San Bernardino Cerebral Palsy Attorney
Compassionate Cerebral Palsy Attorneys Serving San Bernardino, CA
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders that affect an individual’s ability to control their muscles and coordinate their movements. It is a lifelong condition that usually appears in early childhood, often before the age of 2, and it results from damage or abnormalities in the developing brain. This damage can occur during pregnancy, birth, or shortly after birth. Some of the most devastating instances of medical malpractice involve birth injuries, which can lead to conditions like cerebral palsy. Brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen or head trauma during delivery causes cerebral palsy, a permanent condition causing complications throughout the lifetime of the affected child. If your child has been diagnosed with this condition and you suspect it was caused by a medical mistake, contact our San Bernardino cerebral palsy attorneys.
Cerebral Palsy Information
Cerebral palsy can affect a patient’s physical movement, though this is due to problems with the brain’s ability to control the body, rather than with problems in the muscles or nerves. These brain problems can also affect speech, hearing, vision, and brain function. Early symptoms include delayed development and abnormal muscle tone.
A cerebral palsy lawsuit can involve any of the following four types of the condition:
- Spastic – difficult and stiff movement
- Ataxic – problems with depth perception and balance
- Athetoid – involuntary and uncontrolled movements
- Mixed – two or more of the other types
Filing a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit
Cerebral palsy lawsuits are legal actions brought by individuals or their families who believe that the condition was caused or exacerbated by medical negligence or malpractice. These lawsuits are a subset of medical malpractice cases and typically involve the claim that healthcare providers, such as doctors, nurses, or hospitals, failed to provide proper care during pregnancy, labor, or childbirth, resulting in brain damage and cerebral palsy in the child. Our San Bernardino medical malpractice attorneys will also help you along the way.
Common grounds for cerebral palsy lawsuits may include:
- Failure to Diagnose or Treat Infections or Medical Conditions: If healthcare providers fail to diagnose and treat maternal infections or medical conditions that can lead to cerebral palsy in the infant, a lawsuit may be pursued.
- Negligent Prenatal Care: Inadequate prenatal care can contribute to cerebral palsy. If healthcare providers do not monitor the pregnancy properly, detect and address complications, or provide appropriate guidance and treatment, it may lead to legal action.
- Labor and Delivery Errors: Mistakes made during labor and delivery, such as the improper use of forceps, vacuum extraction, or failure to perform a timely cesarean section, can result in oxygen deprivation and brain damage.
- Medication Errors: Administering the wrong medications during pregnancy or labor, or failing to monitor their effects, can lead to cerebral palsy.
- Delayed C-Section: In cases where a timely cesarean section is medically necessary but not performed promptly, a lawsuit may allege negligence.
- Failure to Monitor the Fetal Heart Rate: Continuous fetal heart rate monitoring is crucial during labor. Failure to monitor or properly interpret the fetal heart rate can lead to oxygen deprivation and cerebral palsy.
- Inadequate Neonatal Care: Substandard neonatal care can worsen the effects of cerebral palsy, and a lawsuit may claim that negligence in the neonatal intensive care unit contributed to the condition’s severity.
It’s important to note that cerebral palsy lawsuits are complex and require a thorough review of medical records, expert testimony, and a strong legal strategy.
Contact Our San Bernardino Cerebral Palsy Attorney Today
If your child is born with cerebral palsy and you suspect something went wrong during delivery, a cerebral palsy attorney can help. Recovery from a cerebral palsy lawsuit may be able to help pay for medical costs, fund the cost of continuing care, and compensate you for pain and suffering. Aitken * Aitken * Cohn has been serving the needs of San Bernardino injury victims for over 30 years. Contact our San Bernardino cerebral palsy attorneys today.