Caring for a child with cerebral palsy can be very expensive. These costs will remain with the family for the rest of that child’s life. You may have legal options available to address those expenses if your child suffered a cerebral palsy birth injury in Ohio caused by medical negligence. Contacting a Cleveland cerebral palsy lawyer should be your next step.
How Special Needs Trust Helps Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury in Ohio
A special needs trust can help parents who have children with cerebral palsy. This allows the beneficiary to receive the benefits of the trust without losing the ability to obtain benefits and services through the government.
Without this trust, a person who is disabled cannot inherit more than $2,000 without it interrupting government benefits. However, the expenses to care for a child with cerebral palsy will definitely exceed this amount, so a special needs trust can help significantly.
You will need to consult with a lawyer who handles birth injury and special needs cases. A cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer in Ohio will have the experience and knowledge that you need.
The special needs trust allows for family contributions to be made, as long as they do not duplicate the benefit programs the government provides. It can help gain access to inheritances or personal injury settlements.
You may have a claim for personal injury if your child suffers a cerebral palsy birth injury in Ohio due to medical malpractice. If a doctor’s actions or lack of actions caused your child to suffer a preventable injury, such as brain damage, then he or she may be held liable. A Cleveland cerebral palsy lawyer can address this.
Some of the ways that a special needs trust can help is by allowing you the ability to purchase or obtain the following:
- goods and services that increase your child’s quality of life and bring more pleasure to it;
- out-of-pocket dental and medical expenses;
- entertainment, trips or vacations;
- eyeglasses;
- electronic equipment;
- transportation;
- vehicle maintenance;
- materials for recreational activities or hobbies;
- insurance (including premium payments);
- necessary dietary needs;
- caregiver/personal attendant salary; and
- rehabilitation.
These are just some of the ways that a special needs trust can help. To learn more about this and how to set it up, you should seek legal counsel immediately.
You should also seek help from a lawyer if you want to know what you can do when you believe your child was diagnosed with a condition that was caused by a doctor’s negligence. You could be entitled to compensation through a claim that addresses your child’s cerebral palsy birth injury in Ohio.
Compensation could include medical expenses (both current and future), loss of earning potential, pain and suffering, permanent disability, and other physical and/or emotional losses that have been suffered.
Contact a Cleveland cerebral palsy lawyer who can help you collect the medical evidence that proves negligence of the doctor and demonstrates the severity of your child’s injuries and the impact it will have on the rest of his or her life.