The Cerebral Palsy Life Care Plan – Diagnosis

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Creating your child’s cerebral palsy life care plan is one of the most important things you can do. A crucial part of the plan is the diagnosis of your child’s cerebral palsy. You will need to work with your legal team and medical professionals to develop detailed diagnosis documentation.

Why Is it Important to Include Diagnosis in the Cerebral Palsy Life Care Plan?

A detailed and accurate diagnosis is crucial to treat any illness or condition. In the case of a birth injury-related condition like cerebral palsy, the diagnosis becomes even more critical on a legal level.

The diagnosis will help the medical care team develop the right treatment and interventions for your child. It also helps the legal team create the best action plan and present the evidence for your case against your doctor or hospital.

Getting a diagnosis brings peace of mind to parents. If you know something is not right with your baby, finally getting a diagnosis is a relief.

Additionally, it helps you and medical staff members understand your child’s health status, puts you in a position to get him early treatments and interventions, and enables you to attempt to secure financial benefits to help with the costs of this care.

What Are the Diagnostic Criteria for Cerebral Palsy?

Diagnosing cerebral palsy can be a long and complicated process. There is no single test or criterion. Cerebral palsy is a complex condition that requires several steps to diagnose, especially when including it in legal documentation.

The documentation should include the cause of the cerebral palsy, the form, type, severity, and any other medical records involved in the labor, delivery, birth, and medical care provided after birth.

There is no single test that diagnoses cerebral palsy. Your doctor will need to look at several factors to make the diagnosis.[1] It depends on the severity of the condition and your child’s symptoms. In some babies, it is apparent early on that there is some disability, while for other children, the signs may not be evident for a year or two.

The diagnosis of cerebral palsy will include several components: tests of reflexes, posture, coordination, and muscle tone. Imaging scans, such as MRIs and CT scans, may be used to examine the bones, joints, and brain.

Your doctor will look at developmental targets and any delays your child may experience. Your doctor may also run tests to rule out other conditions and involve specialists to get the best diagnosis.

Who Is on the Life Care Plan Diagnosis Team?

Getting that first diagnosis is essential, but the next thing you will need is a more documented and detailed diagnosis to be a part of your child’s life care plan. The diagnosis may include expert opinions from many people, including:

• Pediatricians
• Developmental specialists
• Neurologists
• Radiologists
• Neuroradiologists
• Orthopedic surgeons
• Pediatric geneticists
• Neonatologists
• Nurses
• Other specialists

What Is Included in the Life Care Plan Diagnosis for Cerebral Palsy?

The diagnostic documentation that makes up part of the life care plan for a child with cerebral palsy includes several vital components.

Documents Confirming the Diagnosis

The first is all the documentation that shows the child has cerebral palsy. Any medical records involved in making this diagnosis and documentation from all the specialists involved are essential for the life care plan.

The Type and Severity of Cerebral Palsy

The diagnosis should also include documentation of the type and form of the condition. This includes:

• Whether it is mild, moderate, or severe
• The classification of gross motor function
• The location of the physical disability, such as on one side of the body or the other
• The extent of any paralysis, whether there is some paralysis or just muscle weakness

Documented Causes of Cerebral Palsy

The cause of the cerebral palsy must also be documented. This is most important for the legal aspects of the case. While the doctors and specialists make the diagnosis, they should also try to determine the cause.

The documentation should show brain damage, through radiological evidence typically, what caused that brain damage and when it occurred.

When Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy Is Delayed

Because cerebral palsy does not have a definitive diagnostic test, traditionally, diagnoses have been the culmination of months, or even years, of observations. The problem with this is that it delays treatment. It also delays litigation, sometimes exceeding the statute of limitations for medical malpractice.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued a report in 2013 that urged doctors to make more speedy diagnoses of conditions like cerebral palsy. To discourage delayed diagnoses, the Academy also published a 12-step process for making a diagnosis. The organization reviewed and reaffirmed the diagnostic process in 2022.[2]

While it is still not definitive or quick, the guidelines help physicians and medical teams make this crucial diagnosis earlier so that children get the treatment they need. Parents can litigate on behalf of their children.

The diagnosis is a crucial part of a cerebral palsy life care plan, and it is much more involved than parents may realize. It must include components that help medical caregivers develop the best treatments and interventions and all the records and evidence the legal team needs to make a case for medical malpractice and the need for compensation.