Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of motor problems and physical disorders related to a brain injury. CP causes uncontrolled reflex movements and muscle tightness (spasticity) that may affect a part, a side, or the entire body, with varying severity.

One of the most common causes of cerebral palsy can be linked to medical malpractice. Cerebral palsy may be caused by a series of complications that may include:

• Failure to declare and properly respond to fetal distress;
• Failure to act in a timely manner;
• Failure to properly read monitoring data;
• Administration of too much Pitocin;
• Misdiagnosis, negligence, or other types of medical malpractice.

Common to all individuals with cerebral palsy is difficulty controlling and coordinating muscles. This makes even very simple movements difficult.

• Cerebral palsy may involve muscle stiffness (spasticity), poor muscle tone, uncontrolled movements, and problems with posture, balance, coordination, walking, speech, swallowing, and many other functions.
   
• Mental retardation, seizures, breathing problems, learning disabilities, bladder and bowel control problems, skeletal deformities, eating difficulties, dental problems, digestive problems, and hearing and vision problems are often linked to cerebral palsy.
   
• The severity of these problems varies widely, from very mild and subtle to very profound.
   
• Although the magnitude of the problems may wax and wane over time, the condition does not get worse over time.

• Spastic (pyramidal): Increased muscle tone is the defining characteristic of this type. The muscles are stiff (spastic), and movements are jerky or awkward. This type is classified by which part of the body is affected: diplegia (both legs), hemiplegia (one side of the body), or quadriplegia (the entire body). This is the most common type of CP, accounting for about 70-80% of cases.
   
• Dyskinetic (extrapyramidal): This includes types that affect coordination of movements. There are 2 subtypes.
   
  • Athetoid: The person has uncontrolled movements that are slow and writhing. The movements can affect any part of the body, including the face, mouth, and tongue. About 10-20% of cerebral palsy cases are of this type.
     
  • Ataxic: This type affects balance and coordination. Depth perception is usually affected. If the person can walk, the gait is probably unsteady. He or she has difficulty with movements that are quick or require a great deal of control, such as writing. About 5-10% of cases of cerebral palsy are of this type.
     
• Mixed: This is a mixture of different types of cerebral palsy. A common combination is spastic and athetoid. 

What economic relief is available to those with cerebral palsy?
Up until the age of three, children qualify for early intervention programs either with professionals who provide services in home or in program centers. Under both federal and state law, children between the ages of three and twenty-two are entitled to special education services. These laws guarantee that a child with special needs has access to an educational program, including speech, occupational and physical therapy services and placement in public and private school programs. In addition:

• Respite care. Provides families with occasional relief from the daily care of the child. These services are offered by several state agencies and are often provided free.
• Eligibility for handicap plates. Often times there is an exemption on the sales tax/excise tax for such a vehicle.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI). A federally funded program that sends monthly checks to children who the federal government determines to be disabled.
• Medicaid. Federally funded programs that can extend medical benefits to disabled children who meet the eligibility criteria.
• Special services. Neurology, orthopedic and cardiac clinics. Often times there is no charge to the family for this initial diagnostic evaluation and financial assistance may be available beyond that.
   

Your Legal Concerns
While most doctors, nurses, midwives, and hospital technicians provide a high standard of care for their patients, unfortunately, many families are harmed by medical mistakes. A physician may have misread fetal monitoring equipment, failed to diagnose fetal distress during labor, waited too long to perform a C Section, administered too much Pitocin, or failed to act in a timely manner. Parents of a child suffering with cerebral palsy should contact an experienced cerebral palsy lawyer to research the cause of their child’s condition.

Cerebral Palsy Online Resources

• WHAT CAUSES CEREBRAL PALSY?
• CEREBRAL PALSY IN THE NEWBORN
• CEREBRAL PALSY FROM THE BIRTHING PROCESS
• CEREBRAL PALSY IN THE INFANT AND CHILD
• HOW IS A DIAGNOSIS OF CEREBRAL PALSY MADE?
• DO X-RAYS OR OTHER TESTS HELP IN DIAGNOSIS CEREBRAL PALSY?
• WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CEREBRAL PALSY?
• WHAT IS THE PROGNOSIS FOR THE CHILD WITH CEREBRAL PALSY?
• WHAT CAN THE PHYSICIAN TELL THE PARENTS EARLY ON?
• HOW AGGRESSIVE SHOULD TREATMENT BE GIVEN A SICK NEWBORN?
• HOW CAN REALISTIC GOALS BE DESIGNED FOR THE CHILD WITH CEREBRAL PALSY?
• WHAT MEDICAL PROBLEMS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CEREBRAL PALSY?

Cerebral Palsy News Headlines

Drug may improve bone density in cerebral palsy
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Low doses of pamidronate increase bone mineral density (BMD) in children with spastic cerebral palsy with severe movement impairment ...

Cerebral palsy sufferer gets around on a recumbent bike
... Kauppinen has cerebral palsy. Walking has always been difficult for him because the lifelong condition caused his feet and legs to deform. ...

Man hobbled by cerebral palsy writes book
... But he wrote a book, a word at a time, with the side of his head. Nelson, 31, has cerebral palsy, a disorder that affects half a million Americans. ...

More Cerebral Palsy News by Google

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