How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim
A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis can have profound implications on the child's life as well as the lives of their family. Compensation can enable them to lead an active and full life by allowing access to care equipment and assistance.
Medical negligence is often the cause of cerebral palsy. It can be caused by inadequate prenatal care, complications during labor and birth or other occurrences.
Causes
Early diagnosis and treatment for CP can improve a child’s abilities. Doctors determine CP based on a child's movement, muscle coordination and tone. They can refer a child to specialists like neurologists, pediatric orthopedists, and physiatrists who can assist in managing symptoms and increase life-quality.
Cerebral palsy affects every person differently. It can be moderate and have only a slight impact on a child's ability or severe and cause impairments in all areas of the body. The signs can include a head that is floppy (floppy neck) muscles that are stiff and uncontrolled, difficulty walking or having difficulties with speech and other functions. If cerebral palsy only affects one side of a child's body, then it is known as hemiplegia. If it affects both sides, then it's called diplegia. Severe CP can lead to a locked-in (spastic) condition characterized by muscle spasticity, which restricts the person's movement and can lead to difficulties in speaking and eating.
Birth complications are a common cause of CP. Doctors, midwives and nurses must be aware when delivering babies because brain damage can result in serious consequences. A physician could be held responsible for malpractice if a medical mistake results in cerebral palsy or brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation. This includes negligence when scheduling or performing a C-section in a hurry or the failure to supervise and escalate the complexity of labor.
Signs and symptoms
If your child has cerebral palsy, he / will likely suffer from an array of physical symptoms. These may include tight or stiff joints, a limp, uncontrolled movement and issues with balance and posture. Other problems include speech delays, intellectual disabilities and vision and hearing problems.
The symptoms of cerebral palsy are caused by damage to the brain of an infant. It is most commonly seen during the infancy years of childhood. A delay in milestones, such as sitting, rolling over, walking, or crawling may be a sign of CP. cerebral palsy attorneys fort collins with CP are also more likely to experience difficulty swallowing and may require feeding tubes.
A variety of factors can cause the brain injury that causes CP. This includes infections like toxoplasmosis or rubella in the womb, high blood pressure during pregnancy and genetic predisposition. Asphyxia (a severe deficiency of oxygen) during delivery or labor is the leading cause of CP.
Based on the kind of cerebral palsy, symptoms can vary from mild to severe. The most commonly encountered type of cerebral palsy is spastic cerebral paralysis, which is characterized by muscles that are stiff. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also known as athetoid or choreoathetoid) involves slow and uncontrolled flailing movements of the legs, arms and body. Other forms of CP may include ataxic cerebral palsy, characterized by shakey movements or paraplegic cerebral palsy, in which the legs and arms are affected.
Treatment
Although the specific symptoms of cerebral palsy can vary, a majority of sufferers have to cope with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also experience issues with coordination and balance. The type of movement problem that they experience is based on which brain area was injured and the severity of the injury.
Many people with CP require specific physical therapy in order to improve their mobility, tone of muscles and stretch their muscles and joints. It can also help relieve pain and prevent contracture. Braces, exercises, or other treatments might be considered.
Musculoskeletal conditions like hip dysplasia, patella alta, cervical stenosis and scoliosis are prevalent in CP. These can cause major issues in mobility, which reduces the life expectancy of patients.
Other treatments can include speech and language therapies for children who are unable to communicate effectively. This can help them to discover new ways to communicate and may include sign language, communication boards or voice synthesizers.
These medications can be used to reduce the abnormal movement, reduce seizures, and ease pain. These drugs can be taken orally or injected directly into the affected muscles, or the fluid surrounding your spinal cord.
Compensation
If your cerebral palsy case is successful, you may be compensated to pay for your child's special care, equipment, and treatment. This will be determined by the psychological and physical impacts that your child's condition has caused on them, as well as any costs or losses that you've incurred. This could be a loss of earnings due to you having to take a break from work to take care of your children, home adaptations and transportation expenses.
Your lawyer might hire an expert in disability-related care, depending on the extent of the injury to your child. The specialist will create an "life care plan" that will outline their needs from the moment they are diagnosed until they reach the age of adulthood. This can help determine the most accurate compensation amount. This typically is in the form of lump sums as well as regular annual payments that are adjusted to reflect inflation.
You must be aware that the compensation resulting from a successful legal action isn't a huge sum. It's a recognition that injustice was committed, all because a medical professional failed in their duty of care during pregnancy, labour and the birth.