High muscle tone, or hypertonia, is a condition where muscles are stiff and difficult to move. This condition is caused by the disruption of signals from the brain to the nerves, telling the muscle to contract. Although high muscle tone is common in those with cerebral palsy, there are a variety of other reasons why a child may be suffering from this condition.
Whatever the cause of your child’s high muscle tone, you could be entitled to compensation to help with their medical care and other associated causes. At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, we have helped countless parents get the money they need to cover the costs arising from birth injuries suffered by their children. Learn more through a free case review.
Other Conditions That Can Result in Hypertonia
There are many conditions and injuries that can result in hypertonia. While cerebral palsy is one possible explanation for high muscle tone in your child, other potential causes include:
- Brain bleeds
- In-utero strokes
- Toxins in the brain
- Multiple sclerosis
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
If your child is experiencing high muscle tone, it is essential that you consult a doctor immediately to potentially minimize the danger. High muscle tone in children is often the result of a birth injury. If your child was injured during birth as a result of medical malpractice or negligence, you could be entitled to pursue compensation.
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How a Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help
You may be entitled to compensation if your child has suffered a birth injury that resulted in high muscle tone. However, attempting to pursue a lawsuit against a medical professional or the hospital where the injury occurred on your own is unlikely to yield favorable results. Fortunately, an experienced birth injury lawyer can help.
When you hire an experienced attorney, they can review your case and set to work building a case to help you recover the compensation you deserve. A birth injury lawyer will be well aware of the most common causes of your child’s condition. They will know what to look for as they investigate your case and attempt to prove fault.
Your lawyer can evaluate the losses endured by you and your child and pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit or insurance claim to help you get the money you deserve. Your attorney will also negotiate with the opposition in an attempt to reach a favorable settlement deal and resolve your case as quickly as possible.
Pay Attention to the Applicable Statute of Limitations
When filing a lawsuit to recover compensation after a birth injury resulting in hypertonia, it’s essential that you know the statute of limitations that sets your filing deadline. The amount of time that injury victims have to file a lawsuit varies from state to state. Furthermore, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases often differs from other personal injury lawsuits.
If you don’t submit the required paperwork by the cutoff date, you will likely be out of options for pursuing compensation. Of course, you also need to understand that exceptions sometimes apply that alter the amount of time you have to file. Because of this, you could end up with a far smaller filing window or discover that you are able to file years after the usual deadline.
To ensure that you are aware of the correct deadline that applies to your case, you should consult an experienced birth injury lawyer. Your attorney will be able to pinpoint the exact date by which you must file and ensure that all the necessary paperwork is completed and filed well before the cutoff date.
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Elements of Negligence
When attempting to prove the negligence of a doctor or other medical professional, there are many elements you must establish. To recover money in a birth injury case, you must show that:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care
- The defendant breached their duty of care
- You suffered damages
- The breached duty of care caused your injuries
Duty of Care
Proving that the defendant owed you a duty of care in a birth injury case tends to be straightforward. If the defendant played any role in your child’s birth, they owed a duty of care to help ensure the safety of both mother and child.
Breached Duty of Care
The best way to demonstrate that the defendant breached their duty of care is with the help of an expert witness. An expert witness can evaluate the actions taken by the liable party and compare them to what the average person in their situation would likely have done with the same training and experience levels.
If the actions of the defendant are not up to the standards the average person would likely take, then they breached their duty of care.
Your Damages
You will also need to prove that you suffered damages. This can be accomplished through a medical exam of your child with a doctor not involved with the birth.
Causation
The last thing you need to do is show how all these elements tie together. An experienced birth injury lawyer can help prove how the defendant breaching their duty of care directly resulted in the birth injury sustained by your child.
"Our Birth Injury Lawyers have recovered over $750+ Million on behalf of our clients."
Get a Free Consultation From an Experienced Birth Injury Attorney Today
Having an experienced birth injury lawyer on your side when pursuing compensation for a birth injury involving high muscle tone is essential. You want to ensure you choose an attorney with a history of handling cases similar to yours and a record of success.
At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, we have helped countless birth injury victims recover the compensation they need and deserve. Reach out to us today to schedule a free case evaluation by giving us a call or completing our online contact form.
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