Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

Cerebral Palsy is the most common childhood motor disability and about every one in 323 children has been identified with cerebral palsy according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year, about 10,000 babies born in the United States will develop cerebral palsy, and for many of those children, it could have been prevented.

In most cases, children who have cerebral palsy were born with it, quite often as the result of a lack of oxygen to the brain or body, premature birth, or trauma during the delivery process.
when medical malpractice is believed to be the cause of a child’s development of cerebral palsy, the common causes include:

• Failure to detect and/or properly treat infections such as meningitis during pregnancy.
• Failure to properly monitor the fetal heart rate during labor and delivery.
• Failure to detect the existence of a prolapsed umbilical cord during pregnancy.
• Failure to plan and schedule a cesarean section procedure when the size of a baby prevents it from safely passing through the birth canal.
• Making negligent and unreasonable errors when using instruments such as vacuum and/or forceps while delivering a baby (could be using them when not necessary or not using them when necessary).

Prior to a baby’s birth, the doctor should be able to diagnose the mother for potential infections, risk factors or complications during childbirth in addition to determining the baby’s size and proper course of delivery to ensure the safest possible birth. If a doctor failed to diagnose or plan around certain conditions, they may be liable for injuries or responsible for malpractice.

Even during childbirth, if it is apparent the baby has experienced oxygen deprivation, there are still steps the doctor could take to prevent cerebral palsy.

An experienced cerebral palsy attorney understands the tactics that defense lawyers typically use when trying to alleviate or completely eliminate their client’s responsibility. A skilled cerebral palsy lawyer will research, interview witnesses, and gather pertinent documents in order to prove your case.