Cerebral palsy (CP) is a form of brain damage that can result from a doctor’s negligence during labor and delivery. Cerebral palsy is actually a broad term for a group of motor and neurologic conditions that cause a wide range of health problems for children. Most cases that spark medical negligence lawsuits occur as a result of physical head trauma or lack of oxygen to the brain.
Recognizing Cerebral Palsy
In the majority of CP diagnoses, symptoms present within the very first month of the child’s life. Children with cerebral palsy have problems controlling their movements. Maintaining balance, coordination, and posture is difficult. Some cerebral palsy patients may experience bone weakness and deformity with crippling consequences. Depending on the amount of brain damage, a child may have trouble hearing, seeing, speaking, eating, digesting, and breathing. In about half of all cases, CP children also experience delayed or dysfunctional cognitive development.
An experienced birth injury attorney will discuss all of the important details with you during your free consultation, including cerebral palsy diagnosis, symptoms, and causes. Whether your child has been diagnosed with CP or you are concerned your baby might be affected, your attorney can inform you of your legal rights and connect you with objective medical experts who can give you straight answers about your child’s condition.
Caring for a Child with CP
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, he or she faces a challenging road ahead. CP is a chronic diagnosis, and most children will require the use of adaptive living equipment, such as walkers, braces, or wheelchairs. Physical therapy, special education, and regular medical appointments become part of everyday living.
The measures taken to maximize a cerebral palsy child’s quality of life put an immense amount of financial stress on parents of affected children. Lifetime care can exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars, forcing many families into deep debt. When you hire an experienced birth injury attorney, he will put all of his resources to work to investigate your claim of medical negligence, assess how much your claim is worth, and seek the maximum recovery possible. Remember that your legal battle is about more than the lifetime cost of caring for a birth injury child.
Answers to your cerebral palsy questions can be found when you contact the Goldwater Law Firm, PC.
