Cerebral palsy is known to be a chronic medical condition, which potentially requires a lifetime of supportive care and services. Depending on the level of impairment, the cost of managing cerebral palsy and caring for someone with cerebral palsy can be significant. Those with cerebral palsy may have several associated conditions including vision loss, muscle weakness, cognitive issues, hearing impairment and seizure.
These conditions need diagnosis, treatment and ongoing therapies, all of which may result in prohibitive expenses to the victim and/or his family. It is important to remember that there are a number of community support programs as well as government assistance that is available. Health insurance, depending on what type of coverage you have, may also cover some of the related expenses.
What You Need to Know
Here are three important things you need to know if your child has cerebral palsy and you are trying to understand how to pay for treatment and care:
1. The costs are significant.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) data, among children who were enrolled in Medicaid in 2005, medical costs were higher for children with cerebral palsy. The costs were highest for kids with both cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. Medical costs for children with cerebral palsy alone were 10 times higher than for children without the condition.
Medical costs for children with both cerebral palsy and intellectual disability were 26 times higher than the average child. CDC estimates that the lifetime costs and care for an individual with cerebral palsy may add up to more than $1 million, and that’s in 2003 dollars. The center also estimated that the combined lifetime costs for all people with cerebral palsy who were born in 2000 would total $11.5 billion in direct and indirect costs. Of course, the cost may be even higher depending on the level of physical and intellectual impairments a child may have and the type of treatment and care he or she will need.
2. There is help available.
If you are a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, you may feel overwhelmed at the thought of how you can meet those expenses. Some of the direct medical expenses for children with cerebral palsy may include regular appointments with doctors and specialists, prescription drugs, surgical intervention, in-patient and out-patient hospital visits, diagnostic tests and imaging, and treatment for other disorders, etc. The medical expenses vary depending on the severity of the child’s condition.
There are a number of resources available to help parents cover the cost of providing treatment and therapy for a child with cerebral palsy. For example, many children with cerebral palsy qualify for government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income or SSI and SSD. There are also early intervention programs for younger children that integrate therapy and special education to help reduce the long-term effects of the condition. Several of these programs are funded by the government and families may be able to participate free of charge In addition, nonprofits also have significant resources to offer from housing to medical equipment.
3. You may be able to file a cerebral palsy lawsuit.
Often times, a difficult labor or delivery puts infants at risk for cerebral palsy. In fact, oxygen deprivation is one of the leading causes of cerebral palsy among children. When the child’s brain is deprived of oxygen due to complications such as breech birth, shoulder dystocia or cord entanglement, the baby may get asphyxiated. Brain damage caused in such a situation might lead to cerebral palsy. Any type of trauma or injury to the child’s brain during birth may result in cerebral palsy. Sometimes, when an obstetrician applies too much force while trying to get the baby out, cerebral palsy may occur. You may be able to obtain significant compensation for your child’s future care and treatment by filing a cerebral palsy lawsuit.
Contacting a Birth Injury Lawyer
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy as the result of medical negligence, 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.
Our law firm helped a family secure a $43,940,000 verdict for a child who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Another client of ours received a $23,500,000 verdict for a child who developed cerebral palsy and mental retardation after suffering a birth injury. Both verdicts were so large that they were reduced on appeal. We also 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.
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 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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