Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders affecting the ability to move, maintain balance, and posture, and sometimes includes related conditions like intellectual disability; vision, hearing, and speech problems; and seizures. It is caused by damage to the developing brain in infants or abnormal brain development in utero and is the most common motor disability in children.

Children with cerebral palsy need lifelong medical care to address the varying symptoms they experience. Many will need therapy for physical and behavioral needs, assistive devices to help with daily living, and medication for the pain and other medical issues that result.

While treatment for cerebral palsy is unique to each child, learning about treatment options and the expenses associated with cerebral palsy can help you determine whether you and your family are eligible to file a lawsuit to obtain compensation for your medical expenses.

Common Types of Treatment for Cerebral Palsy

Your child’s healthcare providers can develop a treatment plan for your child’s specific needs. Treatment options include a range of therapies, adaptive devices, medications, and surgeries to help your child live a better life.

Physical Therapy

A physical therapist can determine the best course of treatment for your child based on their motor skills and mobility when they begin physical therapy. Physical therapy can help your child improve motor function with various exercises to enhance muscle strength, coordination, balance, and flexibility. They can also teach your child how to walk, sit, and use adaptive devices like wheelchairs.

Orthotic Devices

Braces, splints, and casts help support and improve your child’s movement and balance. For example, children with scoliosis due to cerebral palsy often wear plastic braces to correct the curvature of their spine as they grow. These devices encourage proper physical growth and enable children to perform daily activities more easily or with less pain.

Occupational Therapy

A child with cerebral palsy may benefit from occupational therapy by improving their ability to perform daily activities, such as dressing and going to school. The occupational therapist assesses your child’s fine motor skills and perception to help them develop the skills they need to become independent.

During occupational therapy sessions, children practice positioning, reaching, grasping, and releasing objects.

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech therapy helps to improve muscle weakness in the face, jaw, and mouth by having your child follow swallowing and jaw exercises to strengthen the muscles. Muscle weakness, if left untreated, can create difficulties with eating, chewing, and swallowing, which can affect your child’s physical development with cerebral palsy.

A speech therapist can also use sign language or a communication device to teach new ways to speak and learn how to articulate clearly. Speech therapy during your child’s school years emphasizes improving social skills and interaction through storytelling, repetition of sounds, and maintaining eye contact.

Special Devices and Technologies

Assistive technologies, such as crutches, wheelchairs, or communication devices, can make everyday life easier for children with cerebral palsy. Electronic communication boards allow children to verbally express their thoughts and feelings by choosing letters, words, and phrases on the screen. This can significantly improve the quality of life of young children who may otherwise be unable to communicate their needs.

Children with severe cerebral palsy and limited arm, leg, and hand mobility can use high-tech communication boards equipped with eye-tracking software. These boards can let them choose a symbol or letter by using their eyes to help them communicate with others.

Mobility aids like orthotic devices, walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, and lifts can help those with mobility limitations from cerebral palsy. Most assistive devices can be adjusted as the child grows or can be made to fit their specific needs. Mobility aids can increase a child’s independence and improve their quality of life.

Medication

The doctor may prescribe your child various medications to treat physical and mobility conditions caused by cerebral palsy. These are available through oral administration or as injections into the affected muscles. Prescription medications can treat the following conditions:

  • Intestinal reflux
  • Spasticity
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Inflammatory respiratory conditions
  • Seizures
  • Tremors

Surgery

Surgical intervention may be necessary for children with severe symptoms of cerebral palsy. Surgery can relieve stiff muscles, correct a curved spine, reduce tremors, and improve balance and coordination. Successful surgeries can increase your child’s chance of living independently, but it is typically the last option for many doctors who wish to attempt various therapies before opting for an invasive procedure.

Receiving Financial Compensation for Cerebral Palsy

The medical costs for treating a child with cerebral palsy are high and typically only increase over time as your child grows, develops new symptoms or conditions, or new treatment options become available.

The cost of medical care for a nonambulatory child with cerebral palsy can be up to $43,687 per year, with lifetime costs going upward to $1.2 million.

The unexpected medical care that children with cerebral palsy require leaves many families unprepared. A study found 40% of families with children with special health care needs report heavy financial burdens.

Medical negligence and errors during prenatal care or delivery often result in preventable brain injuries that can cause cerebral palsy. If you believe your child’s condition was preventable, you need an experienced Indiana cerebral palsy lawyer from Wagner Reese Law to help you file a lawsuit.

Your lawyer can investigate the circumstances that led to your child developing cerebral palsy and calculate the costs of current and future medical treatment your child will need as they grow older. Your lawyer will consider all the expenses for therapy sessions, assistive devices, prescription drugs, and surgeries your child requires to cope with their condition.

Begin Your Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit with Wagner Reese

Wagner Reese’s experienced lawyers and network of expert medical witnesses can help you calculate your cerebral palsy settlement and file a claim to get the compensation you deserve to help pay for necessary medical costs. With experience representing families burdened with medical debt, we know how to hold healthcare professionals accountable for birth injuries.

Call us today to schedule your free, no-obligation case evaluation.