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Questions about Cerebral Palsy |
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Cerebral palsy, a brain-damage birth defect or birth injury that manifests into physical and mental delays, is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. |
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| Author: Sara Goldstein |
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Nearly 800,000 children and adults in the U.S. have cerebral palsy, according to the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and about 10,000 new cases are diagnosed in babies each year.
What Causes Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy, a brain-damage birth defect or birth injury that manifests into physical and mental delays, is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain. Medical malpractice can play a role in the cause of cerebral palsy if healthcare professionals are negligent while treating a mother during pregnancy or a baby during labor and delivery. For example, C-sections can be delayed too long. The diagnosis of an umbilical cord problem can be missed. There can be head trauma from inappropriate use of forceps or vacuum extraction. A mother’s illnesses can go untreated, leaving the fetus at risk.
How Is Cerebral Palsy Diagnosed?
Cerebral palsy is usually diagnosed by a doctor after a child does not meet several developmental milestones.
Can Cerebral Palsy Be Cured?
Unfortunately, there is no cure for cerebral palsy. There are, however, varying cerebral palsy treatments that may be recommended to help improve symptoms.
What Are the Different Types of Cerebral Palsy?
There are four types of cerebral palsy: spastic, ataxic, athetoid and mixed. Spastic is the most common of the four. A person with spastic cerebral palsy may have difficulty controlling stiff muscles and suffer from continuous jerky movements. Children with ataxic cerebral palsy have little to no muscle tone and poor coordination and balance.
Athetoid cerebral palsy is characterized by muscle tone that varies between too low and too high. Involuntary and uncontrolled motions are typical for this type of cerebral palsy. There can be difficulty in sitting in a steady, upright position. Mixed cerebral palsy is the diagnosis when some muscle tone is low and some is too high.
Are There Ways to Prevent Cerebral Palsy?
The best way to attempt to prevent cerebral palsy is to make certain that you are getting excellent care during your pregnancy and that you are confident in your doctor and hospital staff’s competence to handle your labor and delivery, especially if the delivery were to become complicated.
Can a Child and Parent Receive Compensation for a Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury?
Medical malpractice and negligence laws are in place to help families recover damages from medical mistakes like those that can cause cerebral palsy. An experienced medical malpractice cerebral palsy attorney can help you receive compensation for factors, such as long-term medical costs, physical and occupational therapy, academic tutoring and special education, emotional and
physical pain and suffering.
About Author
For additional information and resources related to cerebral palsy and a medical malpractice claim, please visit the website of Salt Lake City’s G. Eric Nielson & Associates, LLC, home to highly skilled Utah cerebral palsy medical malpractice attorneys.
Article Source:
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