The 10 Most Scariest Things About Cerebral Palsy Attorneys

How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim

A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis has profound effects on the child and their family. Compensation can help them live a full life with access to the equipment, care and assistance.

Medical negligence is often the cause of cerebral palsy. This can be caused by inadequate prenatal care, issues during labor and birth or other occurrences.

Causes

Early diagnosis and treatment for CP can enhance a child's abilities. Doctors can diagnose CP by looking at the muscle tone of a child and coordination. They may refer children to specialists such as neurologists, pediatric orthopedists and physiatrists, who can assist in managing symptoms and improving the quality of life.

Cerebral palsy affects every person differently. It can be mild and have a minimal impact on a child's abilities but it can also be severe and cause impairments to all areas of the body. Some of the symptoms include a floppy (floppy neck) head and muscles that are stiff or uncontrolled and walking difficulties, or having difficulty speaking and other functions. If a child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy attorneys palsy on one side of the body, this is known as hemiplegia. If it occurs on both sides, it's called diplegia. Severe CP may lead to locked in (spastic) condition, which is characterized by muscle spasticity. This may limit the movement of a person and create difficulties with speech and eating.

Birth complications are the most common cause of CP. Nurses, doctors, and midwives should be cautious when delivering the baby as damage to the brain may have serious consequences. A physician could be held responsible for negligence if a medical error results in cerebral palsy or brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. This includes negligence in scheduling or performing an urgent C-section, or failing to control and escalate a complicated labor.

Symptoms

If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, they'll most likely show a variety of physical symptoms. This could include tight or stiff joints or muscles, a limp, involuntary movement and problems with balance and posture. Other issues include speech delays, intellectual disabilities and vision and hearing issues.

Cerebral palsy symptoms are caused by damage to the immature brain, most often during infancy or early childhood. A delay in milestones like sitting, rolling over, crawling, or walking can be a sign of CP. Children with CP are also more likely to have difficulty swallowing and may require a feeding tube.

There are a variety of factors that can contribute to the brain injury that causes CP. This includes infections like toxoplasmosis and rubella in the womb, high blood pressure during pregnancy; and genetic predisposition. A massive lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia) during pregnancy or birth is a major reason for CP, as is bleeding in the brain that results from blood vessels that are damaged or blocked.

Symptoms can be mild or severe depending on the type. The most frequent form of cerebral palsy is spastic cerebral palsy. It is characterized by stiff muscles. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also called athetoid, choreoathetoid, choreoathetoid), is characterized by slow and uncontrolled writhing movements of the legs, arms and the body. Other types of CP include ataxic cerebral palsy (which has a shaky movement) or paraplegic CP in which the legs and arms are affected.

Treatment

The specific symptoms of cerebral palsy differ, the majority of sufferers of the condition have to deal with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also experience issues with balance and coordination. The kind of problems they suffer from depend on the area of the brain that was injured as well as its extent of the injury.

Many people suffering from CP require specific physical therapy in order to improve their mobility, flexibility, and muscle tone, and stretch their joints and muscles. It can also help relieve tension and prevent contracture. Exercises, braces or other treatments might be incorporated.

CP is characterized by musculoskeletal disorders, such as patella alta and hip dysplasia. Scoliosis and cervical stenosis also occur. These can cause significant issues in mobility, which reduces the life expectancy of patients.

Other treatments include speech and language therapies for children who are unable to communicate effectively. This can help them to discover new ways to communicate and may involve sign language, communication boards or voice synthesizers.

Medications can be used to relax overactive or stiff muscles and reduce abnormal movement. They also reduce pain, and manage seizures. These medications are ingested by mouth or injected into the affected muscles or into the fluid around the spinal cord.

Compensation

A successful cerebral palsy claim could result in compensation for your child to pay for specialized care, equipment and treatment. This will be determined by the physical and psychological impact that your child's condition has caused on them, in addition to the costs and losses that you've incurred. This could include the loss of income due to having to leave work in order to take care of your child, house modifications and transportation costs to transport your child to and from appointments.

Your lawyer could hire an specialist in disability care, depending on the degree of the injury to your child. The specialist will create a "life care plan" that outlines their needs from the moment of diagnosis until they turn adults. This will help you calculate the most accurate compensation amount. It typically will be lump sums as well as regular annual payments that are adjusted to keep up with inflation.

It is important to know that the amount of compensation you receive for a legal case that is successful is not a windfall. It's a recognition that injustice has occurred, all because medical professionals didn't fulfill their obligation to care during pregnancy, labour and the birth.