Cerebral Palsy Lawyers in Philadelphia

Every hour, an infant is born with cerebral palsy, making it the most common physical disability in childhood. When this lifelong disability tragically stems from medical malpractice, Feldman Shepherd has achieved multimillion-dollar recoveries, ensuring these children secure the lifetime care and financial security they need and deserve.

Causes and Types of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of brain-related disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It can be caused when doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals make medical mistakes during an expectant mother’s pregnancy, labor, or delivery.

There are four main types of cerebral palsy, often caused by medical malpractice:

Spastic Cerebral Palsy: This is the most common type of cerebral palsy, accounting for 80 percent of all cases. People with spastic cerebral palsy have increased muscle tone (hypertonia) in most of the muscles of the body, although some of the muscles may have low tone (hypotonia). As a result, their muscles are stiff and/or weak, and their movements can be awkward.
Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: People with this type of cerebral palsy have difficulty controlling the movement of their hands, arms, feet, and legs. Sitting and walking pose a challenge, and many children require extensive rehabilitation and expensive medical equipment.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: This type of cerebral palsy is characterized by problems with balance and coordination.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: This type of cerebral palsy causes involuntary and uncontrolled movements, which can make it difficult for children to interact with their peers.

Cerebral palsy that involves symptoms of more than one type is called mixed cerebral palsy.

Healthcare Provider Errors That Cause Cerebral Palsy

Healthcare provider errors that can result in cerebral palsy generally fall into one of the following five categories:

Inadequate Prenatal Care

Cerebral palsy often occurs during high-risk pregnancies, especially when the mother develops medical conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, preeclampsia, and liver problems. Poorly managed medical conditions of the expectant mother often lead to impaired brain development, early delivery, and difficult labor. Most prenatal conditions are treatable if properly recognized and monitored.

Poorly Managed Complications During Labor and Delivery

Complications during labor and delivery, when not properly managed, may put an infant at risk for birth asphyxia, meaning a severe lack of oxygen. Common complications include:

Umbilical Cord Complications: compression, prolapse, knots, and strangulation (cord wrapped around the baby’s neck)
Placental Complications: placenta abruption and placenta previa
Uterine Rupture
Shoulder Dystocia
Improper Use of Delivery Tools: excessive force when using a vacuum extractor or forceps can cause intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the brain) or direct head trauma, leading to cerebral palsy.

Any oxygen loss during delivery may result in various forms of cerebral palsy.

Failure to Perform Timely C-Sections

Failure by doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to properly interpret and act upon fetal heart rate monitoring during labor often results in traumatic brain injuries to infants. This failure can lead to crucial delays in performing an emergency C-section when the baby is showing signs of acute oxygen deprivation.

Likewise, malpractice can occur when doctors fail to appropriately plan for or treat known chronic risk factors. Conditions like severe preeclampsia, uncontrolled gestational diabetes, or fetal macrosomia (large baby) all require doctors to make critical decisions about the timing and method of delivery to prevent devastating birth trauma.

Medication Errors

Medication errors also play a crucial role in birth asphyxia. When labor is induced or augmented using drugs like Pitocin (synthetic Oxytocin), the medication must be carefully monitored. Excessive doses can cause the uterus to become hyperstimulated (contractions that are too frequent or too strong), severely limiting the time for the baby to receive oxygen between contractions, and quickly leading to fetal distress and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

Mismanaged Neonatal Complications

In the critical period following birth, preventable medical complications can lead to devastating brain injuries and cerebral palsy. One key threat is kernicterus, a type of brain damage caused by severe, untreated jaundice. When bilirubin levels become dangerously high (hyperbilirubinemia), it can cross the blood-brain barrier and fatally harm the brain cells responsible for motor function. The failure of medical professionals to timely recognize and treat this severe jaundice is a critical error.

Furthermore, newborns are highly vulnerable to serious infections such as sepsis and meningitis. If these conditions are not promptly recognized and treated, the resulting inflammation and systemic instability can cause significant brain injury that may lead to cerebral palsy. Likewise, the use of indwelling catheters for monitoring or medication requires meticulous care. Negligent placement or management of these lines can introduce infection or cause trauma, increasing the risk of neonatal brain injury and, in severe cases, a cerebral palsy diagnosis.

Not every case of cerebral palsy is attributable to healthcare provider errors, and it is important to rule out other causes, such as metabolic or genetic factors. However, many cases of severe cerebral palsy—especially those related to the temporary loss of blood flow to the child’s brain—are often caused by medical malpractice.

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Prognosis for Children With Cerebral Palsy

The severity of cerebral palsy varies from case to case, with patients requiring differing levels of treatment, rehabilitation, tutoring, and physical assistance. Comprehensive treatment and early intervention services can significantly improve a child’s life after diagnosis, but the cost is out of reach for most families.

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Cerebral Palsy Treatment Options

At Feldman Shepherd, our lawyers strive to obtain high-value medical malpractice settlements and jury verdicts for children with cerebral palsy designed to cover the cost of top-quality physical, emotional, and cognitive care. Our birth injury legal team seeks to ensure that, to the extent medically possible, your child leads a full and healthy life. Treatment for cerebral palsy can include:

Physical therapy
Occupational therapy
Speech and language therapy
Recreational therapy
Additional therapies such as aqua therapy and equine therapy
Surgery to sever tendons to relax spastic muscles and reduce pain
Medications to reduce muscle tightness, treat pain, and manage complications related to spasticity and other symptoms

The Benefit of Adaptive Equipment

Adaptive equipment and assistive technology can also help better a child’s quality of life by improving mobility, communications, the ability to perform daily living activities, and the ability to engage in the joys of childhood play. Technology has increasingly opened the world to children with cerebral palsy. This includes specialized mobility devices, such as standers, gait trainers, and power wheelchairs, communication tools like speech-generating devices and eye-tracking technology, and home modifications such as ramps and lifts.

Some people with cerebral palsy may experience speech challenges or intellectual disabilities, but many have normal intelligence. With dedicated rehabilitation and specialized support, individuals with cerebral palsy often develop strong communication and academic skills, enabling them to attend college, pursue meaningful careers, and live either independently or in supported living environments tailored to their needs.

For children with the most severe forms of cerebral palsy, comprehensive care often requires skilled in-home nursing or attendant services. Parents understandably worry not only about the extraordinary cost of this care, but also about who will look after their child when they are no longer here to do it themselves. Our legal team addresses these concerns by pursuing recoveries that account for a full lifetime of medical, therapeutic, and attendant-care needs. We also help families protect these funds—often through the creation of a special needs trust—so that the child’s long-term security and well-being are preserved.

Record-Breaking Recoveries in Cerebral Palsy Cases

Since our firm’s founding in 1987, the birth injury attorneys at Feldman Shepherd have recovered millions of dollars in cerebral palsy cases.

Attorneys Daniel S. Weinstock and Carolyn M. Chopko secured a $78.5 million jury verdict in Philadelphia on behalf of a child who suffered severe spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy as a result of an 81-minute delay in the performance of an emergency Cesarean section delivery. The case arose when the mother, 36 weeks pregnant, arrived at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center with signs of placental abruption. Fetal monitoring was inconclusive, leading the obstetrician to perform a bedside ultrasound examination.

Delivery was delayed because the obstetrician found no fetal heartbeat and thought the baby was dead after performing the ultrasound with outdated, insensitive, and poorly maintained equipment provided to him by the hospital. In what Weinstock and Chopko contended amounted to hospital administration negligence, there was no ultrasound technician present in the hospital because it was a Sunday. The technician had to come from home in order to evaluate the obstetrician's incorrect findings.

Other Significant Case Results Secured by Feldman Shepherd

$30.5 million jury verdict in Georgia for negligent management of labor and delivery, which resulted in a baby suffering a severe hypoxic ischemic brain injury that led to her development of spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, developmental delays, and a seizure disorder.
$20 million settlement in Central Pennsylvania for a child who suffered kernicterus and cerebral palsy due to healthcare providers’ negligence in failing to timely treat his hyperbilirubinemia.
$17.5 million settlement during the trial of an Illinois cerebral palsy case in favor of a mom-to-be whose obstetric providers failed to treat her with injectable progesterone throughout her high-risk pregnancy in order to prevent a recurrence of extreme preterm labor. Because of this mistake, she went into labor at only 22 ½ weeks of gestation.
$16.05 million settlement in Massachusetts for a baby who suffered severe brain damage at birth following a placental abruption. We were informed at the time that this was the largest pre-trial medical malpractice recovery in Massachusetts.
$16 million settlement for negligent management of labor and delivery, causing cerebral palsy.
$16 million verdict in New York on behalf of a child with severe cerebral palsy caused by a catastrophic placental abruption that occurred at 39 ½ weeks of gestation.
$14 million settlement for a twin who suffered irreversible, preventable brain damage due to medical providers’ failure to monitor his dangerously dropping heart rate (bradycardia) as they were preparing for a Cesarean section, as well as their failure to expedite delivery.
$13 million settlement for a child in Pennsylvania who developed cerebral palsy secondary to a preventable brain injury that occurred during the pushing stages of labor when an obstetrician and his team failed to act upon clear evidence of deterioration demonstrated in the electronic fetal monitor strips.
$12 million settlement in a neonatal malpractice case in Miami, Florida, during the fourth day of trial on behalf of the family of a child with kernicterus and cerebral palsy, resulting from the negligence of several pediatricians and neonatologists during the child’s first week of life.
$11.8 million settlement in a Central Florida case where the baby suffered severe brain damage at birth following a placental abruption. At the time, the recovery may have been the largest ever pretrial medical malpractice recovery in the region.
$10.24 million settlement in New York for a negligent obstetrics case where the child suffered severe hypoxic ischemia, causing cerebral palsy and all of the other sequela that follow such a diagnosis.
$10 million settlement of an Arizona birth injury case where the baby suffered severe brain damage as a result of the defendant-hospital’s failure to timely treat the child’s non-reassuring fetal heart rate tracings. At the time, this may have been the largest ever pre-trial medical malpractice recovery in the region.
$10 million settlement in a kernicterus/cerebral palsy case in California, where the law at the time imposed a general damages cap of $250,000 in medical negligence cases. Under the unique circumstances of this case, we developed a strong discrimination case as an adjunct to the medical negligence claim, thus rendering the tort reform laws inapplicable. The recovery may be the largest in any such case in the history of the State of California, which pioneered tort reform in the 1970s.

Cerebral Palsy Trial Lawyers for Life’s Most Challenging Moments

At Feldman Shepherd, our cerebral palsy attorneys understand how deeply this diagnosis affects children and their families. We know the emotional and financial strain it creates, and we approach every case with the focus and determination needed to pursue justice for preventable birth injuries.

We are committed to exceptional results and clear communication. Our team keeps clients informed at every step and works with medical experts and life-care planners to build cases that reflect the full extent of your child’s needs. Most importantly, we operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you will not be charged a legal fee unless we win your case and secure a recovery for you.

While every cerebral palsy case has its own story, our commitment is always to provide compassionate, individualized support for each client, including the tiniest ones, while working to secure a maximum financial recovery.

Frequently Asked Questions Cerebral Palsy

Can cerebral palsy be caused by mistakes that occur before labor even begins?

Yes. While many cases stem from errors during labor and delivery, malpractice can also occur weeks or months earlier. Failure to diagnose maternal infections, failure to monitor fetal growth restrictions, and inadequate management of Rh incompatibility or thyroid disorders can all contribute to preventable brain injury long before delivery.

What signs might suggest that my child’s cerebral palsy was caused by oxygen deprivation at birth?

Clues may include low Apgar scores, metabolic acidosis, seizures in the first 48 hours of life, difficulty initiating breathing, or the need for therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy). Families often do not realize that these early-life events may indicate a preventable hypoxic-ischemic injury.

Do all children with cerebral palsy have normal life expectancy?

Many children with CP live long, full lives, especially those with milder motor impairments. However, children with severe mobility limitations, feeding challenges, or respiratory vulnerabilities may face shortened life expectancy. Proper medical planning and home modifications can significantly improve long-term outcomes.

How is a cerebral palsy lawsuit different from a typical medical malpractice case?

Birth injury litigation is uniquely complex. It requires analyzing fetal monitoring strips, labor timelines, neonatal records, neuroimaging, and long-term projections for medical and therapeutic care. These cases also involve life-care planning, which estimates the lifetime costs of equipment, therapies, housing, and attendant care.

Does cerebral palsy always involve cognitive impairment?

No. Many children with CP have typical or above-average intelligence. Some face only motor challenges but excel academically with appropriate communication tools and educational supports. Understanding the child’s cognitive profile is essential to developing an accurate long-term care plan.

What role does early intervention play in improving outcomes?

Early intervention—particularly in the first three years of life—can dramatically improve mobility, communication, and independence. Programs may include developmental therapists, special instructors, and early speech or feeding therapy. Access to these services can profoundly influence long-term abilities.

What documentation should I gather if I suspect malpractice caused my child’s cerebral palsy?

Useful records include prenatal charts, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring tracings, neonatal intensive care records, imaging studies, and correspondence with healthcare providers. Journals kept by parents about early developmental concerns can also support your case.

Does my child need to be formally diagnosed with cerebral palsy before I contact a lawyer?

No. A formal diagnosis often occurs months or years after birth. If there were complications during pregnancy, delivery, or the newborn period—and your child shows early developmental delays—it is wise to speak with an attorney early to preserve evidence and meet legal deadlines.

How long do cerebral palsy cases typically take to resolve?

These cases often require extensive expert review and can take several months to several years, depending on complexity, number of defendants, and whether the case goes to trial. While timelines vary, early investigation gives your legal team the strongest foundation for success.

Will pursuing a lawsuit affect my child’s access to medical or state support programs?

No. Many families use structured settlements or special needs trusts to protect eligibility for Medicaid, SSI, and other benefits. These tools ensure that a child can receive both public assistance and the full value of any legal recovery.