Birth Injury Cases
Cerebral palsy from a delivery-room error? How Kentucky families find out what happened, which records matter, the deadlines and what a CP claim covers.
Reviewed by Larry Forman, Attorney
When a child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, parents ask the same question: could this have been prevented? Sometimes the honest answer is no. But sometimes cerebral palsy follows a delivery in which warning signs were missed, a baby was left without enough oxygen for too long, or a needed C-section came too late. This page explains what cerebral palsy is, how to tell whether a medical error may have played a part, and how a Kentucky claim works.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect movement, muscle tone and posture. It’s caused by damage to, or abnormal development of, the parts of the brain that control movement. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the damage can happen before, during or shortly after birth.
Doctors describe CP by the type of movement problem:
CP can range from mild to severe. Some children also have seizures, intellectual disability, or problems with vision, hearing, speech or swallowing.
NINDS says most children with CP are diagnosed in the first two years of life, though mild cases may not be recognized until later. Signs can include:
These signs don’t always mean CP, but they’re worth raising with your pediatrician. A pediatric neurologist or developmental pediatrician usually confirms the diagnosis, often with an MRI.
Most people with CP have the condition from birth, and NINDS lists many possible causes: genetic changes, problems with how the brain formed, infections or fevers during pregnancy, stroke, or injury around the time of birth. In many cases, the cause is never found. Not every case of CP is malpractice.
A claim may exist when the brain injury was caused by care that fell below the accepted standard, for example:
Whether any of these happened is a medical question. It’s answered by qualified physicians reviewing the complete records, not by a hospital’s explanation in the days after delivery.
Request the complete records, including the monitoring strips, which are sometimes left out of a standard records request. See how to request medical records.
Birth injury claims are medical malpractice claims. The key rules, explained fully on our Louisville medical malpractice lawyer page:
Because CP lasts a lifetime, the claim has to account for a lifetime of needs:
These needs are usually projected in a life care plan, prepared with the child’s doctors and therapists, and valued by an economist. Settlement money for a child must be protected; for example, a parent can settle without a court-appointed conservator only when the child’s net share is $25,000 or less, and it must go into a restricted account or annuity (KRS 387.278). Larger settlements often use a structured settlement or trust. Health plans and Medicaid may also need to be repaid; see medical liens in a Kentucky settlement.
We gather the complete birth and newborn records, including the monitoring strips, and have them reviewed by qualified physicians in obstetrics, neonatology and pediatric neurology. If the review shows a preventable error, we build the lifetime damages case. If it doesn’t, we’ll tell you that honestly. We prepare every case for trial. Larry Forman has tried 50+ jury trials and won 95% of them. See our case results (past results don’t guarantee a similar outcome) and our main birth injury lawyer page.
Kentucky gives you a right to your own chart. On your written request, a licensed hospital or health care provider must give you one copy of your medical record free of charge; a second copy can cost up to $1 a page (KRS 422.317). Federal privacy law adds a deadline: a provider generally has 30 days to act on your request, with one 30-day extension if it explains the delay in writing (45 CFR 164.524).
For a cerebral palsy claim, ask for more than the visit notes. Request both the mother’s and the baby’s charts: prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, the fetal heart monitor strips, cord blood gas results, NICU records, newborn brain imaging, and later developmental evaluations. Monitor strips are sometimes stored separately, so name them in the request. Keep the copies together with a simple log of every appointment, test and missed workday. That record is often what proves how the injury has changed your life.
Medical negligence claims have a one-year discovery rule in Kentucky, with an outside limit (KRS 413.140(1)(e) and (2)); a child’s claim may be tolled during minority (KRS 413.170).
No. Many cases result from problems during pregnancy or causes that are never identified. A claim exists only when substandard care caused the brain injury.
Qualified physicians need to review the complete records, including the fetal heart monitoring strips, cord blood gases and newborn imaging.
Malpractice claims generally have one year from discovery. A child’s own claim usually gets extra time until 18, but the parents’ claims may not, so talk to a lawyer soon.
Not necessarily. Deadlines generally run from when the injury and its likely cause were or should have been discovered, and a child’s own claim usually has more time.
Lifetime medical care, therapy, equipment, education support, home changes, care needs and lost earning capacity, plus pain and suffering.
No. CP is caused by brain injury. Erb’s palsy is an injury to the nerves of the arm and shoulder; see our Erb’s palsy page.
Call (502) 931-6788 or request a free case evaluation. No fee unless we win. Our office is at 1139 S. 4th St., Louisville, KY 40203.
This page is general information as of October 2026, not legal or medical advice.
