Miller and Zois

Cerebral Palsy

       Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term that describes a group of chronic disorders that impair movement control in the early years of a child's life. In patients with cerebral palsy, messages between the brain and the rest of the body become scrambled. These scrambled messages can result in the wrong muscles doing the wrong job causing problems with walking, speech, balance, and coordination. Cerebral palsy is neither progressive or communicable. Some children with cerebral palsy are also affected by other medical disorders, but cerebral palsy does not always result in profound handicap. Regrettably, it is also not curable although though therapy and modern technology, people with cerebral palsy often lead happy and productive lives.                                                  

       The cause of this disorder varies. Many children with cerebral palsy have a congenital malformation of the brain, meaning that the malformation existed at birth and was not caused by factors occurring during the birthing process. For other children, their cerebral palsy was caused by brain damage sustained by the infant before, during or immediately after the baby's birth. This brain damage is often the result of lack of oxygen to the baby's brain or from a trauma during labor and delivery. This type of injury is often, but not always, caused by the medical malpractice of the physicians delivering the baby. This is a list of some of the potential medcial malpractice related causes of cerebral palsy:

It may take many years to be able to determine whether a child has cerebral palsy injuries from birth. But, often, the signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy very prominent from the beginning:

  • The child has problem getting enough oxygen after delivery
  • Seizures shortly after delivery
  • Lack of muscle tone or the child is dusky or blue
  • Low APGAR score
  • Significantly missing developmental milestones
  • Inability to walk, or difficulty walking
  • Spasticity

      There is no cure for cerebral palsy but technology and medical advices are doing some amazing things to improve the quality of life for people suffering from cerebral palsy.

If you believe your child has cerebral palsy as the result of medical malpractice and want to speak with a Maryland cerebral palsy lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or click here to ask a question or for an on-line free, no obligation consultation.