15 Facts Your Boss Wishes You'd Known About Cerebral Palsy Attorneys
How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim
A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis has an enormous impact on the life of the child and that of their family. Compensation can enable them to lead a full and active life by allowing access to care and equipment, as well as support.
Medical negligence is often the reason for cerebral palsy. This could be due to an absence of medical attention prior to pregnancy, problems during labor and birth or other occurrences.
Causes
There is no cure for CP however, early diagnosis and treatment can improve the capabilities of a child. Doctors diagnose CP by observing the tone of a child's muscles, movement and coordination. They may refer the child to specialists such as neurologists, orthopedists for children and physiatrists to assist in managing symptoms and increase the quality of life for children.
Every person is affected by cerebral palsy in different ways. It can be mild and have little impact on the child's capabilities but it can also be severe and cause impairments in all areas of the body. The signs include head that is floppy (floppy neck) muscles that are stiff or inflexible 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. When it happens on both sides, it's called diplegia. Severe CP could cause locked in (spastic) condition that is characterized by muscle spasticity. This can limit the ability of a person to move and can cause difficulty with speech and eating.
Birth complications are an often-repeated cause of CP. Nurses, midwives, and doctors must be careful when delivering babies as damage to the brain can have serious consequences. If a medical mistake results in oxygen deprivation, or other brain injuries that cause cerebral palsy, the physician could be held accountable for malpractice. This includes negligence in scheduling or performing an urgent C-section, or the failure to monitor and escalate a complex labor.
Signs and symptoms
If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, he or she will likely have various physical symptoms. These could include tight or stiff joints or muscles, a limp, involuntary movements, and issues with balance and posture. Other issues could include speech delays, intellectual disability and vision and hearing 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 milestones such as rolling over, sitting, walking, or crawling can be an indication of CP.
cerebral palsy attorney carmel suffering from CP may also have trouble swallowing and may require a feeding device.
Several factors may contribute to an injury to the brain that results in CP. These include infections like toxoplasmosis or rubella in the womb; high blood pressure during pregnancy and genetic predisposition. Asphyxia (a severe deficiency of oxygen) during labor or birth is the main cause of CP.
The symptoms may range from mild to severe depending on the type. Spastic cerebral palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most common type. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also called athetoid choreoathetoid or choreoathetoid) is characterized by uncontrolled and slow writhing of the arms, legs and body. Other types of CP could include ataxic cerebral palsy, which is characterized by shakey movements or paraplegic cerebral palsy in which legs and arms are affected.
Treatment
The specific symptoms of cerebral palsy can vary, a majority of people with the condition have to cope with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also have issues with balance and coordination. The type of movement problems they experience will depend on the region 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 exercise their muscles and joints. It can also help relieve pain and prevent contracture. Braces, exercises or other treatments could be considered.
Musculoskeletal issues like patella alta, hip dysplasia, scoliosis, and cervical stenosis are common in CP. These conditions can cause major issues in mobility, reducing life expectancy.
Speech and therapy for language may be used to aid children who are unable to communicate effectively. This may help children learn new ways to communicate and may include sign language, communication board or voice synthesizers.
These medications can be used to relax overactive or stiff muscles and reduce abnormal movement. They also reduce pain and seizures. These medications are ingested by mouth or injected into affected muscles or into the fluid surrounding the spinal cord.
Compensation
If your case of cerebral palsy is successful, you could be awarded compensation to provide your child with 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 the costs and losses you've had to pay. This could include loss of earnings because you had to quit work to care for your children, house modifications and transport costs.
Depending on the degree of the injury to your child the lawyer might recommend hiring an expert in disability issues to write a "life care plan' that carefully lists all the needs of your child from the date of their diagnosis until they reach adulthood. This can help you determine a more accurate amount of compensation. This is usually in the form of a lump-sum and annual installments, which can be index to keep up with the rate of inflation.
You should know that the amount of compensation you receive for a successful legal claim is not a cash-flow opportunity. It is a recognition of wrongdoing that occurred because medical professionals did not perform their duty of care in labour, pregnancy and the delivery.
