One of the most important realities of cerebral palsy is that it requires ongoing medical care. Cerebral palsy is a lifelong disorder that affects movement, muscle tone and posture. Many victims require frequent visits to specialists such as neurologists, orthopedic surgeons and physical therapists.
Treatment may include medications to manage muscle stiffness or seizures, surgeries to correct physical impairments and assistive devices like wheelchairs or communication aids. In some cases, children may need multiple surgeries over time, especially during growth periods. Physical, occupational and speech therapy are often necessary for years, sometimes for life.
These expenses can add up quickly, often reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. For families of victims, this makes financial planning and legal recovery especially important so the child’s needs are met well into his or her adulthood.
While medical bills are substantial, non-medical expenses also play a major role in the overall cost of living with cerebral palsy. Many families must modify their homes to accommodate mobility challenges. This may include installing wheelchair ramps, widening doorways, modifying bathrooms or even relocating to a more accessible home.
Transportation is another significant expense. Standard vehicles may not be suitable, requiring specially equipped vans with wheelchair lifts or other modifications. These vehicles are often more expensive to purchase and maintain.
In addition, many children with cerebral palsy require specialized educational support. This may involve individualized education programs, private schooling or tutoring services. Assistive technology, such as communication devices or adaptive learning tools, can further increase costs.
Caregiving is another major factor. Some families may need to hire in-home caregivers or rely on long-term care services, particularly as the child grows older. In other cases, a parent may need to reduce work hours or quit entirely to provide care, resulting in lost income and benefits.
When cerebral palsy occurs as as a result of medical negligence (carelessness) during pregnancy, labor or delivery, families have the legal right to pursue compensation. A birth injury attorney can investigate whether mistakes — such as delayed cesarean sections, improper use of delivery tools, or failure to monitor fetal distress, etc. — played a role in the injury.
Compensation in these cases is meant to address both current and future expenses. This can include medical costs, therapy, assistive devices, home modifications and lost earning potential. In many cases, financial recovery also accounts for past and future pain and suffering, lifelong permanent injuries as well as the diminished quality of life experienced by the child.
As New York personal injury lawyers, we have seen instances of cerebral palsy that occur due to medical negligence (carelessness) during labor and delivery, and also at New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities. It is the responsibility of medical professionals to monitor the condition of the fetus and the mother and make decisions that 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. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators or adjusters.
One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict in an Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy) case 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 cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness) and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children, such as cerebral palsy or brain damage etc.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461718-918-5000
• 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, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy 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.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com
cerebral palsy, birth injury, new york, personal injury, attorneys