Cerebral palsy is not a “one-size-fits-all” diagnosis. This is because it isn’t just one condition, but rather a group of neurological conditions that can affect a person’s movement, posture, balance, speaking, swallowing, and cognitive functioning.
Doctors will break a cerebral palsy diagnosis down into multiple subgroups based on what part of the child’s brain was injured and the visible symptoms that appear during early childhood.
A child’s cerebral palsy will generally be classified by the severity of symptoms, the limb(s) affected, and the overall severity of the impact it has on their motor function capabilities. It’s important for parents to understand their child’s cerebral palsy diagnosis and the expectations that come along with it so they can understand how to best support them.
We are prepared to meticulously investigate the circumstances of your case, gather crucial medical records, consult with top medical experts, and fight tirelessly to secure the compensation you deserve for your child's birth injury.
We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won't pay any legal fees unless we win your case. We only receive payment once you do.
Recent Birth Injury Settlement:
Birth Injury settlement against a hospital in which nurses and physicians failed to properly monitor the mother's blood pressure during delivery causing an HIE event resulting in neonatal seizures and cerebral palsy at birth. Our national birth injury lawyers recovered $13,750,000 for the family to help with future medical expenses and developmental therapy.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
At the core of any cerebral palsy diagnosis is dysfunction within the nervous system, a group of organs inside the body that includes the nerves, the spinal cord and, most notably, the brain. The nervous system regulates the entire body’s function and is responsible for controlling movement.
Cells called motor neurons travel through the nerves to transmit signals from the brain to the spinal cord, eventually sending that message to different muscles in the body. The muscle fibers contract as a response, triggering movement.
When babies sustain brain damage at birth, it can affect the brain’s ability to transmit these motor neuron signals to the appropriate parts of the body. It can sometimes result in unpredictable muscle spasms and the inability to control muscle movement. In other cases, it can cause complete paralysis of certain limbs or parts of the body.
Spastic Cerebral Palsy is the most common form of cerebral palsy, accounting for nearly 80% of all cases. It is caused by damage to the cerebrum (specifically the motor cortex), which is the part of the brain primarily responsible for motor function and cognitive abilities.
Spasticity refers to an abnormal muscle movement pattern where the muscles in the body randomly contract and tighten. It is a state of hypertonia where muscle tone is increased, resulting in stiffness and difficulty moving. These contractions will often cause spasms (also known as muscle cramps) that will add on to the child’s pain and discomfort.
Spastic cerebral palsy is unique in that it typically affects only specific areas or parts of the body. The three most common sub-classifications of spastic cerebral palsy include:
Spastic Hemiplegia: Typically affects muscles on one side of the body. In most cases, the arm is more affected than the leg and is distinguished by a wrist or elbow that is rigidly flexed. Spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy can be caused by prenatal bleeding.
Spastic Quadriplegia: This is the most severe form of cerebral palsy that affects both the arms and legs. It may also impact the muscles in the torso and face. According to a study published by Translational Pediatrics, 20% of infants with cerebral palsy have spastic quadriplegia. Children with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy often have trouble walking, encounter speech difficulties, or have seizures. A child born with this condition usually requires lifetime birth injury treatment and support.
While cerebral palsy isn’t a progressive disorder (meaning the brain injury doesn’t worsen over time), gradual wearing down of the muscles and joints over time is common and can cause the individual’s symptoms to worsen.
Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy is the second most common form of cerebral palsy, albeit much rarer than spastic cerebral palsy. It is also sometimes called athetoid cerebral palsy; ‘athetosis’ refers to slow, writhing and twisting movements that are involuntary.
Deep within the center of the brain lies the basal ganglia, a critical part connected to the brainstem and spinal cord that also controls motor function and movement. Injuries to this region of the brain are what cause dyskinetic cerebral palsy, which is characterized by involuntary muscle contractions (dystonia), spasms, and twitching.
Three Types of Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy Movement Disorders
Athetosis: This type of movement disorder causes slow curling movements and twitching. A child with this subtype of Dyskinetic cerebral palsy may experience slow, involuntary twisting or writing in their hands, arms, feet, legs, and neck, even at rest.
Some additional symptoms of athetoid cerebral palsy include floppy muscles, stiff muscles, facial muscle issues, fine motor problems, and problems with eating, drinking, or talking.
Dystonia: The primary characteristic of this subtype of dyskinetic cerebral palsy is an involuntary contraction of the muscles that usually occurs when movement is attempted. Although these contractions can occur throughout the body, they most commonly occur in the hands and feet.
When the affected individual attempts a controlled movement, the muscle contractions cause slow and repetitive twisting and writhing.
Some other signs of cervical dystonia include issues with posture and spurts of erratic and jerky movements. Symptoms may worsen when a person becomes upset, stressed, or emotional.
Chorea: Chorea is identified by jerky, quick, and unpredictable movements that can appear almost rhythmic. In its mild form, a person might look fidgety or clumsy. Those with more severe chorea can display wild and violent movements.
Speech and swallowing can also be affected by chorea, which may require assistance via feeding tubes in extreme cases.
Although certain symptoms of dyskinetic cerebral palsy may be apparent at birth, there are instances where they may not fully become apparent until the child gets older. While there isn’t one specific test for this type of cerebral palsy, doctors and medical professionals can look at multiple facets of a child’s symptoms, including:
For further investigation, doctors may decide to use neuroimaging technology to scan the child’s brain in an attempt to pinpoint the location of the damage.
As one of the rarest forms of the disorder, ataxic cerebral palsy primarily affects a child’s balance and coordination. Ataxic comes from the word “ataxia” which is defined as lack of coordination or order.
Like all forms of cerebral palsy, ataxic cerebral palsy develops when a child's brain sustains an injury (like an HIE injury) before, during, or shortly after birth. It arises from brain injuries to the cerebellum, which is responsible for regulating balance and posture along with other motor learning skills like speech and emotional processing.
A key feature of ataxic cerebral palsy is the lack of muscle tone, known as hypotonia.
Children with ataxic cerebral palsy usually have trouble maintaining control over their bodily movements, and their ability to judge how close or far away something may also be compromised. A child with ataxia may struggle to perform voluntary movements such as picking up objects or walking.
Although there is no cure for any type of cerebral palsy, there are treatment options that could help a child with ataxic cerebral palsy.
Among some of the main treatments that may allow a child to live a more independent life are physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Physical Therapy plays an important role in the management of birth injuries. Almost all children diagnosed with cerebral palsy should receive physical therapy to improve motor skills and achieve more physical independence.
Occupational Therapy is aimed at promoting rehabilitation and quality of life improvements by focusing on daily life activities and practicing engagement of fine motor skills like writing, brushing teeth, and holding eating utensils.
Starting physical and occupational therapy as early as possible is likely to increase the chances of improving child’s conditions with ataxic cerebral palsy and all other forms as well.
When babies suffer from damage to multiple parts of the brain, they may be diagnosed with a form of mixed cerebral palsy. Children living with mixed cerebral palsy generally experience a wide range of physical and neurological symptoms.
Mixed cerebral palsy can encompass all symptoms from the different subtypes, including:
Paralysis (monoplegia, diplegia, hemiplegia, or quadriplegia)
Spasticity
Rigidity (muscle stiffness)
Hypertonia (increased muscle tone) or hypotonia (decreased muscle tone)
Did Medical Mistakes Cause My Child’s Cerebral Palsy?
As illustrated above, a cerebral palsy diagnosis can stem from a multitude of birth complications that interact together. And parents deserve to know when these complications are caused or amplified by medical mistakes.
Parents whose children suffer from the long-term effects of birth complications, especially cerebral palsy and the life changes that come with it, deserve to know whether it could have been prevented. Our dedicated birth injury lawyers want to help you find those answers and obtain the funds necessary to improve the quality of life for your child.
Sometimes families are hesitant to reach out to a medical malpractice attorney or law firm. They may feel overwhelmed by their circumstances or are worried that a law firm will not be able to help them. But the only way to find out if you have a case is to talk to an attorney who understands how birth injuries can lead to developmental delays and other birth complications that require long-lasting medical support.
What is the Statute of Limitations in a Birth Injury Case?
A statute of limitations (SOL) is a law that sets a time limit on how long an injured person has to file a lawsuit after an accident. It is essential to understand that statutes of limitations vary based on the type of case and the state where it is filed. For instance, the deadline for birth injury claims is typically different from other claims, such as injury to personal property, fraud, contract disputes, and collection of debts.
Generally, the clock starts ticking on the date the injury occurred. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and in some cases, the statute of limitations starts when a person discovers or reasonably should have discovered an injury.These exceptions can vary by state, so be sure to consult with an experienced birth injury attorney to learn your rights.
For example, if the party that injured you was:
A federal employee
Employed by a military hospital, Veterans Administration facility, or a federally funded medical entity
You may need to file a birth injury claim under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). In FTCA cases, claimants must go through certain administrative procedures before filing a lawsuit. In some states, if the negligent party was a local or state government hospital or the doctors and medical providers are employees of a governmental entity, the time period in which you must give "notice" may be shorter.
If your case is filed outside of the statute of limitations, it will typically be dismissed, and you will not be eligible to recover compensation for your injuries. Determining when a statute of limitations begins on your case can be tricky. If you're considering pursuing compensation for a birth injury, contacting an attorney as soon as possible is in your best interest.
How The Birth Injury Attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky Can Help?
It takes a detailed expert review of the facts and circumstances of your pregnancy and your child's birth before determining whether their cerebral palsy diagnosis came as the result of medical malpractice.
At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, a team of committed attorneys, nurses and paraprofessionals uses our detailed medical negligence case review process to assess your potential birth injury case. We start by learning more about you and your
child and the status of meeting/missing developmental milestones.
Then we gather medical records to determine what happened before, during, and after your delivery. We call in skilled medical experts who review your records and let us know if they think medical errors could have caused your child's injuries.
If we feel medical negligence caused or contributed to the brain injury that led to your child’s cerebral palsy, we meet with you to discuss how you can receive compensation from the medical professionals who made the errors.
At no point in our legal intake process will we ask you to pay anything. The medical review of your case and the consultation are free. We only receive payment when you do. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we can begin investigating your case and gathering the evidence needed to support your claim.
We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you won't pay any legal fees unless we win your case. Contact us today to schedule your free legal consultation by calling our toll-free line at 888-987-0005 or by filling out our online request form.
