CEREBRAL PALSEY

If you, or someone you love, have been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, you may be able to file a legal claim against the party(s) responsible due to medical malpractice and collect significant financial compensation.

Each year about 10,000 babies born in the United States develop cerebral palsy. More than 80% of people with cerebral palsy developed it either before they were born or before they were a month old. In many cases people with cerebral palsy may need specialized medical care, special educational assistance and social services all of which can cost families hundreds of thousands of dollars.   You deserve to know if your child’s disability is due to negligent care and you should investigate its cause and know the options you have.  You have the right to seek legal assistance to help defray medical bills, education costs and help prevent the same error from happening again to other children.

A recent study in California of the extra economic costs associated with cerebral palsy showed that cerebral palsy had the highest lifetime costs per new case estimated at over $500,000.

Cerebral palsy is a term that describes a group of disorders that affect movement control. There is not one specific cause of cerebral palsy, however, it can be caused by injury to the brain before, during, or after birth. 

Cerebral palsy may be acquired after the birth of a child. This results from damage to the brain in the first months, or years of life. The injury may be a brain infection (bacterial meningitis, viral encephalitis) or head injury following an accident. 

The medical providers caring for the expectant mother and the fetus are expected to provide adequate care during the pregnancy, during labor and delivery, and immediately after the delivery of the infant. Failing to do so can result in the doctors and nurses being held accountable for the result of their negligent actions. The problems that may be encountered include: 

• Failure to interpret and respond to the changing conditions of the fetus during labor
• Failure to act on changes in the mother's condition during pregnancy
• Failure to order specific tests during pregnancy; and not interpreting these tests correctly
• Failure to perform a cesarean section in the presence of fetal distress
• Failure to deliver the infant when the membranes have been ruptured for too long.
• Excessive use of vacuum extraction.

Lack of oxygen to the brain or trauma to the head during labor and delivery can cause cerebral palsy. If the infant does not get enough oxygen the brain can be injured. There are many factors that may suggest the injury occurred as a result of improper medical care, or injury to the brain during the birthing process:

• The infant demonstrates poor sucking after birth
• Seizures develop within 24 to 48 hours
• The child is floppy at birth
• The skin is blue or dusky at birth
• The infant needs resuscitation at, or shortly after birth because he/she is not breathing
• A baby who was born full-term, but does not go home at the same time as the mother
• There was no indication of trauma or infection during the pregnancy
• There is no history in the family of brain damage
• The infant has problems maintaining temperature after birth
• The bag of waters was ruptured for over 24 hours
• There is meconium (fecal) staining on the baby at the time of delivery.

The following are actual complaints of mothers where the medical negligence resulted in a child being born with cerebral palsy:

1. Failed to do a C-Section or do a C-Section sooner
2. Failed to diagnose fetal distress (the baby was having problems during labor)
3. Did not interpret the fetal monitor strip correctly
4. Did not act soon enough when:
   1. My bag of water broke
   2. I had bleeding
   3. My labor did not progress and took too long
   4. My blood pressure got to high
5. Gave too much Pitocin and injured the baby
6. Did not refer me to a doctor specializing in high risk pregnancies
7. Did not have a pediatrician present at delivery when they knew there might be problems with my baby.

Types of Cerebral Palsy

There are four types of Cerebral Palsy: Spastic CP, Athetoid or Dyskinetic CP, Ataxic CP and Mixed CP which combines the three types of CP.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy:Affects 70 to 80% of people who have CP. With Spastic Cerebral Palsy, the muscles are very stiff, and permanently contracted. Doctors can tell which type of Spastic CP a person has by which limbs are affected. The term PLEGIA, which means paralyzed, or weak, is tacked on the end of each form of Spastic CP. Examples are HemiPLEGIA (one side of the body is affected) and QuadriPLEGIA (all 4 limbs affected). In some people BOTH legs can be affected. They can turn in and cross at the knees. This is called scissoring, and can interfere with their walking ability. Some with Spastic CP may experience hemiparetic tremors. Hemiparetic tremors are uncontrollable shaking, affecting the limbs on only one side of a person's body. Sometimes the tremors are severe, and can affect movement.

Athetoid or Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy:Affects 10-20% of people who have CP. People with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy will have uncontrolled, slow, writhing movements. These movements will often affect the hands, feet, arms, or legs. Sometimes the muscles in a persons face or tongue will be affected, causing drooling. These movements a person with Athetoid CP has, will often increase during stressful times, and will most likely disappear while sleeping. Also, people with this particular type of CP may have problems coordinating muscle movements that are needed for speech. This is called dysarthria.

Ataxic Cerebral Palsy:Affects 5-10% of people who have CP. This type of CP is very rare, and affects balance and coordination. A person with Ataxic CP may walk unsteady and have a wide step. They could place their feet far apart, and may have difficulty with quick or exact movements, like buttoning a shirt, or writing. Also, they could have "intention tremors." This type of tremor will start with a voluntary movement, for example, reaching a book. This may cause trembling in the body part that is being used. The tremor will get worse as the person gets near that object…in this case, the book.

Mixed Type Cerebral Palsy: A combination of the types of cerebral palsy detailed above. The most common type of mixed types is a mix of Spastic CP and Athetoid CP. But, however, other combinations are very much possible.

To find out if your child may be entitled to financial compensation, submit your case now for a free consultation with one of our participating attorneys.

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