Why trust Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton with your Dundalk cerebral palsy case?
Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton have guided Maryland families through birth-injury litigation since 1984, securing more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements.
We put that experience to work for parents in Dundalk who are already bearing the emotional and financial weight of raising a child with cerebral palsy.
Our attorneys know the local landscape, Johns Hopkins, MedStar Franklin Square, and community hospitals along Merritt Boulevard, North Point Road, and Turner Station, and we understand how mistakes in those delivery rooms can change a child’s life forever.
Because we live and practice just minutes away at 1211 St Paul St., a short drive up I-95 or the Harbor Tunnel, we can respond quickly, meet you in person, and bring hometown insight to Baltimore County juries.
Experience matters: decades in the courtroom teach us how to prove negligence, negotiate with insurers, and win the resources children need for lifetime care.
Compassion matters just as much: we answer calls 24/7, offer free consultations, and treat every family as our own, because you deserve lawyers who fight hard and care deeply.
Who will handle my child’s cerebral palsy case at your firm?
Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton personally lead every cerebral palsy claim we take on.
Their hands-on approach means you work directly with the attorneys who have four decades of trial experience and a record of Top Leading Plaintiff Lawyers 2025 honors.
Jonathan Schochor
Jonathan Schochor earned his J.D. from American University Washington College of Law after graduating from Penn State, and in 50+ years of practice has recovered over $1.6 billion for clients, including Maryland’s record $190 million class-action settlement for 8,000 sexual-abuse survivors.
Kerry Staton
Kerry D. Staton earned his B.A. from Oberlin College and J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law (1980). In 40+ years of medical-malpractice advocacy he has won numerous multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements, placing him in the Million & Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums and the Top 25 Medical Malpractice Trial Lawyers. Staton is a four-time Best Lawyers “Lawyer of the Year” for Medical Malpractice in Baltimore (2013, 2018, 2022, 2025), a Fellow of both the American College of Trial Lawyers and the International Society of Barristers, and a perennial Maryland Top 100 Super Lawyer.
We limit our caseload so Jonathan or Kerry can study your medical records, consult neonatal experts, and speak with you one-on-one. That focus lets us build the strongest case while giving your family the attention and compassion you deserve.
What is cerebral palsy (CP)?
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong neurological disorder that disrupts muscle control, posture, and coordination. It develops when a baby’s brain is damaged before, during, or shortly after birth, often leaving children with stiff or floppy muscles, delayed milestones, and possible speech or cognitive challenges.
There is no cure, so families face years of medical care, physical and occupational therapy, adaptive equipment, and home modifications. We see firsthand how these costs can overwhelm parents, which is why our attorneys fight to secure funds for every treatment and device a child may need throughout life.
How can medical negligence cause cerebral palsy in a newborn?
Medical errors during pregnancy, labor, or the first days of life can deprive a baby’s brain of oxygen and create irreversible damage that leads to cerebral palsy. These breakdowns happen when care teams miss danger signs or use improper techniques that proper training, and Maryland hospital protocols, are designed to prevent.
Common negligent scenarios we uncover
- Oxygen deprivation during labor – Failure to perform a timely C-section when fetal heart tracings show distress allows minutes without oxygen, the leading cause of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.
- Improper use of delivery tools – Forceps or vacuum extractors applied with excessive force can cause skull fractures or bleeding inside the brain that disrupt motor centers.
- Ignored monitoring alarms – Nurses or residents who overlook abnormal maternal blood pressure, prolonged labor, or decelerating heart rates lose the chance to intervene before injury occurs.
- Untreated maternal or newborn infection – Sepsis, meningitis, or chorioamnionitis that goes undiagnosed can inflame brain tissue and create lasting motor deficits.
- Severe jaundice left unmanaged – High bilirubin levels turn into kernicterus when phototherapy or exchange transfusion is delayed, destroying brain cells that control movement.
