How to Make a Successful Cerebral Palsy Claim
A diagnosis of cerebral paralysis has an enormous impact on the child's life as well as the lives of their parents. Compensation can allow them to live a full life with access to medical equipment, care and assistance.
Many cases of cerebral palsy stem from medical negligence. This could be due to a lack of prenatal care, problems during labor and delivery or other occurrences.
Causes
There is no cure for CP however, early diagnosis and treatment can improve the abilities of a child. Doctors diagnose CP based on the child's movement, muscle coordination and tone. They might refer the child to specialists, such as pediatric neurologists, pediatric orthopedists, and physiatrists. These specialists can help manage symptoms and improve quality of life.
Every person suffers from cerebral palsy in a different way. It can be mild, with no impact on a child's ability function, or severe enough to result in impairments throughout the body. Symptoms can include a floppy (floppy neck) head as well as stiff or uncontrolled muscles, difficulty walking, or having difficulty speaking and 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 known as diplegia. Severe CP can cause a locked-in (spastic) condition with spasticity in muscles that restricts the movement of a person and can lead to difficulties with speech and eating.
The occurrence of medical errors during childbirth is the most common cause of CP. Nurses, doctors, and midwives must be careful when delivering a baby because damage to the brain could cause serious harm. A doctor may be held liable for malpractice if a medical error causes cerebral palsy or brain damage due to oxygen deficiency. This includes negligence when scheduling or performing a C section urgently or failing to supervise and escalate an intense labor.
Symptoms
If your child is suffering from cerebral palsy, they will most likely show a variety of physical symptoms. These may include tight joints or stiff joints and limbs, a limp, erratic movement and issues with balance and posture. Other issues include intellectual disabilities, speech delays as well as hearing and vision issues.
The symptoms of cerebral palsy result from damage to an immature brain. It is most commonly seen during the infancy years of childhood. A delay in reaching milestones, such as sitting up, crawling, or walking is a common sign of CP. Children with CP might also have trouble swallowing and may require a feeding device.
Several factors can contribute to the development of a brain injury that causes CP that can be caused by infections such as rubella, cytomegalovirus or toxoplasmosis in the womb as well as high blood pressure during pregnancy and genetic predisposition. Asphyxia (a severe lack of oxygen) during delivery or labor is a leading cause of CP.
Based on the kind of cerebral palsy, the symptoms may vary from mild to severe. Spastic cerebral palsy (characterized by stiff muscles) is the most frequent type. Dyskinetic cerebral Palsy (also known as athetoid choreoathetoid, or choreoathetoid) is characterised by a the uncontrolled writhing and swaying of the legs, arms and the body. Other forms of CP include ataxic cerebral palsy (which is characterized by a shakey movement) or paraplegic CP, where the arms and legs are affected.
Treatment
While the symptoms specific to cerebral palsy are different, the majority of people suffering from the condition are required to cope with stiffness and loss of muscle control. They may also have issues with balance and coordination. The type of issues they experience is dependent on the part of the brain that was injured as well as its extent of the injury.
Many people suffering from CP require special physical therapy that allows them to improve their muscle tone and mobility and stretch and exercise their joints and muscles. It also helps relieve pain and prevent contracture. Braces, exercises, or other treatments may be considered.
Musculoskeletal disorders such as hip dysplasia, patella alta, scoliosis, and cervical stenosis are common in CP. These can cause major issues in mobility, which decreases the lifespan of a patient.
Speech and therapy for language may be used to assist children who are unable to communicate effectively. This may help them learn new ways of communicating and may involve sign language, communication boards or voice synthesizers.
These medications can be used to decrease abnormal movements, reduce seizures, and ease pain. These medications are taken by mouth or injected into the affected muscles or into the fluid around the spinal cord.
Compensation
A successful claim for cerebral palsy can result in compensation for your child's for special care, equipment and treatment. This will be determined by the psychological and physical impacts that your child's condition has had 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 stop working to take care of your children, house modifications and transport costs.
Your lawyer might hire an expert in disability-related care according to the degree of the injury to your child. The specialist will create an "life care plan" that details their needs starting at the time of diagnosis until they turn adults. This can help calculate a more accurate compensation sum. It usually takes the form of a lump-sum as well as regular annual payments that can be adjusted to keep pace with the rate of inflation.
It is important to know that the compensation resulting from a successful legal action isn't a huge sum. cerebral palsy lawsuit corpus christi 's a way of acknowledging an unfairness that was caused by medical professionals did not meet their duty of care in labour, pregnancy and birth.