New York Cerebral Palsy Attorneys

Buffalo ● New York ● Albany ● Rochester

Pursuing Justice for Infants and Their Parents

Cerebral palsy is a form of brain damage that affects the nerves regulating and controlling the body's muscles. While the cause is sometimes unknown, it is frequently the result of medical malpractice. Failure to detect problems during pregnancy or labor, failure to respond to distress in the infant or mother, and other medical negligence may result in brain damage and Cerebral palsy. At the law office of Oshman & Mirisola, our medical malpractice attorneys work with medical experts to identify negligent actions by physicians in Cerebral palsy cases. We look at symptoms and warning signs that went unheeded, as well as preventative measures doctors should have taken to reduce the likelihood of Cerebral palsy given certain risk factors.

We have obtained many substantial jury verdicts and insurance settlements in medical malpractice claims for cerebral palsy and other birth injury, including this major jury award:

For More Information Regarding Cerebral Palsy

Contact our cerebral palsy lawsuit attorneys if you believe your infant suffered such a birth injury due to the negligence of the hospital or medical staff. We invite parents to discuss a cerebral palsy medical malpractice claim with our experienced attorneys in a free consultation and claim evaluation. If we find merit in your case and agree to represent you in litigation, you pay no attorneys' fees unless and until we recover compensation through trial or settlement. A malpractice lawsuit may seek damages for medical expenses, future therapy and treatment, home health aides and tutors, loss of future wages, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, and emotional strain on the parents.

Understanding Cerebral Palsy

Four Types of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis and Risks

Cerebral Palsy Prevention 

Cerebral Palsy Treatment 

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy, also called Littles disease or static encephalopathy, is a group of chronic disorders impairing control of movement that appear in the first few years of life. Cerebral palsy affects the nerves that regulate and control the body's muscles. The word cerebral refers to the brain's two halves, and palsy describes any disorder that impairs control of body movement. When there is faulty development or damage to motor areas, as in cerebral palsy, it disrupts the brain's ability to control movement and posture sufficiently.

Four Types of Cerebral Palsy

People with cerebral palsy endure extremely difficult medical, social, and educational development. There are four main categories of cerebral palsy:

• Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common form, affecting 70-80% of patients. This type of cerebral palsy keeps the muscles in a constant state of increased involuntary reflex.
• Athetoid cerebral palsy is characterized by a slow and uncontrolled movement and affects 10-20% of cerebral palsy patients.
• Ataxic cerebral palsy is the rare form of cerebral palsy affecting just 5-10% of the patients. In most cases of cerebral palsy, there are more than one of the types of symptoms present.
• Mixed cerebral palsy is the most common form of cerebral palsy, which is a combination of spasticity and athetoid movements.

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Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis and Risks

Although there are always risk factors for certain conditions, such as cerebral palsy, this does not mean that certain factors will always result in cerebral palsy. Some identified risk factors should be easily recognizable to doctors as indicators.

• Breech presentation during delivery (feet first as opposed to the typical head-first birth).
• A complicated labor and delivery may be a sign that the infant could have cerebral palsy. Cases of cerebral palsy are recognized by vascular or respiratory problems that are sometimes the first sign that a baby has suffered some brain damage or has not fully developed its brain. The Apgar score is a numbered rating scale that reflects a newborn's condition by checking the baby's heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and skin color in the first minutes after birth. A low Apgar score indicates potential problems, and babies with cerebral palsy often score low.
• Premature births and low birth weight are correlated with cerebral palsy. The risk increases as the weight falls.
• Multiple births are also considered a risk for cerebral palsy.
• Some babies with cerebral palsy have visible nervous system malformation, like an abnormally small head suggesting that problems occurred in the development of the nervous system when the baby was in the womb.
• Medical conditions in the mother are also potential indicators of cerebral palsy. Maternal bleeding or severe proteinuria late in pregnancy or vaginal bleeding during the sixth to ninth months of pregnancy is linked to higher risk of cerebral palsy babies. Mothers who have hyperthyroidism, mental retardation, or seizures are also more likely to have a child with cerebral palsy. Seizures in the newborn child can also indicate a higher risk of being diagnosed with cerebral palsy later in childhood.

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Cerebral Palsy Prevention

Certain conditions linked to cerebral palsy can be treated to reduce the risk, but prevention is not always possible. A healthy pregnancy will not always prevent cerebral palsy from occurring, but precautions include:

• Child safety seats in the car and bicycle helmets to protect against head injury leading to cerebral palsy.
• Newborn babies with jaundice can be treated with phototherapy to prevent bilirubin from building up and threatening the brain.
• A blood test for Rh incompatibility in expectant mothers who can be treated with a special serum to prevent unwanted production of antibodies. Treatment also may include transfusions.
• A simple vaccination prior to pregnancy prevents Rubella (German measles), which can lead to cerebral palsy.
• Prior to three years of age, parents can tell if there may be something different about their baby. Children who are not developing motor skills at a normal pace may possibly have cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy infants are frequently slower to reach developmental milestones. Abnormal muscle tone is also a signal -- decreased muscle tone that makes the baby appear relaxed and floppy, or increased muscle tone that makes the baby seem stiff or rigid. While these symptoms are good indicators of cerebral palsy, they can also be developmental problems. A doctor can help distinguish this.

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Cerebral Palsy Treatment

Individuals with cerebral palsy can face serious and difficult medical, social, and education challenges. While there is no cure for cerebral palsy, different treatment methods are constantly being researched and improved. There are no treatments that can undo the damage of cerebral palsy. Treatment for cerebral palsy includes different therapeutic approaches to help better manage the potential physical and mental aspects of a child. Physical therapy, drug therapy, or surgery may be implemented as part of a cerebral palsy treatment depending on the individual's needs.

Recommended treatment options:

• Physical therapy is an important treatment if started soon after a diagnosis is made in the first years of a child's life. Specific exercises helps to keep the muscles from becoming weakened and from deteriorating from lack of use. Cerebral palsy patients can experience muscle contractures when muscles become fixed in a rigid and abnormal position.

Exercises help to avoid contractures, one of the most serious and common complications of cerebral palsy. Contractures can disrupt previous achievements and balance. When muscles and tendons are prevented from stretching and do not grow fast enough to keep up with lengthening bones, it is called spasticity.

Physical therapy is used to prevent contractures complications by stretching spastic muscles, since most children are able to grow and stretch the muscles and tendons from their everyday activities. Physical therapy is also used in certain situations to improve motor development, in addition to behavior therapy in some situations that uses psychological theory and techniques to complement physical, speech, or occupational therapy.

• Drug therapy is used to prevent seizures in the cerebral palsy patient. Drugs control spasticity by interfering with the process of muscle contractions, though drugs used for the long-term control of spasticity have not been clearly proven yet. The drugs have only been shown to be effective in the short-term range. Other cerebral palsy patients may have alcohol injected into a muscle to help reduce spasticity for short periods of time, and the physician can work on lengthening the muscle at this time. Patients with athetoid cerebral palsy sometimes are prescribed drugs to reduce the abnormal movements that they experience.

Some cases of cerebral palsy cause contractures to be so severe that they produce problems in movement; therefore, surgery is used to lengthen the shortened muscle. Another surgery can reduce spasticity in the legs by reducing the amount of stimulation that reaches the leg muscles from the nerves. The procedure is still being researched on a continual basis to determine its overall effectiveness.

Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice Litigation

A birth injury is a physical injury to a baby that occurs during the birthing process. Birth injury may also be referred to as a birth trauma. Some examples of birth injury conditions are brachial palsy, bruising/forceps marks, cephalohematoma, facial paralysis due to pressure on the baby's face causing facial nerve damage, fractures, or the breakage of small blood vessels in the infant's eyes. Birth injury incidents can often be prevented through proper prenatal care and monitoring. The occurrence of a birth injury is much more rare today due to improved prenatal testing; however, the chance of a birth injury still exists, and injuries can be sustained during delivery, although steps to minimize serious birth injury such as cerebral palsy should always be taken. In some cases, the baby sustains a birth injury due to improper techniques resulting in nerve damage or oxygen deprivation.

A devastating birth injury like cerebral palsy occurs when the brain is damaged before or during birth. Such a birth injury may be the result of improper medical responses to fetal distress. In order to prevent birth injury, hospitals should use a fetal monitor that tracks the heart rate and responses to contractions. Birth injury can occur if the doctor fails to recognize and respond to distress. Children sustaining a birth injury may be only slightly affected, or may suffer permanent damage. A more serious birth injury, such as Erb's Palsy or encephalopathy, can result in paralysis or mental retardation.

If the birth injury results from the negligence of the medical staff, then the doctor/hospital should be held responsible. Birth injury costs can include emergency surgery, long-term care and treatment, medication, etc. Children with birth injury conditions may never be capable of caring for themselves, and the expense of treating a birth injury and achieving the best possible quality of life can be quite high. Additionally, a birth injury is traumatic and devastating for the entire family. Parents of a child with a birth injury may be entitled to compensation for the emotional and psychological distress they suffer.

When a birth injury occurs through the negligence or poor judgment of medical professionals, the family living with the birth injury may have many questions about its legal rights. As attorneys experienced in birth injury cases, we may be able to help explain how to decide if the birth injury could have been prevented with proper medical attention.

If you feel your child suffers from Cerebral palsy and wish to bring legal action to compensate your child for his or her physical and emotional damages, contact our New York birth defect law firm and ask for Ted Oshman.

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