From causing issues with posture and walking to inhibiting learning and physical development, cerebral palsy is a debilitative illness that affects over 18 million people around the world. It is linked to damage to the motor control centers of the brain. Damage to these centers can be sustained during physical activities or vehicle accidents, but in children, it is usually the result of some form of birth injury.
If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the experienced malpractice and cerebral palsy lawyers in Texas can help. Connecting a birth injury to the actions of a member of the delivery team can be difficult. It involves pinpointing the cause of an injury, determining its extent and when it occurred, and identifying who was responsible for causing it. Call us to speak with a San Angelo cerebral palsy lawyer who will investigate your case on your behalf.
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Understanding Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a group of motor and movement disorders commonly seen in children. It can cause a wide range of issues, ranging from difficulty walking or holding the head up to issues with swallowing, seeing, speaking, and performing fine motor movements such as writing. This can make it very difficult for the affected individual to live independently. A number of illnesses may also co-occur with cerebral palsy, including seizures and learning disabilities.
Cerebral palsy is a permanent illness that requires lifelong care and treatment. The financial costs and the psychological and emotional tolls that it can have on a family can be nothing short of devastating. For families whose children sustained injuries as a result of the negligence of a health care professional, we work to help them recover any damages to which they are legally entitled so that they can secure their family’s financial wellbeing.
There are many risk factors that are linked to cerebral palsy, although the causes of the disorder itself are not very well understood. These risk factors include:
- Low birth weight
- Premature delivery
- Maternal infections or high blood pressure
- Multiple babies in the same pregnancy
- Doctor inexperience
- Medical errors
With respect to doctor inexperience and medical errors, to prove that negligence caused your child’s injuries, you need to establish shortcomings of the medical team by investigating the following:
- When and how a birth injury occurred
- What caused it
- Which tests were performed and which, if any, were not
- Identifying administrative errors
- Obtaining interview evidence from the delivery team
Based on answers to the above and any medical evidence found to support your claims, you may have grounds to file a medical malpractice suit against the medical team that delivered your baby. Call us at (800) 222-9529 for more details.
San Angelo Cerebral Palsy Lawyer Near Me 1-800-222-9529
Costs and Expenses of Cerebral Palsy
Who is responsible for paying your child’s treatment? What happens in cases where a delivery team caused your child’s injuries but the procedure that caused it was medically justifiable?
Based on the circumstances surrounding your child’s case, you must be able to connect an instance of negligence to a specific injury. You must then connect that injury to specific damages you were made to suffer. You must also be able to prove that, even if your child’s care team had good reason to perform the procedures that resulted in an injury, they should have prepared beforehand or performed tests that would have helped them avoid injuring your child.
You can do this using the testimony of a medical expert who validates your claim that doctor negligence did, in fact, cause or contribute to your child’s injuries. This is a legal requirement in many states before you can issue what is known as a letter of intent to sue. Your medical expert may testify that the care team did not adequately prepare in advance for the delivery or that tests were not performed could have helped in identifying potential issues.
Once you issue a letter of intent to sue, your malpractice claim is formally initiated. Our San Angelo cerebral palsy lawyer can help you every step of the way. We help families understand and cope with the challenges they face in the aftermath of a cerebral palsy diagnosis. We also work very closely with doctors and other health professionals to provide your child with the holistic care he or she needs, including therapy, specialist intervention, and surgery, if required.
Common costs associated with cerebral palsy may include the following:
- The costs of therapy, surgery, and medications
- Testing and diagnosis costs
- Lost income
- Damages for pain and suffering
- Home improvements made to cater to a disabled child
Some of these treatments and tests may be needed regularly every few months for as long as your child lives. For example, muscle relaxants are often used to treat some of the symptoms of cerebral palsy. These relaxants can be injected or ingested orally by the patient, and they are usually required every three months or so. Regular checkups usually occur every three months as well, depending on your schedule and doctor availability. Physical and social therapies are also required by many patients on a weekly if not a daily basis.
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Important Next Steps
Managing your child’s care and supervision is your top priority after receiving a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. However, your child’s disabilities can have an effect on your family for many years, so do not neglect the importance of managing your finances and care schedules because these are critical elements in helping your reach his or her full potential. You must seek the compensation you are legally entitled to if negligence caused or contributed to your child’s injuries.
Our San Angelo cerebral palsy lawyer team is here to help. Give the Birth Injury Lawyers Group a call today for a free case evaluation at (800) 222-9529. We can help you navigate the complexities of malpractice litigation, insurance law, and local state statutes in pursuit of fair compensation for the damages you have suffered from your child’s preventable birth injuries. Statutes of limitations apply, so do not delay and contact us now to initiate an investigation of your case.
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