How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim

A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis has profound effects on the child's life and the lives of their families. Compensation can help them have a fulfilling life by giving them access to equipment, care and assistance.

Medical negligence is usually the reason for cerebral palsy. This could be due to inadequate prenatal care, problems during labour and delivery or other incidents.

Causes

Early diagnosis and treatment of CP can improve a child’s capabilities. Doctors diagnose CP through the child's movements, muscle tone and coordination. They might refer the child to specialists such as pediatric neurologists, pediatric orthopedists or physiatrists. These specialists can assist in managing symptoms and improve quality of life.

Cerebral palsy affects every person differently. It can be mild having a minimal impact on a child's ability to function, or severe and cause physical impairments throughout the body. The symptoms can include a head that is floppy (floppy neck) as well as a muscles that are stiff or uncontrolled that is difficult to walk or has issues with speech or other functions. If cerebral palsy lawsuit palsy is only affecting the child's body, then it is referred to as hemiplegia. If it affects both sides, then it's called diplegia. Severe CP can cause a locked in (spastic), condition with muscle spasticity. This can restrict the ability of a person to move and can cause difficulty with speech and eating.

Birth complications are a common reason for CP. Doctors, midwives and nurses must be cautious when giving birth to babies because damage to the brain could have serious consequences. A doctor may be held liable for mistakes made in the medical field if an error causes cerebral palsy or brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. This includes negligence when scheduling or performing a C-section urgently or the failure to control and escalate a complicated labor.

Signs and symptoms

If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, they'll likely exhibit a range of physical signs. These symptoms may include tight or stiff muscles as well as a limp, uncontrolled movement, and issues with posture and balance. Other problems include intellectual disabilities, speech delays and hearing and vision problems.

Cerebral Palsy symptoms are caused by damage to the developing brain, usually in infancy or early childhood. A slowing down in reaching milestones such as sitting up, crawling or walking is a common symptom of CP. Children with CP are also more likely to experience difficulty swallowing and may require feeding tubes.

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

The symptoms can range from mild to extreme based on the type. Spastic Cerebral palsy attorney palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most common type. Dyskinetic cerebral Palsy (also known as athetoid, choreoathetoid or choreoathetoid), is characterized by the uncontrolled writhing and swaying of the legs, arms, and body. Other forms of CP might include ataxic palsy, characterized by an unstable motion or paraplegic cerebral aphasia that affects the arms and legs are affected.

Treatment

While the specific symptoms of cerebral palsy vary, most sufferers of the condition have to cope with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also experience issues with coordination and balance. The type of problems they experience is dependent on the area of the brain that was injured and the severity.

Many people with CP require specialized physical therapy that helps them to improve their mobility and muscle tone and stretch and strengthen their joints and muscles. It can also relieve the pain and help prevent contractures. Braces, exercises or other treatments might be included.

Musculoskeletal issues like hip dysplasia, patella alta, scoliosis, and cervical stenosis are prevalent in CP. These can cause major issues in mobility, which can reduce the lifespan of a patient.

Other treatments may include speech and language therapy for children who cannot communicate effectively. This can help them to discover new ways to communicate and may involve sign language, communication boards or voice synthesizers.

These medicines can be used to stop abnormal movements, ease pain, and control seizures. These medications are ingested by mouth or injected into the affected muscles or into the surrounding fluid around the spinal cord.

Compensation

If your cerebral palsy case is successful, you can be compensated to you pay for medical equipment, specialist care and treatment. This will be based on the psychological and physical impacts that your child's condition has had on them, as well as any losses and expenses you've had to pay. This could include losing earnings due to having to stop work to take care of your child, home adaptions and transportation costs to transport your child to and from appointments.

Based on the extent of your child's injury, your lawyer may hire an expert in disability care to develop a "lifecare plan' that clearly details their needs beginning with the date of their diagnosis until they reach adulthood. This will help you determine an accurate amount of compensation. This is usually in the form of a lump-sum and recurring annual payments which may be indexed to keep up with inflation.

It is important to know that compensation from a successful legal action isn't a huge sum. It's a recognition of the fact that injustice was committed, all because medical professionals did not fulfill their obligation to taking care during labour, pregnancy and the birth.