- Floppiness in the body
- Head falling back when picked up
- Legs that cross or scissor
- Muscle stiffness
- Stretching out the back and neck when picked up
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Cerebral palsy is a group of brain disorders that can cause lifelong health issues, leaving parents struggling to cover the cost of their child’s care. If your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by medical negligence, you could be entitled to compensation that can help ease your financial burden.
Why Take Legal Action?
By filing a cerebral palsy lawsuit, you can seek financial compensation to provide your child with the care they need to live their best life.
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Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders that affect movement, posture, and balance. CP is the most common cause of childhood motor disabilities. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about one in 323 children in the United States is affected.
Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the brain while it is developing. Cerebral palsy symptoms vary significantly depending on the person. While it doesn’t worsen over time, symptoms may change throughout a person’s lifetime.
Cerebral palsy symptoms vary in severity and may include:
Almost 40% of cerebral palsy patients need help walking. Many patients also experience seizures; vision, hearing, or speech problems; and intellectual disabilities.
Since the condition is classified by the specific movement issues and affected body parts, symptoms vary by types of cerebral palsy.
Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common type, affecting about 80% of CP patients. Muscle spasticity — abnormal tightness caused by contracture — is likely to occur. Because of this, people with spastic CP have increased muscle tone that causes stiff muscles and awkward movements.
There are several types of spastic cerebral palsy based on which body parts are affected:
Dyskinetic cerebral palsy also includes athetoid, choreoathetoid, and dystonic types. This type of CP affects control of the arms, hands, legs, and feet, making sitting and walking difficult.
Dyskinetic CP patients usually have uncontrollable movements. They may also have problems talking, swallowing, and sucking. Muscle tone may become too loose or too tight, going back and forth as frequently as several times per day.
Ataxic cerebral palsy patients have balance and coordination issues, causing instability when they walk. Quick movements and movements that require careful control of hands — such as writing — may also be challenging.
Some cerebral palsy patients have more than one type, which is known as mixed CP. When this occurs, it is most common for people to have spastic-dyskinetic CP.
Babies can develop cerebral palsy in several ways. Although it was once believed that cerebral palsy is caused by a lack of oxygen during delivery, this is now thought to be true in only a small number of cases.
Brain damage that causes CP can happen before, during, or after a baby is born. This includes during the first years of life while the brain develops.
When brain damage happens before birth, it’s called congenital cerebral palsy. This occurs in 85-90% of cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Often, the specific causes of cerebral palsy are not known but could be due to:
Tragically, many cerebral palsy cases are caused by mistakes made by negligent healthcare professionals. This usually means that cerebral palsy could have been prevented, making it medical malpractice.
In these instances, financial compensation may be available for parents. A cerebral palsy lawsuit can recover the money they need to provide the highest quality of care for their child.
According to the NIH, cerebral palsy is genetic in 14% of patients. In these cases, it is believed that genes are what control how the brain develops.
However, in most cases, cerebral palsy is not genetic but caused by a birth or brain injury. When a birth injury is to blame, families may qualify for financial compensation by pursuing legal action.
Money from a CP lawsuit can help families provide lifelong care, including the costs of:
A cerebral palsy lawsuit can also obtain justice for your child’s injury. You can hold careless medical professionals responsible for causing lifelong harm to innocent families by suing. This may help prevent other families from going through the same tragedy.
The signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy vary greatly since there are many different types of CP, which range in severity from person to person. Additionally, CP symptoms are different depending on the age of the child.
In babies older than 6 months, signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy include not rolling over, difficulty bringing hands together, and using only one hand with the other fisted.
As infants get older, CP symptoms may develop, such as lopsided crawling, scooting on the buttocks or knees, and dragging one side of the body when moving around. Since cerebral palsy affects movement, jerky or involuntary movements are common.
If you notice any signs or symptoms of cerebral palsy, it is essential to tell your child’s doctor.
Diagnosing cerebral palsy generally happens when a child is 18 months or older. This is because the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy aren’t always immediately apparent.
There are a few ways doctors diagnose cerebral palsy, a process that usually requires several steps.
Developmental monitoring involves tracking a child’s physical and mental development over time. In addition to asking parents if they have any concerns about their child’s development, doctors will also observe how the child moves during exams. This type of monitoring uses developmental milestones to uncover disabilities.
According to the NIH, the following are standard measures in diagnosing CP:
Doctors can administer screening tests to detect developmental delays during regular office visits.
Since many children with cerebral palsy also have intellectual disabilities; seizures; or vision, hearing, or speech problems; monitoring for these disorders is also common.
If your child’s doctor finds any signs or symptoms of cerebral palsy, they may decide to use imaging tests as a next step to look for damage to the brain.
Diagnostic scanning for cerebral palsy may include:
If signs of cerebral palsy are detected, the doctor may then refer your child to a specialist such as a pediatric neurologist, developmental pediatrician, or ophthalmologist experienced in children’s health.
Specialists can help with a more accurate diagnosis, leading to a treatment plan tailored to your child’s specific case.
Unfortunately no, cerebral palsy cannot be cured. However, you can do things to help your child manage their condition. In fact, treatment can often improve your child’s prognosis. This is especially true when there is early intervention.
Some ways to manage cerebral palsy are:
Additionally, helpful medications may control seizures, ease pain, and relax muscle spasms. For some cerebral palsy patients, surgery may be an option to correct abnormalities or release tightened muscles.
Parents of children with cerebral palsy may be able to file a legal claim against doctors and other medical professionals.
Since lifetime care for children born with CP can cost more than $1 million, in many cases the only realistic way for families to cover these expenses is by filing a lawsuit.
In past CP lawsuits, families have been awarded:
It is important to note that most doctors and hospitals would rather settle a cerebral palsy lawsuit out of court because it keeps them out of the news. CP settlements also avoid lengthy and expensive court cases.
In cerebral palsy settlements, families can usually get the critical funds they need in a shorter amount of time.
If you would like to speak with a cerebral palsy lawyer, we can help. We can connect you with cerebral palsy attorneys who have:
The cerebral palsy lawyers in our network don’t charge upfront or out-of-pocket fees – they only get paid if they successfully resolve your case.
Caring for a child with cerebral palsy can be financially devastating, but you don’t have to face it alone. If you believe your child’s CP was caused by medical negligence, get a free case review to find out if you are eligible for compensation.
Written by: LawFirm.com
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