Cerebral palsy is a serious type of brain injury that can affect how a patient moves and speaks. It can hamper fine motor control and balance and cause breathing problems, issues with vision, and intellectual disabilities. It is often caused by damage to the parts of the brain that control motor function, coordination, sensation, and more.
Was your child diagnosed with cerebral palsy? Our El Paso cerebral palsy lawyer team can help. Based on the severity of your child’s injuries, he or she may be able to adapt his or her symptoms and, with continued treatment and monitoring, life independently.
Serious cases, however, may require more intensive treatment and lifelong care.
Contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 for a free consultation to discuss your child’s injuries and to learn about the next steps you should take.
For a free legal consultation with El Paso Cerebral Palsy lawyer, call 1-800-222-9529
How Cerebral Palsy Affects the Body
The brain is responsible for controlling the various motor functions that allow us to live and do things independently. Some of these functions are voluntary, such as picking up an object. Some are involuntary, such as reflex actions like blinking or ducking. Damage to the centers of the brain that control these motor functions can affect these voluntary and involuntary actions, so a brain injury may lead to difficulty walking, speaking, swallowing, or holding a pencil and being able to write.
According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, cerebral palsy affects more than 500,000 people in the United States. Most patients have spastic cerebral palsy, which presents as stiff muscles and sudden, jerky movements. It is a non-progressive disorder that does not worsen over time, but it has no known cure.
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Causes and Diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy
When we talk about cerebral palsy in infants and children, it is usually caused by damage or injury of some sort to the baby’s developing brain. Any damage before, during, or soon after birth can cause cerebral palsy to develop. It is important to note that cerebral palsy usually manifests as muscle or nerve issue, but it actually stems from brain damage.
Before rehabilitative treatments can be initiated, you must first investigate the causes of your child’s health issues. To do this, your doctor may:
- Conduct a thorough physical exam
- Perform imaging studies such as MRIs or CT scans
- Perform a blood test to rule out infections
- Perform nerve conductivity and muscle spasticity tests
Based on the results of these tests, your child’s doctor should be able to devise a treatment plan for your child. He or she may consult with experts in other fields such as neurologists, nutritionists, orthopedic surgeons, and learning and speech therapists before coming up with a plan of action that is tailored to the needs of your child.
Speak with the El Paso cerebral palsy lawyer team to learn about your legal options and how you may be able to recover compensation to pay for your child’s treatment and care.
Common causes of brain damage leading to cerebral include:
- Certain maternal infections
- Brain bleeds
- Asphyxia, a lack of oxygen in the brain
- Maternal exposure to harmful substances—this includes drugs and alcohol but also includes the inadvertent ingestion of poisons such as mercury from fish or toxins from raw or undercooked meat
- Medical negligence including doctor distraction, inexperience, medication errors, or errors reading reports
- Complications related to breech presentation or other delivery issues
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Cerebral Palsy and Preventable Birth Injuries
We expect doctors and other medical professionals to have the experience and expertise required to care for our loved ones. We also expect them to perform their duties with a high degree of competence and skill. You may have grounds for a malpractice claim if a doctor:
- Fails to recognize the signs of fetal distress.
- Does not diagnose or misdiagnoses an issue.
- Administers an incorrect amount of specific medications.
- Does not perform a test that could have identified a potential birth complication.
The issue here is connecting a birth injury to specific acts performed by your child’s medical team during the treatment or delivery of your baby. In most cases, you can only file a compensation claim for damages caused by the negligence of a doctor or medical professional if the following conditions hold true:
- That the doctor or care team owed you a duty of care.
- That the duty of care was breached or that care was administered below an acceptable level of competence.
- That your baby sustained injuries as a result of the breach in the duty of care.
- That those injuries resulted in damages of some sort, whether financial, emotional, or otherwise.
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The Role of an Attorney in Your Cerebral Palsy Case
Investigating your child’s injuries and building a case based on the four criteria above is what an experienced birth injury lawyer may be able to do for you. Doing this may involve:
- Investigating the circumstances surrounding your child’s injuries.
- Obtaining the testimony of a medical expert in support of your case.
- Determining the potential value of your claim.
- Handling insurance agents on your behalf.
- Negotiating a settlement with the at-fault parties.
- Representing you in court if needed.
Contact Us Today
At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, we are empathetic to the fight and the plight of our clients. Malpractice laws do not always favor the individual, and hospitals and doctors tend to be very well insured and have teams of lawyers and insurance agents that look after their financial interests. Dealing with these groups and fighting for your rights can be an uphill challenge that is made that much harder by the fact that you must take care of your child at the same time.
Our El Paso cerebral lawyer team is here to help. We work to ensure that families struck with a cerebral palsy diagnosis can cope with and hopefully overcome the challenges they face. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today at (800) 222-9529 to speak to our team now.
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