The outer layers of the brain are called gray matter. They are responsible for controlling everything from thoughts, memories, and communication skills to voluntary movements, balance, posture, breathing, and more. If any layers—or sections of the brain within these layers—sustain damage or injury of any type, it can lead to serious, long-term disabilities.
Cerebral palsy is an illness caused by a brain injury that leads to issues with movement, coordination, speaking, swallowing, seeing, and fine motor movements. The care costs of children with cerebral palsy can be up to 25 times more than those of children born healthy, especially if a child suffers from conditions such as epilepsy or learning disabilities that often co-occur with cerebral palsy. If your child suffered a birth injury or was diagnosed with it, you should act quickly. Contact our Texas cerebral palsy lawyer with the Birth Injury Lawyers Group to discuss your case.
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Types and Causes of Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy occurs when the part of the brain that controls movement is damaged in some way. The bones of a newborn’s skull fuse together slowly over time, but at birth, these bones can actually slide and move against one another. This gives the developing brain the space it needs to grow, and it also helps the baby make its way from the womb and through the birth canal into the world.
While this physiological peculiarity of the skull is important for the passage of a baby through the mother, it exposes the baby’s brain to a wide range of risks. The delivery team may tug on the baby’s head either with their hands or with a delivery device to dislodge a baby that is stuck from within the mother or if the mother doesn’t adequately dilate, the baby’s brain may sustain an inordinate amount of pressure. Also, pressure on the wrong parts of the brain while carrying the child can have unintended results.
These are some of the ways that cerebral palsy can develop. Genetic mutations and issues with brain cell migration during gestation can also lead to physical deformities in the brain, leading to impaired brain function and many of the issues outlined above.
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Treating Cerebral Palsy
Once brain injuries occur, they usually do not heal. Most modern treatments, instead of focusing on repairing damaged centers of the brain in any way, usually focus on helping the individual overcome the symptoms and disabilities that their injuries cause them to suffer. To do this, you must first identify the type of cerebral palsy that your child suffers from. The three types of cerebral palsy are:
- Spastic, which leads to stiff muscles or jerky movements. This is the most commonly occurring type of cerebral palsy, and it affects between 70% and 80% of all cerebral palsy patients.
- Athetoid, which affects speech and coordinated movement. It can also inhibit the patient’s ability to hold objects or maintain proper posture.
- Ataxic, which leads to poor coordination, abnormal muscle tone, and difficulty balancing.
There are a number of treatments available for cerebral palsy. These include the injection or oral ingestion of muscle relaxants, physical or speech therapy, and surgery, such as orthopedic surgery to repair damaged bones or nerve procedures to relax stiff muscles and reduce pain.
These treatments and procedures can be costly and will likely be required throughout the life of the patient. For example, muscle relaxation injections such as Botox are usually required every three months, and other tests and follow-up checks are usually required every six months alongside regular therapy sessions and daily supervision. Call a Lubbock cerebral palsy lawyer with the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 for guidance regarding available treatments and how to proceed with getting and paying for the checkups and care your child needs.
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The Importance of Legal Guidance
A cerebral palsy diagnosis can forever alter the course of your life. Depending on your child’s response to treatment, your financial stability, and treatments available in your area, your child may or may not make measurable progress in adjusting to or overcoming his or her disabilities. If the injuries that caused you and your family to suffer these unfortunate circumstances were the result of the negligence of a doctor or caregiver, you have every right—and should exercise the right—to seek remuneration from those parties.
At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, we work to help families understand the challenges they face and connect them with the doctors and treatment centers that can help their child make some functional progress with their disabilities. We also seek to help families pay for and manage the care of their injured child.
To do this, we will help you:
- Identify when a birth injury that led to cerebral palsy occurred.
- Determine the extent and severity of the injuries in question.
- Identify the type of cerebral palsy that your child suffers from.
- Perform a complete case evaluation to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your case.
- Obtain interview evidence from the medical team that delivered your child to determine whether or not negligence played a role in causing your child’s injuries.
- Obtain the attestation of a licensed medical professional that your child’s injuries were, in fact, the result of negligence so that you can file an intent to sue against the at-fault parties. This is a legal requirement in many jurisdictions.
We will also negotiate with insurance agents, the representatives of the medical facility at which your child sustained his or her injuries, and represent you in court if your case goes all the way to trial.
Our Lubbock cerebral palsy lawyer team does not collect service fees unless you win, and we provide free case evaluations at no upfront cost. Call us at (800) 222-9529 to discuss your case and chart out a plan for your child’s treatment and to file a claim if your circumstances warrant one. Let us help us seek the damages you may be entitled to. Call now.
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