What Are The Grounds For A Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit In Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC?
Cerebral Palsy is a permanent and irreversible crippling condition affecting the brain and central nervous system. There may be many causes but one thing remains constant, your child has sustained brain damage.
While there may be many reasons your child has a brain injury, only with the help of medical and neurological tests can the cause be determined. Cerebral palsy resulting as a medical malpractice very often occurs during labor.
Complications during labor often open the possibility for brain damage in a newborn that would have otherwise been born perfectly healthy. A wrong choice in delivery decisions on the part of the doctor, nurse or caregiver may result in the newborn suffering loss of oxygen or bleeding to the brain thus resulting in cerebral palsy.
Possible Birth Complications or causes of cerebral palsy include:
- Negligence or carelessness on the part of the doctor, nurse or caregiver
- Untreated umbilical cord compression
- Placenta being prematurely sheared by the delivery process
- Improper delivery by forceps , vacuum or delay in performing a C-section
- Failure to recognize and treat seizure, or need for oxygen immediately after delivery, nearly half of children born with a lack of oxygen develop Cerebral Palsy
- Drugs administered to the mother during the delivery process which adversely affect the newborn
Different Factors May Affect The Developing Brain of a Fetus with a result that causes cerebral palsy
- Infections of the nervous system such as meningitis or encephalitis
- Very low glucose levels or other metabolic disorders.
- Lack of oxygen to the brain of the fetus
- Faulty blood supply to the brain
- Poisoning or toxic injury from alcohol or drug use by the mother
- Hypertension in the mother that has not been dealt with
Any of these alone are known to cause bleeding in the brain of a fetus with the ultimate result causing Cerebral Palsy. Why does this happen to some children and not others? This depends on the location and extent of the damage from the brain injury.When the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrition, it opens it up for the possibility of severe damage. Children may show signs of spasticity, seizures, paralysis in their arms or legs, no movement in the trunk and signs of mental retardation.
Could any of these been prevented? Even with the best medical care, there is the possibility that your child will be born with Cerebral Palsy. However, there are also incidents where early intervention could have prevented cerebral palsy or at the very least, the brain damage could have been less severe.
You deserve the answers to these questions. The only way to truly know where the cause of your child’s Cerebral Palsy lies is with the help of a trained medical and legal team experienced in helping families suffering the effects of Cerebral Palsy not only on their loved one but also on the caregivers themselves.
If you or a loved one has suffered from cerebral palsy, call a medical malpractice lawyer at Greenberg & Bederman at 301-589-2200 or toll-free 800-800-1144 or sign up for a free consultation today with our convenient web form.
The initial malpractice consultation is free of charge, and if we agree to handle your cerebral palsy or malpractice case, we will work on a contingency fee basis, which means we get paid for our services only if there is a monetary recovery of funds. A lawsuit must be filed before an applicable expiration date, known as a statute of limitations, so please call right away to ensure that you do not waive your right to possible compensation.
For more information visit our main Medical Malpractice webpage...
