Cerebral Palsy Lawyer in Flint

A cerebral palsy lawyer in Flint helps families pursue compensation when a child’s brain injury resulted from medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, our team of attorneys reviews birth records, identifies breaches of the standard of care, and handles every step of the legal process on a contingency-fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after a difficult birth in the Flint area, call 1-866-MICH-LAW today for a free case evaluation. You can also submit your case online.

Why Flint Families Trust Cochran, Kroll & Associates for Cerebral Palsy Cases

When your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you need a legal team that understands both the medicine and the law. That is exactly what Cochran, Kroll & Associates offers to families throughout the Flint area and across Michigan.

Eileen Kroll: A Registered Nurse and Attorney Handling Birth Injury Cases

Here is something you will not find at most law firms. Eileen Kroll worked as a registered nurse before becoming an attorney. That dual background is not just a credential on a wall. It changes how she evaluates your case.

When Eileen reviews your child’s medical records, she is reading them with clinical training. She knows what a fetal heart rate tracing should look like. She can identify the exact moment a nurse or physician should have intervened but did not.

Let me put it this way: most attorneys hire outside medical experts to interpret records. Eileen does that initial review herself, then brings in specialists to confirm her findings. That two-layer approach catches details other firms miss.

Decades of Michigan Birth Injury Litigation Experience

The firm’s track record speaks for itself. Cochran, Kroll & Associates has been handling medical malpractice cases in Michigan for decades. Some of the results relevant to birth injury families include:

• $15.8 million cerebral palsy verdict in a Monroe, Michigan case involving a child named Jason
• $3.8 million birth trauma settlement
• $2.2 million birth injury recovery

You can review more of the firm’s case results and verdicts to get a sense of the outcomes they have achieved for Michigan families.

A Local Flint Presence: We Know Your Community

Cochran, Kroll & Associates maintains a Metro Flint office at 432 North Saginaw Street, Suite 445, Flint, MI 48502. This is not a firm that flies in from out of state for depositions and then disappears.

The team is familiar with the hospitals where Flint-area births happen: Hurley Medical Center, McLaren Flint, and Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc. They have experience filing birth injury cases in Genesee County Circuit Court and understand the local legal landscape.

That kind of local knowledge matters. It means the firm knows which medical experts are respected in the region, which court procedures apply, and how to build a case that resonates with local juries.

What Should Flint Parents Know About Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological conditions that affect a child’s movement, coordination, and muscle tone. It results from brain damage that typically occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. CP is not a disease that gets worse over time, but the challenges it creates are lifelong.

Four Types of Cerebral Palsy Present in Children

There are four primary types of CP, and each affects children differently:

• Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form, affecting roughly 80% of children with CP. Muscles feel stiff, and movements can appear jerky or awkward. A child may have difficulty walking, reaching for objects, or controlling hand movements.
• Dyskinetic cerebral palsy causes involuntary, uncontrollable movements. A child’s arms, legs, or face may twist or move in ways that are unpredictable. Swallowing and speaking can be difficult.
• Ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance and coordination. Children with this type may have shaky movements, trouble with depth perception, and difficulty with tasks that require fine motor control (like buttoning a shirt or writing).
• Mixed cerebral palsy involves symptoms from more than one type, most commonly a combination of spastic and dyskinetic.

Parents often notice early signs such as delayed milestones (not sitting, crawling, or walking on schedule), unusual muscle tone (either too floppy or too stiff), and difficulty feeding.

Medical Errors During Birth That Can Cause Cerebral Palsy

Not every case of cerebral palsy involves medical negligence. But when a healthcare provider fails to follow accepted medical standards during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, the resulting oxygen deprivation or brain trauma can cause permanent damage.

Common medical malpractices that can lead to cerebral palsy include:

• Failing to monitor fetal heart rate patterns that signal distress
• Delaying a necessary cesarean section when the baby shows signs of oxygen deprivation
• Improperly using forceps or vacuum extraction devices during delivery
• Neglecting to identify or treat maternal infections, such as Group B strep
• Mismanaging umbilical cord complications like prolapse or nuchal cord (cord wrapped around the neck)
• Allowing labor to progress too long without intervention when complications arise
• Failing to diagnose or treat neonatal jaundice or hyperbilirubinemia, which can result in a condition called kernicterus

Each of these errors can deprive a baby’s brain of oxygen (a condition known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy), potentially causing the kind of brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy.

Warning Signs That Your Child’s Cerebral Palsy May Have Been Preventable

This is something most parents never get told by the hospital. Here is a checklist of red flags that suggest medical negligence may have played a role in your child’s condition:

• An emergency C-section was performed, but it was delayed despite signs of fetal distress
• Your baby had low Apgar scores at birth (typically below 7 at five minutes)
• Your baby was admitted to the NICU immediately after delivery
• Your baby experienced seizures within the first few days of life
• Labor was prolonged or difficult, lasting well beyond expected timeframes
• Forceps or vacuum extraction devices were used during delivery
• The umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck
• Hospital staff made comments about things going wrong during delivery

If any of these situations match your experience, it does not automatically mean malpractice occurred, but it does mean the circumstances deserve a closer look by an experienced attorney.

What Compensation Can You Recover in a Flint Cerebral Palsy Case?

A cerebral palsy settlement or verdict is designed to cover the full scope of your child’s needs, both now and for the rest of their life. The lifetime cost of caring for a child with CP can exceed $1 million, and a proper legal claim accounts for every foreseeable expense.

Lifetime Medical Expenses Covered by a Settlement

The medical needs of a child with cerebral palsy are ongoing and often expensive. A settlement can cover:

• Physical, occupational, and speech therapy (often needed several times per week for years)
• Prescription medications for spasticity, seizures, and related conditions
• Surgical interventions such as muscle lengthening or spinal procedures
• Medical equipment, including wheelchairs, braces, walkers, and communication devices
• Regular specialist visits with neurologists, orthopedists, and other providers

A strong settlement does not just reimburse past expenses. It projects future costs across the child’s expected lifespan, so the family is not left scrambling for resources years from now.

Home Modifications, Adaptive Equipment, and Education Costs

Beyond medical bills, families face real practical costs that pile up quickly:

• Home modifications: wheelchair ramps, accessible bathrooms, widened doorways, stair lifts
• Vehicle modifications to accommodate wheelchairs and adaptive car seats
• Adaptive technology: specialized computers, communication devices, and modified learning tools
• Special education services, tutoring, and individualized learning programs

These are expenses that insurance rarely covers in full. A cerebral palsy settlement should account for every modification your child needs to live as independently as possible.

Compensation for Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Quality of Life

Non-economic damages recognize the human cost of cerebral palsy. This includes your child’s physical pain, the loss of normal childhood experiences, and the emotional toll on the entire family.

Michigan does impose caps on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases under MCL 600.1483. However, cerebral palsy cases often qualify under the higher cap reserved for catastrophic injuries, which can significantly increase the recoverable amount. Your attorney will evaluate how Michigan’s damage structure applies to your specific case.

Compensation for Parents: Lost Wages, Caregiving, and Emotional Distress

This is a piece that many families do not realize they can claim. Parents of children with cerebral palsy often face:

• Lost income from reducing work hours or leaving employment entirely to provide care
• Emotional distress from the ongoing demands of raising a child with significant disabilities
• Loss of consortium (the impact on the marital or family relationship)
• Physical toll from years of lifting, transferring, and providing daily care

Your child’s claim and your own claim are separate. A thorough attorney will pursue both to make sure the full impact on your family is reflected in the recovery.

Michigan Statute of Limitations for Cerebral Palsy Cases: Do Not Wait

Michigan law sets firm deadlines for filing a cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuit. For birth injuries, the claim must generally be filed before the child’s 10th birthday. There are no extensions simply because the family did not know about the deadline.

For children who are older than 8 at the time the malpractice is discovered, the standard adult statute of limitations may apply: two years from the date of the malpractice, or six months from the date of discovery, whichever comes later.

Michigan malpractice law also requires specific pre-lawsuit steps. Before filing, your attorney must send a Notice of Intent to File a Lawsuit (under MCL 600.2912b) to every potentially responsible party. An Affidavit of Merit from a qualified medical expert must also accompany the filing.

These procedural requirements take time. If you are considering a claim, contact our team as early as possible. Call 1-866-MICH-LAW for a free case evaluation so we can begin preserving evidence and securing medical records while the deadlines are still in your favor.

How Much Does a Cerebral Palsy Lawyer in Flint Cost?

Nothing upfront. Cochran, Kroll & Associates works on a contingency fee basis, which means:

• You pay zero fees unless the firm wins a settlement or verdict on your behalf
• The firm covers all case-related expenses, including medical expert fees, court costs, and investigation costs
• If there is no recovery, you owe the firm nothing

The free consultation is exactly that: free. There is no obligation, no pressure, and no hidden costs. You can speak with an attorney, have your case evaluated, and decide whether to move forward without spending a dime.

As the firm puts it, our skill and judgment justify our fee, not a bill.

Contact Our Cerebral Palsy Lawyers in Flint

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy due to a birth injury, you may have legal options. Families dealing with a lifetime of care and medical needs deserve answers and the compensation to support their child’s future.

Contact us at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. for a free consultation. We’ll review your case, explain your options, and map out the strongest path forward. Remember, we don’t get paid unless you win.

Call us at 1-866-MICH-LAW anytime, 24/7, to schedule a free case evaluation.