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Birth Injury (Including Cerebral Palsy) – How an Attorney Can Help Your Family

When a woman is giving birth, she places her trust in the hospital staff to provide exemplary medical care. Imagine one’s devastation on finding out that her baby has suffered a birth injury like cerebral palsy that may cause permanent impairment. While hospital obstetricians and their staff do not affect hereditary and congenital birth defects, birth injuries are another matter.

A birth injury occurs just before, during, or after childbirth, and may be preventable. The attendant medical staff must follow certain procedures to ensure the safety of the fetus and the mother. For example, when a woman is in labor, it is important to monitor the fetal heart rate for distress signals. The obstetrician should be able to determine when a cesarean section is necessary. During vaginal birth, certain emergency measures may need to be employed if the baby becomes stuck. If the proper procedures are not followed and a birth injury such as cerebral palsy results, the doctor, medical staff, and hospital may be held liable for medical malpractice.

Some birth injuries include:

• Cerebral Palsy
  • Spastic CP
  • Ataxic CP
  • Athetoid CP
• Brachial Plexus Palsy
  • Erb’s Palsy
  • Klumpke’s Palsy

If a child suffers from brachial plexus palsy or cerebral palsy, please contact a birth injury attorney immediately for legal advice.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a disorder usually caused by brain damage occurring before or during the birth process. With cerebral palsy, the parts of the brain that control muscle function are damaged. There are three main types of cerebral palsy: spastic, ataxic, and athetoid. Spastic cerebral palsy, by far the most common type, is when one or more muscle groups are abnormally tight, which causes jerky movements and poor muscle coordination. Ataxic cerebral palsy involves low muscle tone and entails shaky movements and diminished coordination. Athetoid cerebral palsy is characterized by involuntary, purposeless movements that a child is unable to control. Some children have mixed cerebral palsy, a combination of spastic and athetoid cerebral palsy.

If a child suffers from this birth injury, contact a cerebral palsy attorney for help.

Brachial Plexus Palsy

Caused by shoulder dystocia and attempts to alleviate the perilous situation during childbirth, brachial plexus palsy is a birth injury that may be caused or exacerbated if proper procedures are not followed. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the shoulder of a fetus catches on the mother’s pelvic bone during childbirth. Shoulder dystocia must be diagnosed quickly and appropriate remedies employed immediately to relieve the situation. Brachial plexus palsy occurs when the baby’s shoulder is stretched, damaging the nerves leading to the arm. This damage to the brachial plexus nerves can cause permanent impairment in the affected arm’s functioning. Erb’s palsy is the name given to paralysis of muscles in the upper arm and shoulder. When the muscle of the lower arm and hand are affected, the condition is known as Klumpke’s palsy.

If a child suffers from brachial plexus palsy, cerebral palsy, or another birth injury, please contact a birth injury attorney for a complimentary case evaluation.

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