What to Know When Filing a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to a birth injury caused by medical negligence, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit and pursue financial compensation. Strict legal deadlines can affect your ability to act. In 2025, cerebral palsy lawsuits continue to be filed across the U.S., and understanding how they work is critical if you’re considering legal action.

In this post, we’ll cover why families are filing cerebral palsy lawsuits, what’s required to pursue a case, current legal updates, and the statute of limitations that could impact your right to recover compensation.

Why Are People Filing Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits?

Cerebral palsy is often the result of preventable medical errors during labor or delivery. These may include:

• Failure to monitor fetal distress
  
• Delayed C-section
  
• Improper use of delivery tools (for example, forceps or vacuum)
  
• Mismanagement of infections during pregnancy
  
• Oxygen deprivation during birth
  

When these errors occur, the baby’s brain can suffer permanent damage, leading to lifelong physical and cognitive disabilities. Families who suspect medical negligence played a role in their child’s condition are filing lawsuits to hold healthcare providers accountable.

A cerebral palsy lawsuit can help families cover the extensive costs of care, therapies, and adaptive equipment, which often exceed hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over a lifetime.

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Update: Where Things Stand in 2025

While cerebral palsy lawsuits are handled on a case-by-case basis and not part of any mass tort or MDL, here’s what you should know:

1. More Awareness of Birth Injury Causes
   Increased awareness and advancements in fetal monitoring have led to more families identifying signs of negligence earlier. Hospitals are also being investigated more frequently for systemic failures in obstetric care.

2. Lawsuits Still Yielding Large Verdicts
   Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements and verdicts continue to reach multimillion-dollar amounts in states across the U.S., especially when lifelong care costs are documented and negligence is well-supported.

3. Families Taking Action Sooner
   Due to greater access to medical records and birth injury reviews, many families are filing sooner, sometimes within months of diagnosis, to preserve evidence and maximize their chances of success.

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Deadlines: Know Your State’s Statute of Limitations

Every state sets its own legal deadline, called the statute of limitations, for filing a cerebral palsy lawsuit. These deadlines can vary depending on whether the case is filed by the parents or by the child once they reach adulthood.

Note: Some states “toll” the statute of limitations for minors, allowing the child to file a case once they turn 18. However, parents seeking compensation for medical costs and emotional distress typically have a much shorter window to file.

Exceptions and Extensions

In some cases, courts may allow extensions under the discovery rule, especially if it wasn’t immediately obvious that cerebral palsy resulted from a medical error. But even with tolling or exceptions, the best course of action is to speak with a birth injury attorney as soon as possible.

Who Qualifies for a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit?

You may qualify to file a cerebral palsy lawsuit if the following applies:

• Your child has a confirmed diagnosis of cerebral palsy
  
• There is evidence or suspicion of medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery
  
• You can obtain medical records and expert opinions linking the injury to provider error
  
• The lawsuit is filed within your state’s legal deadline
  

Birth injury attorneys often consult with medical experts who can review fetal monitoring strips, APGAR scores, and labor timelines to determine if standards of care were violated.

What Can You Recover?

If your lawsuit is successful, you may be eligible to recover compensation for:

• Past and future medical expenses
  
• Physical and occupational therapy
  
• Home modifications and mobility aids
  
• Pain and suffering
  
• Lost earning potential for the child
  
• Emotional distress of parents
  
• Punitive damages (in cases of gross negligence)

Cerebral palsy lawsuit settlements vary widely but can exceed 5 million dollars or more in cases requiring lifelong care and round-the-clock assistance.

What Should You Do Next?

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you suspect medical negligence played a role, the next steps include:

• Consulting with a qualified cerebral palsy attorney
  
• Gathering prenatal and birth records
  
• Determining the statute of limitations in your state
  
• Requesting a legal review of your case

At CPR Law, our experienced team of cerebral palsy lawyers has helped families across Pennsylvania and beyond seek justice in complex birth injury cases. We’re here to answer your questions, protect your rights, and help you pursue the compensation your child deserves.