Asheville Attorneys Helping Families With Children Suffering From Cerebral Palsy

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy occurs, on average, in 1 out of every 303 children. That’s too many. One of our goals at Hensley Cloninger & Greer, P.C., is to ensure that families in North Carolina receive fair and just compensation for the injuries and lifelong disability caused by a negligent physician, hospital, nurse or midwife.

Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe several disorders that impair the control of movement after an injury to the developing brain or abnormal brain development. Cerebral palsy can have devastating consequences for children and families. Not only does it inhibit your child’s ability to enjoy normal childhood activities, it often requires additional care and costly aids to assist with mobility. If a doctor’s negligence caused your child’s cerebral palsy, you may be able to receive compensation to help you cover the cost of your child’s care.

How Can A Family Get Help With Cerebral Palsy?

For nearly a quarter-century, our cerebral palsy birth injury lawyers have devoted themselves to helping people with cerebral palsy and their families. We protect the legal rights and interests of children and families who fall victim to someone else’s carelessness.

There are four types of cerebral palsy, as well as differing severity levels that might affect a child. None of these has a cure, meaning that other medical professionals may only treat and manage the effects. The four types – which also describe the area of the brain affected – are:

• Spastic: Constituting the majority of cerebral palsy cases, this is caused by a lesion in the brain that causes neuromuscular mobility impairment from damaged nerves and can affect one or multiple limbs, as well as all areas of the body.
• Ataxic: The minority of cerebral palsy cases, this is caused by damage to the cerebellum and affects fine motor skills and balance, as well as auditory and visual processing.
• Athetoid/dyskinetic: A small percentage of cases, this type creates mixed muscle tone makes it difficult for the person to walk or hold themselves upright and makes fine motor control extremely difficult.
• Mixed: Any combination of the above.

Any of these types may be of varying severity, from no CP found to severe impairment. There may be other conditions created as a result of medical malpractice, including other birth injuries or Erb’s palsy.