Omaha Cerebral Palsy Lawyer

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term given to the physical and neurological issues associated with damage to the brain’s motor control and movement centers. These brain centers are located in the layers of the brain nearest to the skull. As a baby makes its way from the womb, through the birth canal, and into the world, it sustains a great deal of pressure every step of the way. If for whatever reason a baby becomes stuck inside the mother, it may need to be forcefully removed by the delivery team.

This can easily result in brain damage, especially to the outer layers of the brain, which are known as gray matter. These parts of the brain control everything from movement and voluntary actions to memories, speech, and communication skills. Babies’ skulls are made of relatively soft bones that can move against each other. This facilitates the passing of the baby into the world, but it also means brain injuries are easier to sustain. If your child was hurt in any way during delivery, call one of our Nebraska cerebral palsy lawyers at (800) 222-9529.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

There are three main types of cerebral palsy.

• Ataxic: This leads to poor muscle tone, issues with walking, and spastic movements.
• Athetoid: This causes involuntary movements, making it difficult to coordinate even basic actions such as eating or writing. Speech may also be affected.
• Spastic: This is the most commonly occurring form of cerebral palsy and it leads to muscle problems, joint issues, and difficulty moving. The severity of the condition depends on where and how badly the body’s movement centers are damaged during birth.

Cerebral palsy is a permanent illness. Brain injuries do not heal on their own with the passage of time, but they also do not worsen either, unless the patient sustains a new injury. Because of this, cerebral palsy is often termed a non-progressive illness. This fact means that a patient may be able to slowly adjust to living with his or her disabilities and may be able to make significant improvements in their quality of life and independence. However, secondary issues that arise because of cerebral palsy can introduce new life challenges to the affected patient.

For example, cerebral palsy can lead to difficulty swallowing, excessive drooling, and an inability to walk. These symptoms combined can lead to social isolation, further deterioration of the patient’s physical strength, and a vicious cycle of hospital admittances, growing care costs, and new symptoms that the patient must learn to live with all over again.

Babies may exhibit delayed motor or intellectual development, and younger children can have difficulty walking or controlling their limbs. Adults and older patients can suffer from breathing problems, muscle atrophy, and bone contractures. Low bone density can lead to frequent fractures. Tight or spastic muscles may require the injection or oral ingestion of muscle relaxants. All of these symptoms–as well as their treatments–can seriously damage the affected individual’s confidence, willingness to get better, and overall mental wellbeing.

Available Treatments

The symptoms and severity of your child’s brain damage will determine what kinds of rehabilitative interventions your child’s doctor recommends. For cases involving mild brain damage that only leads to issues with muscle control or balance, physical or occupational therapy may work to build strength, balance, and independence. Serious cases involving extensive limitations in the patient’s ability to use the arms or legs may require surgery in which nerve grafts and muscle transplants are performed to help specific target areas recover.

These treatments, especially invasive procedures such as surgery, can be expensive. Even non-invasive treatments such as therapy and specialist consultations to help with, for example, speech impediments or vision problems can take a serious toll on the physical and financial wellbeing of a family. Furthermore, because cerebral palsy is permanent and since the affected individual will likely require treatments every few months, the ripple effect of hospital visits and procedures coupled with an unusual and trying lifestyle can overwhelm your family.

This is why you must seek legal assistance for your child’s birth injuries. Firstly, you should not have to pay for treatments if you are suffering costs and damages as a result of a doctor or medical caregiver’s negligence. Secondly, some birth injuries may go undiagnosed for weeks or months, so if you do not properly check and diagnose your child with a specialist, he or she may have health issues that go untreated, leading to lasting damage and lower health outcomes than would have been possible with timely treatments and interventions.

Omaha Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Near Me 1-800-222-9529

Professional Legal Services

Birth injuries can be very hard on a family, not just in terms of the financial implications of treatment and care but in terms of the emotional, physical, and mental drain that they can cause.

Especially for illnesses such as cerebral palsy that are permanent and have a very wide range of health implications, many families struggle to stay on top of everything they need to do on the care front as well as with regards to their careers, family relationships, and other responsibilities they have. Filing and pursuing a medical malpractice case can be exceptionally difficult under such circumstances.

The Birth Injury Lawyers Group can help you with every aspect of your child’s injury. From ascertaining when and how it occurred and diagnosing the type of cerebral palsy he or she has to help you find the care your child needs and filing a birth injury legal suit, we are here to assist you every step of the way.

Our practice was built on the belief that no one should have to unfairly suffer the costs and damages associated with injuries that were caused by someone else’s negligence. Newborns and infants are particularly hard hit in this respect because they grow up never knowing what pain-free and disability-free life is like.

For assistance with your child’s injury case, call us at (800) 222-9529. We offer no win, no fee services. Pay nothing upfront until you win your case.

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