Cerebral palsy is a disorder that affects a child’s movement, posture or muscle tone due to abnormal brain development from illness or injury.
Sometimes, an otherwise healthy child may end up with cerebral palsy because of negligence by healthcare providers. This can occur before or after birth, as described below.
When negligence is to blame
Some avoidable medical mistakes by your doctor can cause cerebral palsy. They include:
- Failure to accurately detect and treat maternal infections
- Incorrectly using birth assisting tools such as forceps or vacuum extractors
- Errors while performing surgical operations leading to birth injuries
- Failing to perform a C-section on time
- Failure to identify and correct fetal distress such as hypoxia (lack of oxygen)
- Negligence when managing labor and delivery
- Failure to detect and correct issues with the umbilical cord, among others
All these instances can lead to the development of cerebral palsy in your newborn. As a parent, it can be rather distressing. Cerebral palsy is irreversible and cannot be treated, although rehabilitation can help your child lead a normal life.
How do you link your child’s cerebral palsy to medical negligence?
Like all other medical malpractice instances, it is not easy to prove that negligence was the reason behind the development of cerebral palsy. Only an informed evaluation of your case, backed by expert testimony, may help establish if you have a valid medical malpractice claim.
Getting justice for you and your child
Taking care of a child with cerebral palsy can get expensive, and you need to hold the negligent healthcare provider responsible. Compensation will go a long way in helping you meet some costs of managing the condition, such as medical expenses, professional caregivers, special education resources, pain and suffering.
Whether the settlement you receive will be enough to cover all these depends on how you handle your medical malpractice claim.
