Cerebral Palsy

If your child suffers from cerebral palsy, you should seek more than medical advice. It is important to find out how Schwartzapfel Truhowsky Marcus Sachs P.C. can potentially help your family receive a settlement that could enable you to properly care for your child.

Cerebral palsy is a common example of a birth injury caused by oxygen deprivation or physical trauma. Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects the nerves that control the body's muscles. If the areas of the brain that control motor functions are damaged, the brain's ability to manage physical activities like movement and speech are reduced. The consequences of such damages can range from difficulty with fine motor operations (like using a fork), to muscle spasms, to, in the most severe cases, mental retardation and total lack of muscle control (making movement and speech extremely difficult). Cerebral palsy cannot be cured, although treatment options do exist. Treatments for children afflicted with cerebral palsy can include drug and chemical therapies, physical therapy and surgery.

There are several methods treating physicians and obstetricians can use to help prevent damage. The treating obstetrician is required to monitor the progress of labor and the status of a fetus in a timely and vigilant fashion through frequent vaginal examinations and electronic fetal heart monitoring, either abdominally or internally.

For example, a lack of progress in labor or an abnormal fetal heart rate should be recognized as fetal distress and preventative measures should be taken. There are also steps a delivery team should take to prevent damage during the birth itself. These include having personnel on hand that can perform a careful and constant review of the fetal heart monitor to determine if the fetus is in distress.

Any medications utilized during the birthing process must also be correctly administered to prevent injuries to the fetus. The treating physician must ensure that the fetus receives enough oxygen and maintains proper blood pH levels during birth. If the baby is improperly positioned during the actual delivery, the treating physician must be ready to take immediate action, possibly ordering that a Cesarean section (C-section) be performed. Delays in action when these dangerous conditions are present can lead to complications like cerebral palsy.

Finally, deliveries may be assisted by instrumentations such as vacuum extraction or forceps. These tools may cause significant trauma to the soft tissue of the skull to the point where bleeding and damage occurs to the brain. If the treating physician or obstetrician fails to prevent the conditions described above, or fails to react in a timely manner when these conditions are present, they may be considered to have acted in a manner not consistent with established medical practices and might be held responsible for medical malpractice.

If you suspect your child's birth injuries are a result of medical malpractice or negligence on behalf of a doctor, surgeon, physician or practitioner, please call us at 1.800.966.4999 or fill out the form to the right of the page for a free case evaluation.

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