discovered, whichever comes first, to sue. These basic deadlines protect evidence and keep cases timely.

Different rules apply when the patient is a minor. For birth injuries such as cerebral palsy, parents generally must file before the child turns 11, and certain very severe disabilities can extend that window to age 16 or 19. Regardless of extensions, no claim may be filed after the child’s 21st birthday, which is Maryland’s absolute cut-off.

Evidence fades and hospital records can disappear, so acting quickly is critical. We calculate every deadline on day one and file the necessary expert certificate with Maryland’s Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office to preserve your child’s rights while you focus on care, not calendars.

Why Should You Trust Our Baltimore Cerebral Palsy Attorneys With Your Child’s Future?

We have dedicated our careers to holding Maryland hospitals accountable when negligent deliveries cause lifelong harm. Over more than three decades, Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton have recovered well over $1 billion for medical-malpractice clients, including multiple multi-million-dollar cerebral palsy awards that now pay for 24-hour nursing care, cutting-edge therapies, and adapted homes.

Compassion drives everything we do. We give families direct access to our attorneys, update them often, and connect them with Baltimore resources like Kennedy Krieger Institute programs and Medicaid waiver specialists. As lifelong Maryland trial lawyers, we know the judges, hospitals, and insurers who shape these cases.

You risk nothing by calling. We advance all costs and collect no fee unless we win, so every parent, regardless of income, can pursue justice. If your child’s cerebral palsy may trace back to delivery errors, call (443) 909-2792 or visit our St Paul Street office for a free, personal consultation with Jonathan Schochor, Kerry Staton, or another member of our compassionate legal team.
 “I am so glad I chose this firm! They make the process appear easy. Jim Cardea and his team were very receptive to my feedback as a client, responsive and quick to provide updates, and accommodating. I highly recommend contracting with them for your needs. They were present during difficult times which made me feel at ease.” LA Jones

What Local Resources in Baltimore Can Help Your Child Thrive?

Baltimore offers world-class medical care and community programs that can make an immediate difference for children with cerebral palsy. Connecting families to these services is part of how we support clients beyond the courtroom.

Johns Hopkins Pediatric Neurology (East Baltimore)
Comprehensive diagnostic care and spasticity clinics provide cutting-edge treatments and research trials. Early enrollment can fine-tune therapy plans and improve long-term mobility.

Kennedy Krieger Institute (Greenspring Campus & Downtown)
Nationally renowned for intensive PT/OT, aquatic therapy, and assistive-tech evaluations. Coordinated care teams craft individualized programs that insurance often covers when documented in a malpractice settlement.

University of Maryland Rehabilitation & Orthopaedic Institute (Woodlawn)
Offers pediatric gait labs and tone-management options such as intrathecal baclofen pumps, giving families additional therapy choices close to home.

Maryland Medicaid Model Waiver & Autism Waiver Programs
State funding can pay for in-home nursing, respite care, and specialized equipment once legal compensation runs out. We guide parents through eligibility so benefits start quickly.

Baltimore City Infants & Toddlers Program
Free early-intervention services from birth to age three help children meet developmental milestones while we pursue your claim.

Parent Support Networks (e.g., Pathfinders for Autism, Abilities Network)
Peer mentoring, adaptive sports, and respite nights reduce stress and isolation for caregivers.

We provide direct contacts and application checklists for each of these resources during representation, because a strong community network, alongside a successful case, gives your child the best chance to reach their full potential.

What Other Questions Do Baltimore Parents Ask About Cerebral Palsy Claims?

Families often share the same core concerns once they begin exploring a lawsuit. The answers below address the most common worries in a quick, easy-to-scan format.

Have a question not listed here? Call us at (443) 909-2792 or visit our St Paul Street office, and one of our Baltimore cerebral palsy attorneys will give you a clear, compassionate answer.

Ready to Speak With a Baltimore Cerebral Palsy Attorney Today?

You deserve clear answers and a plan for your child’s future. Our Baltimore cerebral palsy attorneys are ready to listen, review your records for free, and explain every legal option in plain language.

Call (443) 909-2792 or visit us at 1211 St Paul Street to schedule a no-pressure consultation with Jonathan Schochor, Kerry Staton, or another member of our team. We will meet in person, by phone, or via secure video, whatever eases your family’s burden.

There is no fee unless we win, and every day of delay risks evidence and statutory deadlines. Let us shoulder the legal fight while you focus on your child’s health, therapy, and happiness.