The Costs of Raising a Child with Cerebral Palsy

When a child develops cerebral palsy, the financial costs of required care, therapies, education, special equipment, and the cost of daily living, can total in the millions of dollars. Because cerebral palsy is a lifelong condition without a known cure, the costs of raising a child with cerebral palsy place a tremendous financial burden on a family of the course of an individual's lifetime. These financial costs do not factor in the damages resulting from reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other losses. In 2003, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that the average cost of raising one child with cerebral palsy is over $920,000. For all people born with cerebral palsy in the year 2000, the total cost of living is an estimated $11.5 billion. These statistics show that the cost of raising a child with cerebral palsy is significantly greater than raising a child without this condition. The costs of raising a child with cerebral palsy can include both direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include medical expenses, doctors' visits, x-rays and other special tests, therapy, professional long-term care, prescription drugs, medical equipment, inpatient hospital stays, and other related expenses. These costs make up about ten percent of the total cost of raising a child with cerebral palsy. Non-direct medical expenses, which make up about nine percent of the total cost of cerebral palsy case, include special education, developmental programs, and modifications that must be made in the home and car. Indirect expenses involved in caring for a child with cerebral palsy can involve financial losses or expenses related to the early death of a person with cerebral palsy, the inability or diminished ability to work and earn wages, and other related damages. While indirect expenses account for over 80 percent of the total cost of raising a child with cerebral palsy, it does not take into account non-economic costs associated with raising a child with cerebral palsy. The types of costs noted above are those that the CDC takes into account when estimating the average cost of raising a child with cerebral palsy. The CDC, however, does NOT take into account any of the following factors and their subsequent costs: outpatient hospital visits, residential care, emergency room visits, and a family's out-of-pocket expenses. For this reason, the true costs of raising a child with cerebral palsy can be significantly greater that the individual lifetime figure of $920,000. For more information about the costs of cerebral palsy and how your family may be able to recover the costs of raising a child with cerebral palsy, please visit www.cerebralpalsysource.com.