Cerebral Palsy Lawyers and Attorneys in Dearborn & Dearborn Heights, Michigan
As the loved one of a child recently diagnosed with cerebral palsy (CP), it may feel impossible to confront the emotional and monetary hardships surrounding the condition. At Michigan Cerebral Palsy Attorneys, our Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers understand that adapting to your new lifestyle will take time, care, and resources. In this section, we’ll briefly introduce you to cerebral palsy, its causes, signs and symptoms, and your legal options. The Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers from our legal team implore you to gain as much knowledge about the many rehabilitation resources available to children and families affected by cerebral palsy, and we encourage you to reach out for the financial compensation that will allow you to utilize them.
Before we delve into the details, we’ll first quickly outline what cerebral palsy is. Cerebral palsy (CP), a non-progressive and non-life-threatening neurological condition, is the term given to a group of movement and coordination impairments. “Cerebral” refers to the cerebrum, which is part of the brain that is injured, and “palsy” refers to any residual movement disorders from damage to the cerebrum. Cerebral palsy occurs when the brain is injured during development—for this reason, CP is most commonly inflicted around the time of birth. Those diagnosed with cerebral palsy often exhibit side effects and complications including impairments of the senses, seizures and epilepsy, learning disabilities and cognitive limitations, and motor control issues.
Because the side effects and resultant complications of cerebral palsy are often so extreme and imposing, it is upsetting to consider that a great many CP cases are the result of medical malpractice. If you have a loved one in the process of recovering from a birth injury, you are well acquainted with the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical impairments associated with the condition, as well as the financial resources required to remedy these impairments. If your loved one was diagnosed with CP or another birth injury and you believe it was the result of medical malpractice, we encourage you to fill out our contact form or call our Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers toll-free at (888) 592-1857. Birth injury attorneys from our law firm will evaluate your case for free and inform you of your legal options.
Cerebral Palsy in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights
Our Dearborn Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Discuss the Causes of Birth Injury
As you’ll learn in this segment, a number of cerebral palsy cases result from misdiagnosis, complication mismanagement, and medical error. When physicians, nurses, midwives, and other medical professionals fail to diagnose, treat, and manage the many complications associated with pregnancy and delivery, they risk injuring newborns. Our Dearborn Heights and Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers have decades of experience pursuing litigation for the failure of medical professionals to properly care for the following complications:
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): HIE is one of the most common brain injuries caused by fetal oxygen deprivation and often leads to lifelong disability, brain damage, developmental delays, seizure disorders and epilepsy, motor function impairments, cognitive disabilities, and cerebral palsy. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy occurs when an infant receives insufficient amounts of oxygen to the brain around the time of delivery. The extent of the baby’s asphyxia dictates how extreme the side effects will be. Mishandling a great number of pregnancy and delivery complications results in HIE—some include delayed emergency C-sections, the incorrect use of labor induction drugs like Pitocin and Cytotec, mishandled uterine rupture and placental abruption, uncontrolled abnormal size issues (like cephalopelvic disproportion and macrosomia) and malpresentation (like breech presentation), undetected nuchal cords and prolapsed or compressed umbilical cords, poorly managed post-term pregnancy, and many more. To read about more causes of HIE visit our “Cerebral Palsy from Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy” page.
Premature Birth: Premature delivery (preterm birth) is perhaps the most highly recognized cause of cerebral palsy. When a baby is born before 37 gestational weeks, his/her risk for developing cerebral palsy is about 30 times greater than that of a full-term baby. The delicacy of an underdeveloped premature newborn coupled with roughness of a preterm delivery puts premature infants in danger of developing HIE, overventilation injuries, underdeveloped organs and systems, intracranial hemorrhages, infections, and a number of other complications and injuries. Physicians are expected to delay premature births within the standards of care and to prevent or control any complications that may cause preterm birth (including premature rupture of membranes, infections, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and others).- Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL): Nearly all babies with periventricular leukomalacia are ultimately diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Like hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, PVL occurs when a baby receives insufficient oxygen to the brain around the time of delivery. Lack of oxygen to the brain softens the brain tissues and kills the brain’s white matter, which are the areas of the brain responsible for communicating information to the rest of the brain and body. PVL results in lifelong cognitive impairment, brain damage, spasticity, and motor control impairments. PVL usually results from the mismanagement of intrauterine infections (like chorioamnionitis), hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and damage to glial cells. Risk factors associated with PVL include premature birth, premature rupture of membranes (PROM), hypoxic events, overventilation, brain bleeds, low fetal blood pressure, and respiratory distress.
- Brain Bleeds (Intracranial Hemorrhages): Intracranial hemorrhages occur when the forces and traumas of delivery on an infant’s head are too excessive. One known cause of intracranial hemorrhaging is the improper use of delivery assistance tools (forceps and vacuum extractors)—improper twisting, pulling, or compressing can cause bleeding within a baby’s fragile skull. Another cause of intracranial hemorrhaging is the failure to quickly order and perform an emergency C-section. Additionally, strong contractions and hyperstimulation of the uterus can result in brain bleeds. Prolonged periods of labor occur when size abnormalities exist between the baby and mother—for instance, cephalopelvic disproportion (the infant is too big to easily pass through the mother’s pelvis) and macrosomia (the baby is larger than usual) put forces on the head of an infant that can cause bleeding during labor and delivery. Additionally, the incorrect use of labor-induction drugs such as Cytotec or Pitocin often produce uterine hyperstimulation.
These are just a few of the many ways medical error and mismanagement can lead to cerebral palsy and brain damage. To learn more about cerebral palsy’s causes and risk factors, visit this webpage.
The Signs and Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy
The various signs, symptoms, and side effects of cerebral palsy range in extremity, prevalence, and appearance. For reference, we’ve listed some of the more common signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy below:
- Seizures
- Poor muscle tone and lack of limb control
- Spasticity, tremors, and involuntary movements
- Delayed development and failure to reach developmental milestones
- Motor control impairments
- Retention of the primitive reflexes
- Gait abnormalities
- Tenseness and irritability
- Impairments of the senses (especially vision and hearing)
Diagnosing Cerebral Palsy
The process of diagnosing cerebral palsy is different for every patient—while some are diagnosed right after birth, cerebral palsy isn’t detected in others for five years or longer. Insults like hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and intracranial hemorrhaging around the time of birth may prompt quick diagnoses, but some parents don’t detect cerebral palsy until their child has missed developmental milestones. Either way, specialists highly encourage early detection and the diagnostic opinions of a variety of specialists. Common diagnostic tests used to detect and diagnose cerebral palsy include Apgar scoring, brain imaging tests, and umbilical cord blood gas tests.
Legal Help for Cerebral Palsy (CP) in Michigan
Dearborn Cerebral Palsy Lawyers
Whether your loved one’s cerebral palsy resulted from one of the complications we discussed in this article or from another medical error, our experienced Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers can help you determine your legal options. Complete our contact form or call us toll-free at (888) 592-1857 and a lawyer from our birth injury law firm will provide you with a free legal consultation.
If you’d like to read more about the specific cerebral palsy resources available in your city, our Dearborn cerebral palsy lawyers have compiled an extensive disability resource list, which you can read here.