The 10 Scariest Things About Cerebral Palsy Attorneys

How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim

A diagnosis of cerebral palsy can have profound consequences for the child and their family. Compensation can help them live an active and full life by providing access to treatment and equipment, as well as support.

Many cases of cerebral palsy arise from medical negligence. This can be due to a lack of care during pregnancy, problems during birth, or other occurrences.

Causes

Early diagnosis and treatment of CP can help improve a child's capabilities. Doctors diagnose CP by looking at the child's muscle tone, cerebral palsy movement and coordination. They can refer a child to specialists like neurologists, pediatric orthopedists and physiatrists who can aid in managing symptoms and improve the quality of life.

Everyone suffers from cerebral palsy in a different way. It can be mild and have a minimal impact on the child's capabilities or severe and cause impairments to all body areas. Symptoms can include the appearance of a floppy (floppy neck) head as well as stiff or uncontrolled muscles as well as difficulty walking or having difficulty with speech and other functions. If a child's condition is cerebral palsy on one side of the body, this is known as hemiplegia. If it occurs on both sides, it's diplegia. The severity of CP can result in a locked-in (spastic) condition characterized by spasticity in muscles that restricts the movement of a person and can lead to issues with speech and eating.

Childbirth-related medical errors are the most common cause of CP. Midwives, doctors and nurses must be careful when delivering babies because brain damage may have serious consequences. If a medical mistake results in oxygen deprivation or other brain damage that leads to cerebral palsy, the doctor could be held responsible for negligence. This is the case when scheduling or performing a C-section urgently or failing to monitor and escalate an intense labor.

Signs and symptoms

If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, he or is likely to have several physical symptoms. These may include tight or stiff joints as well as a limp, uncontrolled movements, and issues with balance and posture. Other issues could include intellectual disability, speech delays and hearing and vision issues.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy result from damage to the brain's immature state. This is usually the case during infancy or the early years of childhood. A delay in reaching milestones such as standing up, crawling or walking is a common sign of CP. Children with CP are also more likely to have difficulties swallowing and may require a feeding tube.

A variety of factors can trigger the development of a brain injury that leads to CP that can be caused by infections such as toxoplasmosis, rubella or cytomegalovirus in the womb, high blood pressure during pregnancy, and genetic predisposition. A significant lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia) during pregnancy or birth is a major cause of CP and bleeding in the brain due to blood vessels that are blocked or damaged.

Based on the type of cerebral palsy, the symptoms may range from mild to severe. Spastic cerebral palsy attorney palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most frequent form. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also known as choreoathetoid or athetoid) involves uncontrolled and slow motions of the legs, arms and the body. Other types of CP may include ataxic cerebral palsy that has a shaky motion, or paraplegic cerebral palsy where the arms and legs are affected.

Treatment

While the symptoms specific to cerebral palsy differ, the majority of people suffering from the condition are required to cope with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also be struggling with balance and coordination. The type of issues they experience will depend on the region of the brain that was injured as well as the extent of the injury.

Many people suffering from CP require specialized physical therapy that helps them improve their muscle tone and mobility as well as stretch and cerebral palsy exercise their muscles and joints. It can also ease pain and prevent contractures. Exercises, braces or other treatments could be incorporated.

Musculoskeletal conditions like hip dysplasia, patella alta, scoliosis, and cervical stenosis are common in CP. These conditions can cause significant mobility issues and reduce life expectancy.

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

These medications can be used to reduce the abnormal movement, reduce the pain, and manage seizures. The medications are administered by mouth or injected into affected muscles or into the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord.

Compensation

A successful cerebral palsy claim could result in compensation for your child to pay for medical equipment, specialist care and treatment. The compensation will be based on the mental and physical effects of your child's illness as well as any expenses or losses you might have incurred. These could include loss of earnings as you had to leave work in order to take care of your child, home modifications and transport costs to get your child to and from appointments.

Depending on the degree of the injury to your child Your lawyer could hire a specialist in disability care to create a "life care plan' that clearly lists all the needs of your child from the time of their diagnosis until adulthood. This can help you calculate an accurate amount of compensation. This usually takes the form of a lump sum and regular annual payments, that can be adjusted to keep pace with inflation.

It is important to know that compensation for a legal case that is successful is not a windfall. It's an acknowledgement that injustice has occurred due to medical professionals did not fulfill their obligation to care during pregnancy, labour and the birth.