Welcoming a child into the world should be a joyful occasion. But when a doctor’s or medical provider’s negligence results in your child suffering injury and a lifelong disability, you need a team of birth injury lawyers in Allentown on your side to bring your baby’s case to light. If your child suffered a birth injury that resulted in cerebral palsy, the cerebral palsy attorneys of Munley Law are here for you. Our experienced Allentown cerebral palsy lawyers represent families across the Lehigh Valley.
What Causes Cerebral Palsy?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines cerebral palsy as a group of disorders that can impact a person’s movement, balance, and posture. Cerebral palsy is most often caused due to abnormal brain development in utero but can also occur due to a birth injury.
There are four main types of cerebral palsy. They include:
- Spastic Cerebral Palsy
- Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy
- Ataxic Cerebral Palsy
- Mixed Cerebral Palsy
What is Spastic Cerebral Palsy?
Considered the most common form of cerebral palsy, spastic cerebral palsy causes the individual to have increased muscle tone, resulting in stiff, awkward movements. Medically, spastic cerebral palsy is defined by what portion of the body is impacted.
What is Spastic Diplegia/Diparesis?
Spastic diplegia refers to a form of cerebral palsy that impacts muscle stiffness primarily in the legs. Individuals with spastic diplegia may have trouble walking due to their hips and leg muscles being tight, resulting in the legs pulling together, turning inward, and crossing at the knee, almost in a scissor.
What is Spastic Hemiplegia/Hemiparesis?
Spastic hemiplegia only impacts one side of a person’s body, typically with most difficulties in the arm.
What is Spastic Quadriplegia/Quadriparesis?
Spastic quadriplegia is the most severe form of spastic cerebral palsy, and that affects all four limbs, the trunk, and the face. In general, people with this form of cerebral palsy cannot walk. They may have developmental disabilities, as well as suffer from seizures and problems with vision and depth perception, hearing, or speech.
What is Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy?
Dyskinetic cerebral palsy most commonly results in issues controlling movements in the hands, arms, feet, and legs, which can make it more challenging to sit and walk. Movements can either be slow and writhing or more rapid and jerky in appearance. In some instances, the face and tongue can also be affected, making it hard to suck, swallow, or speak.
In individuals with dyskinetic cerebral palsy, muscle tone can change from too tight to too loose throughout the day.
What is Ataxic Cerebral Palsy?
Ataxic cerebral palsy impacts balance and coordination, making individuals unsteady while walking. Movements that require a lot of control can be difficult as well.
What is Mixed Cerebral Palsy?
Some individuals may experience symptoms of multiple forms of cerebral palsy. Most commonly, spastic-dyskinetic cerebral palsy is seen.
What Are The Needs Of A Child With Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy has no cure, making this diagnosis a lifelong commitment of care for the parents and children. Most commonly, children diagnosed with cerebral palsy quickly begin therapy to help with movement as well as learning, speech, hearing, and social and emotional development.
Many individuals will also require medical devices like leg braces and wheelchairs. Some children may also require a G-tube or pump to get medications and/or nutrients.
In some cases, surgery can be utilized to help with hip dislocation and scoliosis, which is common in cerebral palsy patients. Depending on the overall mobility of the individual, the home may also need to be modified to support their needs.
How Do I Know If My Child’s Cerebral Palsy Was Caused By Negligence?
While cerebral palsy, in many cases, is congenital, meaning it occurs before or during birth, sometimes it is caused by medical negligence in the labor and delivery process.
Cerebral palsy caused by negligence often occurs when the baby experiences oxygen deprivation during birth. This may occur if the baby is stuck in the birth canal or behind the pelvis, which can result in the oxygen supply being cut off.
If this occurs and the brain does not get the oxygen it needs, brain cells die, resulting in the death of some functions.
However, there are other ways that oxygen deprivation and other birth injuries can occur due to medical errors. They include but are not limited to:
- Failing to recognize fetal distress and, in turn, performing a cesarean section or c-section
- Failing to diagnose high blood pressure or toxemia in the mother before or during delivery
- Failure to detect a prolapsed umbilical cord
- Excessive use of vacuum extraction or forceps
- Delaying delivery
- Failure to recognize/treat infant seizures
- Failure to diagnose/treat jaundice or meningitis in newborn
When your child’s treatment caused cerebral palsy or other lifelong complications because of negligent medical care, you need an experienced cerebral palsy lawyer to help you in your medical malpractice claim.
When Should I Contact a Cerebral Palsy Attorney in Allentown?
If you suspect your child’s cerebral palsy diagnosis was a result of medical negligence, there are a few steps you should take before beginning a cerebral palsy lawsuit.
First, speak with your child’s pediatrician. They will be able to review your child’s medical records and determine if the cerebral palsy was a result of present risk factors in the child’s anatomy or if it was a preventable birth injury.
Next, think back to the day of the birth. What did your child look like? Was there any sign of distress? If there were, you’d then want a review of your child’s Apgar scores. The Apgar score helps medical providers determine if the baby has breathing or heart trouble after birth. It stands for appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration. A low score indicates some difficulty at birth and shortly thereafter.
Lastly, call an Allentown medical malpractice lawyer. Medical malpractice claims, especially those related to birth injury, are highly complex. Not every medical malpractice law firm takes on cerebral palsy cases, so connect with a law firm like Munley Law.
Once we’ve reviewed your case, we can begin the process for legal action for your baby’s brain damage, developmental delays, and other health complications due to cerebral palsy.
Who Can File a Birth Injury Lawsuit for My Child’s Cerebral Palsy?
Birth injuries involve minors, which means it is up to the parents to seek legal options for their child’s condition. However, under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations for birth injury cases, it is up until the child is 20 years old.
However, waiting that long to recover compensation for your child’s birth injury can impact your financial compensation as much of the evidence will be gone—further, the more time that passes, the more that is likely to be forgotten.
By contacting our birth injury attorneys in Allentown as soon as you suspect medical negligence, you are more likely to get the compensation you need to care for your child now and in the future.
Our Cerebral Palsy Attorneys in Allentown Can Help
When your child’s life is altered because of negligent medical professionals, you and your family deserve to have a recourse taken against the doctor, hospital, or other medical professional. At Munley Law, we have a track record of standing up against negligent doctors and bringing justice to those who have been wronged.
Families affected by negligent medical professionals need to call Munley Law for their cerebral palsy lawsuits. Our attorneys can help you by collecting evidence like medical files and expert testimonials, working with medical professionals to determine the cost of lifelong care, and taking your case to court if a settlement cannot be reached for your loved one.
Need a Medical Malpractice Lawyer? Call Munley Law
If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy or brain damage as a result of medical error, fetal distress in the birth canal, or another labor complication, call Munley Law for a no-obligation, free consultation. Our lawyers work on a contingency basis, which means there are no upfront costs.
Our experienced cerebral palsy lawyers have helped other families seek compensation, and we can help you recover compensation for your child’s diagnosis, too. Call an Allentown cerebral palsy attorney today.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
609 Hamilton St
Allentown, PA 18101
(610) 857-7424
