Cerebral Palsy

Did Hospital Negligence Cause Your Child’s Cerebral Palsy?

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy or another disorder as a result of birth trauma, you have legal options. Join many others and claim your compensation.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a term used for a group of disorders that can impair brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing and thinking. Cerebral Palsy appears during the first few years of life and affects a child’s ability to coordinate body movements. It can cause muscles to be weak and floppy, or rigid and stiff.

Klumpke’s Palsy

Klumple’s palsy, also known as Kulmpke’s paralysis, is a type of partial palsy located in the lower parts of the branchial plexus or the spinal nerves at the back of the neck. The paralysis involves hand and forearm muscles not working properly, as well as abnormal posture.

Cerebral Palsy Key Points

• Trauma at birth accounts for 80% of cases
• Affects a child’s ability to coordinate body movements
• Cerebral palsy affects between two and four of every 1,000 live births

Negligence Factors that Contribute to the Cause of Cerebral Palsy in Infants

• Severe oxygen deprivation to the brain (hypoxia) or significant trauma to the head during labor and delivery. May result from leaving the child in the birth canal too long, breech births (with the feet, knees, or buttocks coming out first), or failure to detect a prolapsed cord (the umbilical cord can wrap around the child’s neck, cutting off oxygen to the brain)
• Excessive use of vacuum extraction or improper use of forceps
• Failure to respond to changes in the fetal heart rate
• Failure to plan a C-section when one was appropriate (a high birth weight infant could compromise normal, spontaneous, vaginal delivery)
• Vascular or respiratory problems during birth
• Failure to diagnose bleeding in the brain
• Failure to diagnose brain infections (encephalitis, meningitis, herpes simplex infections)
• Failure to treat seizures shortly after birth
• Failure to timely diagnose and treat severe jaundice
• Failure to diagnose Rh incompatibility between mother and infant

Side Effects and Symptoms Include:

• Delays in the developmental stages such as sitting, rolling, crawling, or walking
• Muscle and joint tightness
• Abnormal gait: arms tucked in toward the sides, knees crossed or touching, legs make “scissors” movements, walking on the toes
• Abnormal movements including twisting and jerking
• Tremors
• Muscle weakness or paralysis in a group of muscles

Understand Your Legal Rights

If hospital negligence contributed to cerebral palsy or other related condition in your child, you may be entitled to a cash settlement. Contact the cerebral palsy experts at 1-800-LAW-FIRM for your free and confidential consultation today.