If your child has developed cerebral palsy as a result of suffering a birth injury, the cost of raising your child may not be the first concern on your mind. However, it soon becomes a harsh reality for many families. Raising a child with cerebral palsy can put a significant financial burden on a family. In cases where a birth injury was caused by a medical professional or hospital’s negligence (carelessness), families may be able to seek compensation by filing a cerebral palsy lawsuit.
Costs and Expenses Relating to Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition that often requires extensive physical
therapy and significant adjustments for not just the child, but his or her family. During the child’s lifetime, families may be looking at millions of dollars in expenses and costs for treatments and therapies.
A child may need not just physical therapy but speech and occupational therapy, equipment such as wheelchairs or braces, medication and even nursing care. Additional expenses such as emergency room visits, lost income for family members and caregivers who quit their jobs to take care of the child, the emotional suffering and physical pain and suffering endured by the child also have to be factored into such cases.
Here are some of the costs and expenses related to cerebral palsy that families often struggle with:
Equipment costs: If your child is severely disabled and is unable to walk, he or she may need a specialized wheelchair to get around. Such wheelchairs alone could cost thousands of dollars. This could also mean installing wheelchair ramps in your home and putting in hardware in your vehicle so you can take your child in your car. All these expenses can add up very quickly. Children with cerebral palsy also have hearing and sight impairment, which means they may require glasses or hearing aids as well.
Medication costs: The doctor may recommend various drugs including new therapies to help relax and control your child’s muscle spasms. While these drugs can greatly help children affected by cerebral palsy, they can prove very costly – especially in the long term.
Nursing care: Those who have severe mental or physical impairment may need round-the-clock nursing care, which could prove extremely costly. Not only would the child’s family have to find someone who is able to provide such a high level of care, but in some cases, they may need to have a permanent arrangement. A good caregiver can make a significant difference in a child’s quality of life.
Special education costs: Children with cerebral palsy may also need tutoring and other aids in the classroom. In some cases, parents may find that their child’s school district has sufficient resources to provide for their needs. In some cases, families may need to move to a different area that has schools with special education programs. These costs of providing tutoring and/or other aids for a child may become very expensive.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If your child has developed cerebral palsy as a result of injuries suffered at birth, you may have a medical malpractice claim. It is the responsibility of the doctor to correctly evaluate the condition of the fetus and choose the action that would reduce or eliminate a risky delivery. If your child has cerebral palsy he or she may be able to receive compensation that helps pay for medical expenses, lost income, cost of therapy, future treatments, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. In a brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) case, one of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict that was reduced by the appeals court to $1,846,000 because the verdict was so large. This was the highest amount upheld by the appellate (appeals) courts for many, many years. In addition we recovered $1,400,000 for a newborn who lost motion in the arm during birth due to doctors applying incorrect force on the baby’s head. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
We have seen many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with cerebral palsy or Brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness), and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospital Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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