How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim

A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis can have an enormous impact on the child's life as well as that of their family. Compensation can help them lead an active and healthy life by providing access, equipment and support.

Many cases of cerebral palsy are the result of medical negligence. This can be due to inadequate care during pregnancy, or problems during the birth process or other incidents.

Causes

Early diagnosis and treatment of CP can improve a child’s abilities. Doctors can diagnose CP by observing the muscle tone of a child, movement and coordination. They may refer the child to specialists, like pediatric neurologists, pediatric orthopedists and physiatrists. These specialists can assist in managing symptoms and improve quality of life.

Every person is affected by cerebral palsy differently. It can be mild with no impact on a child's function, or severe enough to cause impairments throughout the body. The symptoms could include a floppy head (floppy neck) as well as a muscles that are stiff and uncontrolled as well as difficulty walking or having issues with speech or other functions. If a child's condition is cerebral palsy on one side of the body, it's known as hemiplegia. On both sides, it's called diplegia. The severity of CP can lead to a locked-in (spastic) condition that is characterized by muscle spasticity that restricts an individual's movements and leads to difficulties with speech and eating.

The occurrence of medical errors during childbirth is one of the main causes of CP. Nurses, midwives, and doctors should be cautious when delivering babies as damage to the brain may cause serious problems. If a medical error causes oxygen deprivation or other brain damage that causes cerebral palsy, the physician could be held accountable for malpractice. This includes negligence when scheduling or performing a C-section urgently or failing to monitor and increase an intense labor.

Symptoms

If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, he / will likely suffer from an array of physical symptoms. These symptoms may include stiff or tight muscles, a limp, uncontrolled movements, and issues with balance and posture. Other issues could include speech delays, intellectual disability and hearing and vision problems.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy are caused by damage to the brain's immature state. This is usually the case in the infant or 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 trouble swallowing and might need a feeding tube.

A variety of factors can cause a brain injury that leads to 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 the birth or during labor is a major cause for CP as is the occurrence of bleeding in the brain caused by damaged or blocked blood vessels.

Depending on the form of cerebral palsy attorney palsy, the symptoms can vary from mild to severe. Spastic cerebral palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most prevalent type. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also known as athetoid or choreoathetoid) involves slow and uncontrolled flailing movements of the arms, legs and body. Other types of CP can include ataxic palsy, which has shakey movements, or paraplegic cerebral palsy that affects legs and arms are affected.

Treatment

While the specific symptoms of cerebral palsy can vary, a majority of sufferers of the condition have to deal with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also have problems with coordination and balance. The type of issues they experience is dependent on the region of the brain that was injured as well as its severity.

Many people suffering from CP require specialized physical therapy to improve their mobility, tone of muscles, and stretch their muscles and joints. It can also help relieve discomfort and prevent contracture. It could include exercises, braces with special features, or other treatments.

Musculoskeletal disorders such as patella alta, hip dysplasia, cervical stenosis and scoliosis are prevalent in CP. These conditions can cause major mobility problems that reduce the lifespan.

Speech and therapy for language are a way to help children who are not able to communicate effectively. It can help children develop new ways to communicate and could include sign language, communication board or voice synthesizers.

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

Compensation

A successful cerebral palsy claim can result in compensation for your child to pay for specialized care, equipment and treatment. The amount of compensation will depend on the mental and physical consequences of your child's condition and any losses or expenses that you might have incurred. This could include the loss of income due to you having to take a break from work to take care of your children, home modifications and transportation expenses.

The lawyer you hire may employ an expert in disability-related care dependent on the severity of the injuries to your child. This specialist will draft a "life care plan" that will outline their needs from the moment they are diagnosed until they reach the age of adulthood. This will allow you to calculate an exact amount of compensation. This usually is in the form of lump sums as well as regular annual payments that can be indexed to keep up with inflation.

It is important to know that the compensation for a legal case that is successful is not a monetary windfall. It's a recognition of unfairness that was caused by medical professionals did not perform their duty of care in pregnancy, labour, and birth.