Cerebral Palsy
If your child has a birth injury such as Cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy or brain damage, then find out why it happened. Does your child have cerebral palsy from PVL? Many people believe that the injury is just a birth defect. Often this birth defect was caused because the child was deprived of oxygen at some point during the pregnancy.
The types of mistakes that can lead to cerebral palsy mostly all relate to a lack of oxygen during birth. Some examples of these are:
- Not watching the monitoring strips to recognize when a baby is in distress
- Failing to order a C-Section when distress is noted on the fetal monitoring strips
- Causing trauma by not properly using Vacuum suction or forceps during labor
- Not noticing that labor had progressed, not noticing that mother’s water had broken.
These are not the only reasons, but they are some relatively common examples of what can happen.
The next steps to finding out whether a medical mistake lead to a child’s cerebral palsy begin with contacting us. We’ll start by talking with you about what happened and what you remembered. Often we then have to spend some time gathering some key medical records to see more details. It is then usually after that, when we can begin to tell you whether you might have a case.
Start with giving us a call or scheduling a convenient time to talk.
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Call now. 1-800-838-0800. You’ll talk with one of our attorneys and we can begin to help you find the answers.
Client Questions and Answers
Cerebral Palsy:
Cerebral Palsy, or otherwise known as CP, is essentially a brain injury. People diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy are typically born with the injury, but some are diagnosed later in life.
There are four kinds of spastic Cerebral Palsy, according to how many limbs are affected:
Hemiplegia: One arm and one leg on the same side of the body.
Diplegia or Paraplegia: both legs are affected.
Monoplegia: Only one arm or leg is affected.
- Delay in Delivery
- Failure to read Fetal Heart Monitoring Strips indicating a stressed baby
- Prolapsed Cord
- Injury during Labor
- Infections
- Asphyxia (Lack of Oxygen)
- Bleeding in the Brain
- Toxins
There are not enough studies of this question to concretely answer this, but most people with cerebral palsy live between 30 and 70 years. There is a lot of variation here and it can depend a bit on the severity of the symptoms.
It affects a persons ability to move smoothly. It can affect things like:
- Muscle Tone
- Balance
- Posture
- Body Movement
- Motor Activity
The brain injury can occur before birth, but in an estimated 20 percent of cases of CP are caused during delivery.
The early signs of cerebral palsy often show before the age of three years old. Typically, most children with cerebral palsy are born with it, but they may not be diagnosed until months or years after birth. You can also damage the brain after birth and it can result in a movement disorder which is sometimes a direct result of lack of oxygen to the brain.
There is no actual test that confirms or rules out Cerebral Palsy at birth. In severe cases, the child may be diagnosed soon after birth, but most children are typically diagnosed in the first two years. A diagnosis may not be determined for those with milder symptoms, or until the brain is fully developed at three to five years old.
Researchers have discovered that hereditary factors can predispose an individual to CP, but it is not a hereditary condition. It is a condition that describes movement disorders and limitations around motor skills. This often is caused by some injury.
At present, there is no cure. That does not mean that the child with a CP diagnosis has no potential. It only means that their movement is affected. People with Cerebral Palsy may have physical impairment, but they are considered healthy and can live fulfilling lives.
Cerebral Palsy treatment can be as complex as the condition is, and there's no simple approach because each person is affected differently. Although the brain injury from CP cannot be healed, the physical impairment as a result can be managed with a broad range of treatments and therapies.
- Muscle tone that varies - too stiff or too floppy
- Favoring one side of the body - Examples are reaching with only one hand or dragging a leg
- Difficulty walking, such as walking on toes, a crouched gait, a scissors-like gait with knees crossing, a wide gait or an asymmetrical gait
- Excessive drooling or problems with swallowing
- Difficulty eating
- Delays in speech development or difficulty speaking
- Difficulty with precise motions, such as picking up a fork
- Seizures
- Ataxia or lack of muscle coordination
- Tremors or involuntary movements
- Athetosis or slow, writhing movements
- Stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes (spasticity) or normal reflexes (rigidity).
- Motor skills milestone delays, such as pushing up on arms, sitting up alone or crawling
Malpractice:
It can be. While it is not the only cause, there are a few different mistakes that can result in cerebral palsy. These can be:
- Nursing or Medical staff failing to monitor th child or mother
- Medical Staff incorrectly interpreting diagnostic tools and tests
- Delay in delivery such as failing to order a C-Section if the child is in distress
- Injury during the birth process
When a baby is too large or in an improper position during birth, brain injury can occur. Some possible causes are: The doctor fails to do a caesarean section when there is fetal distress, or too much pressure on the baby's head or neck can happen during delivery. Sometimes vacuums or other mechanical devices used during delivery can be too invasive and cause damage. Also, lack of oxygen to the baby's brain (such as the umbilical cord wrapping around the baby's neck) may also contribute to CP.
Lawsuits:
Technically you don’t, but in our experience a successful medical malpractice claim almost always requires that the case be filed. So in reality it will almost always require a lawsuit.
No. These lawsuits are individual, personal injury claims filed against the people or companies responsible for the mistakes that lead to the injury. These are often doctors, nurses and the hospital or medical practice involved.
Every state has rules about how long you have to file a lawsuit. These rules are called Statutes of Limitation. If you wait too long to file a lawsuit then you can be forever prevented from filing one. Often the time limits for children are longer, but it is very important to pay attention to when the time is up. So, Do Not delay in looking in to a possible case.
No. There are not as many cases as the news media reports.
Most cases will be filed in the state where you live or where the injury occurred.
We can, depending on provided criteria. This will involve a discussion and we will ask you questions about the injury claim and other details.
Settlements:
There is no guarantee that there will be a settlement. Whether there is one will depend on many factors. If there is a settlement it can take several years to get to. Cases can take from 2-10 years. Every case really is different.
The settlements are most often confidential in nature. This depends on many variables and cannot be accurately determined, since each suit is individual and entirely different from each other.
No. Some cases will go all the way through trial to a verdict.