Once a child suffers a birth injury that results in cerebral palsy, he or she will often require various types of treatment for the rest of his or her life. There are several different types of treatments that are used, depending on the severity of the child’s cerebral palsy.
Treatments include such things as physical therapy, surgery, pain management, devices and equipment and medication. Physical therapy is often used for the child’s entire life, beginning as soon as possible after the child’s birth. The goal of physical therapy is to help the child become as mobile as he or she can possibly become, and the particular types of physical therapies used may change according to treatment needs.
Many people who have cerebral palsy use medical devices in order to help them have greater mobility. Depending on their mobility needs, people with cerebral palsy may use walkers, crutches, wheelchairs, orthotics and other devices. Children with severe problems may require differing types of surgeries. The treatments and medications used to treat cerebral palsy are often adjusted, changing throughout a child’s life to meet his or her changing needs.
Cerebral palsy can bring a lifetime of disability along with ongoing treatment needs. When a child’s cerebral palsy resulted from medical malpractice such as a failure to monitor the baby or a birth injury caused by negligence, the family may wish to file a medical malpractice personal injury lawsuit against the responsible medical professionals. It is possible to hold a doctor, hospital and other medical personnel civilly liable for birth injuries caused as a result of medical malpractice and negligence. They may be able to recover compensatory damages for the pecuniary losses they have suffered and will incur in the future due to the child’s cerebral palsy.
Source: Web MD, “Cerebral Palsy – Treatment Overview“, November 20, 2014