Jacksonville Florida Cerebral Palsy Lawyers
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy, or CP, is an umbrella term that describes many forms of a non-progressive motor condition causing disability in humans in the area of body movement. Cerebral refers to the cerebrum, the affected area of the brain, and palsy refers to a movement disorder. Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the developing brain, specifically the motor control centers.
CP can occur during pregnancy and childbirth. About 2 in every 1,000 live births in the industrialized world results in an incidence of cerebral palsy. In the U.S. that translates to about 10,000 infants and babies diagnosed every year.
Patients with cerebral palsy have trouble controlling their movement and posture. They are physically limited, and have accompanying limitations to their visual, auditory, and communication, as well as in some cases learning disabilities. Victims of CP, in some cases, can experience seizures and can be mentally retarded.
There are different types of cerebral palsy:
Spastic Diplegia - Both arms and legs have contractions or stiffness, Also known as paraplegia.
Ataxic Palsy - This rare form of CP affects up to 10 percent of those suffering from cerebral palsy. Unsteadiness, and poor balance character this form of CP.
Athetoid/Dyskinetic CP - Muscle tone in this form of CP is either too tight or too loose. Also called dyskinetic cerebral palsy, a large number afflicted have a high intelligence and also suffer from spasms.
Mild Cerebral Palsy - Can be a mixture of the above.
While there is no identifiable cause of CP, it can also occur before birth when the infant’s oxygen is cut off. Birth trauma during labor and delivery, multiple births, being born premature, low birth weight, and hypoxia of the brain can all lead to CP, as can a failure to detect a prolapsed cord or improper use of forceps.
The cause is often due to a doctor’s failure to react when a mother is jaundiced, has high blood pressure, toxemia, or when the fetal heart rate changes. CP is not a disease, it is a condition that may not be due to medical malpractice, but often is.
How do you know if your child has CP? He may have had seizures within days of his birth. Often the infant requires oxygen following delivery. He may have spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit and required an MRI or brain scan.
There is no cure for CP, but therapy can help improve some functions.
The Jacksonville Florida medical malpractice attorneys at Farah & Farah would like to remind you that there is a limited time within which to file a claim if your child has been injured during the birth process and now has CP.
If the doctor’s negligence led to this permanent brain injury, our Florida personal injury attorneys may be able to file a lawsuit to obtain long-term medical care to provide the child with what he or she will need for a lifetime. The earlier you intervene and provide care for your child, the better the outcome will be.