Medical Errors Cause Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability of childhood, and reducing the risk that your child will suffer from the condition is squarely in your doctor’s hands. Brain damage that happens before or during birth is referred to as congenital CP, which accounts for 90% of diagnoses. Your healthcare provider is supposed to monitor the health of you and your unborn child throughout your pregnancy, labor, delivery and infancy. When your child develops CP because your doctor failed to adequately assess risk or monitor vital signs, that doctor could be held liable for your child’s disability.

Medical errors have lifelong consequences

Cerebral palsy can be the result of medical error at some point in your pregnancy. However, the most common errors occur during labor and delivery, a delicate time for your very vulnerable infant. Some common errors during labor and delivery can include:

• Lack of proper prenatal care leading to low birth weight or other complications
• Failure to monitor baby’s heart rate during delivery
• Failing to act in a timely manner, leaving the baby in the birth canal too long causing brain inflammation and oxygen deprivation
• Head trauma during delivery resulting from the use of forceps or a vacuum extractor

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, low birth weight, premature birth, multiple births, infertility treatments and infections during pregnancy seriously increase the risk of cerebral palsy. If your doctor knew about a medical condition that led to your child’s cerebral palsy diagnosis and failed to properly inform you or act, you and your child are victims of medical malpractice.

Proper care is expensive

The symptoms of cerebral palsy can range from mild to severe. Even moderate symptoms can require expensive 24-care, medical supplies, and special equipment and education resources. If your healthcare provider caused permanent injury to you or your child, the experienced South Carolina birth injury attorneys at McGowan, Hood, Felder & Phillips, LLC can help get you the compensation you need.

Our dedicated South Carolina OB/GYN negligence attorneys have years of experience litigating complex medical malpractice and birth injury cases. If your baby has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy resulting from birth injury, we can help. Call 803-327-7800 or contact us today for a free consultation.