Cerebral palsy can be hard to detect. There are several different forms of this disorder, and diagnosis during the first few months of development is not always possible.
While there are predictable stages of development for most infants, some completely healthy babies lag a little behind the curve and this makes it difficult to determine—in some cases—whether a child actually has Cerebral Palsy or is simply taking their time learning how to babble, roll over, and reach other milestones.
There are also several different types of cerebral palsy. Ataxic cerebral palsy, for instance, is associated with an unsteady way of walking. Of course, because infants have a long way to go before they start walking, it’s sometimes difficult to see any sign of this injury. Spastic diplegia is somewhat easier to detect, as it affects the entire body and stiffness throughout the musculature is a fairly easy thing to detect.
Brain damage in an infant is obviously harder to detect because infants cannot articulate their condition. In some cases, there are learning difficulties that come with cerebral palsy. This is not always the case, however. Some infants with Cerebral Palsy begin babbling right on schedule and are possessed of the same level of intelligence that anyone else is. However, there are oftentimes learning disabilities associated with this type of injury. This will also be difficult to detect until the child actually begins trying to talk and trying to learn to perform complicated tasks and to absorb complex information.
In some cases, the baby’s injury is simply the result of something going wrong during pregnancy or because of a health condition that manifests shortly after birth. There are cases, however, where medical intervention should have been performed during the birth process and wasn’t, resulting in a lifelong condition brought about by the brain injury that resulted from that negligence.
Cerebral palsy in any form always entails significant expenses for treatment. These costs will likely continue on into the child’s adulthood and will certainly be a significant financial burden. Seeking out an attorney who can pursue these types of claims may be the best option for parents and children affected by Cerebral Palsy.