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Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy describes a group of disorders that affect movement control. More specifically, it is the permanent and irreversible crippling condition affecting the brain and the central nervous system of a young child. These disorders are brought about in several ways that interferes with either the oxygen and nutrition flow to the brain or impinges upon the proper development of the central nervous system. When the flow of oxygen and nutrition to the brain is impeded, the brain becomes damaged. It may be caused during the pregnancy, during labor or during the delivery. Depending upon the degree of the brain damage, the young child may demonstrate a range of impairments from slight physical defects to delayed development or even mental retardation.
As with all medical malpractice cases, the proper procedure to determine whether the injury was a result of negligence is to have a board certified professional (or other appropriate physician) review the medical care provided.
The following are among the more common causes of cerebral palsy:
· Frequent use of certain types of prescription, nonprescription or illegal drugs;
· Excessive use of vacuum extraction;
· Specific types of infections occurring for the first time during pregnancy, rubella, herpes simplex, and untreated group B strep;
· Failure to perform a cesarean section when there is evidence of fetal distress;
· Placental abnormalities including aging of the placenta during the pregnancy, or sudden separation of the placenta from the wall of the uterus;
· Mother's untreated high blood pressure, eclampsia, toxemia, diabetes, problems with her thyroid or other conditions;
· Untreated umbilical cord compression, untreated signs of fetal distress due to the baby being stuck in the birth canal because of its size or its position; and
· Failure to deliver the infant when the membranes have been ruptured for an extended period of time.
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