The 10 Scariest Things About Cerebral Palsy Attorneys
How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim
A diagnosis of cerebral palsy has profound consequences for the child and their family. Compensation can help them live an active and healthy life by allowing access to care, equipment and support.
Medical negligence is usually the cause of cerebral palsy. This could be due to an absence of care during pregnancy, problems during birth or other events.
Causes
There is no cure for CP but early detection and treatment can help improve the abilities of a child. Doctors can diagnose CP by observing the tone of a child's muscles, movement and coordination. They can refer children to specialists like neurologists, orthopedists for children and physiatrists who can help manage symptoms and improve the quality of life for children.
Every person suffers from cerebral palsy in a unique way. It can be mild with minimal impact on a child's ability to function, or it can be extremely severe and cause physical impairments throughout the body. The signs can include a floppy head (floppy neck) and a muscles that are stiff and uncontrolled as well as difficulty walking or having issues with speech or other functions. If a child has cerebral palsy on one side of the body, it's called hemiplegia; on both sides, it's known as diplegia. The severity of CP could result in locked in (spastic) condition, which is characterized by muscle spasticity. This could limit the movement of a person and result in difficulty speaking and eating.
Birth-related medical errors are a leading cause of CP. Nurses, doctors, cerebral palsy attorney and midwives must be cautious when giving birth to the baby as damage to the brain can cause serious problems. A physician could be held responsible for mistakes made in the medical field if an error results in cerebral palsy, or brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. This includes negligence when scheduling or performing a C-section in a hurry or failing to supervise and escalate an arduous labor.
Symptoms
If your child suffers from cerebral palsy, they will most likely exhibit a variety of physical signs. These symptoms may include tight or stiff muscles and a limp, involuntary movements, and problems with balance and posture. Other issues could include intellectual disabilities, speech delays as well as hearing and vision issues.
The symptoms of cerebral palsy result from damage to the brain's immature state. It usually occurs 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 difficulty swallowing and may require feeding tubes.
Many factors can contribute to the development of a brain injury that causes CP that can be caused by infections such as rubella, toxoplasmosis or cytomegalovirus in the womb and high blood pressure in pregnancy, and genetic predisposition. A severe lack of oxygen to the brain (asphyxia) during labor or delivery is the main cause of CP and bleeding in the brain that results from damaged or blocked blood vessels.
Symptoms can be mild or severe based on the type of. Spastic cerebral palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most common form. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also known as choreoathetoid or athetoid) is characterized by slow, uncontrolled writhing movements of the legs, arms and body. Other types of CP include ataxic Cerebral palsy attorney Palsy (which has a shaky, jerky movement) or paraplegic CP which affects the legs and arms are affected.
Treatment
The specific symptoms of cerebral palsy vary, most people with the condition have to deal with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also have issues with balance and coordination. The kind of problems they experience is dependent on the area of the brain that was injured as well as its degree of the injury.
Many people with CP require special physical therapy that allows them improve their muscle tone and mobility and stretch and strengthen their muscles and joints. It can also ease the pain and help prevent contractures. It may include exercises, special braces or other treatments.
CP is characterised by musculoskeletal conditions, such as hip dysplasia and patella alta. Scoliosis and cervical stenosis may also be present. These can cause major issues in mobility, reducing life expectancy.
Other treatments can include speech and language therapies for children who cannot communicate effectively. It can help children develop new ways to communicate and may include sign language, communication board, or voice synthesizers.
They can relax stiff or overactive muscles to reduce abnormal movement, relieve pain, and control seizures. These drugs can be taken by mouth or directly into the muscles affected, or the fluid surrounding your spinal cord.
Compensation
If your cerebral palsy case is successful, you can receive compensation to you pay for specialist care, equipment, and treatment. This will be determined by the psychological and physical effects that your child's condition has caused on them, as well as any losses and expenses you have incurred. This could include loss of earnings due to having to work less to care for your children, home adaptations and transport costs.
Your lawyer may hire an specialist in disability care according to the extent of the injury to your child. This specialist will draft an "life care plan" that will outline their needs starting at the time of diagnosis until they become adults. This can help you determine an accurate amount of compensation. It is typically in the form of a lump sum and annual installments, which could be indexed to keep pace with the rate of inflation.
You should be aware that compensation from a successful legal action isn't a huge sum. It's a recognition of the injustice that occurred due to the fact that medical professionals failed to meet their duty of care in labour, pregnancy and the delivery.