Flint Cerebral Palsy Lawyers

Cerebral Palsy Attorneys in Flint, Michigan

At Michigan Cerebral Palsy Attorneys, our Flint cerebral palsy lawyers understand and sympathize with the overwhelming emotional and financial hardships of a birth injury diagnosis. Adapting to life with an injury like cerebral palsy requires great financial support, extensive medical knowledge of the condition, and ample time to take advantage of the available therapeutic and lifestyle resources.

Before we discuss cerebral palsy in further detail, let us first explain the basics. Cerebral palsy (CP) is the term given to a grouping of non-progressive, non-life-threatening neurological conditions that primarily affect movement, cognition, the senses, and communication. Cerebral palsy is the result of damage to the developing brain and is most commonly inflicted around the time of delivery. People with cerebral palsy exhibit a number of different side effects and complications, some of which include impairments of coordination, muscle tone, development, balance, range of motion, hearing and vision, learning, feeding and communication. Seizures and epilepsy are also very common cerebral palsy side effects. While there are no cure-all cerebral palsy treatments, a great many therapies, medical procedures, and adaptive lifestyle techniques ease the social, emotional, cognitive, and physical side effects of the condition.

The Flint cerebral palsy lawyers from our birth injury law firm encourage families to become educated on the causes, expenses, and legal options surrounding a cerebral palsy diagnosis. If you believe a medical professional failed to properly treat, identify, diagnose, or manage a complication that led to your loved one’s cerebral palsy, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice case. Contact Michigan Cerebral Palsy Attorneys and our experienced Flint cerebral palsy lawyers will review your loved one’s case free of charge. Should we take your case, you will not be charged until our Flint cerebral palsy lawyers win or settle in your favor. You may contact the Flint cerebral palsy lawyers and attorneys at our birth injury law firm in any of the following ways:

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Birth Injury in Flint, Michigan

Our Flint Cerebral Palsy Lawyers Explain the Causes of CP

When medical professionals fail to detect, diagnose, treat, or manage certain complications of pregnancy, labor, and delivery, both the mother and the child risk the possibility of injury. In this section, we’ll briefly discuss certain conditions and complications that, when left untreated, may result in lifelong cerebral palsy and brain damage. Our Flint cerebral palsy lawyers have experience with the following conditions from hospitals in and around Flint:

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, also known as HIE or birth asphyxia, is one of the leading causes of cerebral palsy. HIE is a type of brain injury caused when an infant receives insufficient amounts of oxygenated blood to his or her brain around the time of delivery. The extreme insult of birth asphyxia to the developing brain often results in lifelong brain damage, cerebral palsy, and seizures. Although performing hypothermia treatment immediately after the brain insult can limit the effects of HIE, medical professionals are expected to prevent any possible cause of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy before it occurs.
Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is another labor and delivery issue that occurs from a lack of oxygen and blood flow to a fetus’ brain. Periventricular leukomalacia is a brain injury in which the brain’s white matter (the part of the brain that transmits impulses to the body) is destroyed. Damaged areas of white matter fill up with fluid, and the baby is left with spasticity, intellectual impairments, cerebral palsy, and permanent brain damage. Known causes of PVL include premature birth, untreated low blood pressure (hypotension), hypoxemia (insufficient blood oxygen levels), infections in the mother or baby, acidosis (high blood acidity in a baby from prolonged periods of oxygen deprivation), and hypocarbia (diminished carbon dioxide levels).
Intracranial hemorrhages (brain bleeds) are labor and delivery injuries that result in brain injury and cerebral palsy. Birth trauma from the incorrect use of delivery assistance tools (such as vacuum extractors and forceps), strong contractions and hyperstimulation (often from labor-induction drugs like Pitocin and Cytotec), and size and position abnormalities (like breech presentation, macrosomia, or cephalopelvic disproportion) result in bleeding within an infant’s skull.
Preterm delivery is one of the most highly predictable causes of cerebral palsy. In fact, a premature baby’s risk for developing cerebral palsy is roughly thirty times greater than that of a baby delivered at term. Premature births are births that occur before 37 weeks of gestation–at this time, a premature baby’s underdeveloped organs aren’t able to function properly and cannot handle the insults of birth. To learn more about the many injuries, causes, and treatment options for premature babies, refer to our page “Cerebral Palsy from Premature Birth.”
Maternal infections, like Group B Strep, chorioamnionitis, villitis, bacterial vaginosis, and UTIs easily pass from the mother to the baby through the placenta, vaginal tissues, or other bodily fluids. When left untreated, infections attack the unborn baby’s brain cells, resulting in brain damage, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities.
Uterine rupture occurs when contractions cause the uterus to open, expelling the baby into the mother’s abdomen. Uterine rupture commonly results from VBAC (vaginal birth after Cesarean) deliveries and causes hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) when the baby loses the flow of oxygen to the brain.
Post-term pregnancies are accompanied by a host of complications and conditions that increase a baby’s likelihood of developing cerebral palsy. After 37 weeks of pregnancy, the placenta begins to weaken and the baby receives less oxygen to the brain. For this reason, post-term pregnancies pose heightened risks for hypoxic ischemic events and brain damage. Furthermore, post-term pregnancies produce larger babies (macrosomic babies), and macrosomic babies generally have difficulty passing through the birth canal (due to cephalopelvic disproportion), causing cord compression and meconium aspiration. Very large babies may also prompt the incorrect use of vacuum extractors or forceps, which increases risk of head trauma and intracranial hemorrhaging.
Nuchal cords occur when the umbilical cord forms a 360 degree loop around the baby’s neck. Since the umbilical cord is responsible for carrying important oxygen, blood, gases, and nutrients from the placenta to the baby, interruptions to its functional ability result in oxygen and nutrient deprivation, and often hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and cerebral palsy.
Placental abruption occurs when the placenta fully or partially tears away from uterus before labor and delivery begins. Since the placenta is responsible for supplying oxygen to the baby, any interruption or weakening of its functional ability results in diminished oxygen flow to the baby’s brain and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
Preeclampsia, or pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, often results in diminished blood flow from the placenta to the baby. The lack of oxygenated blood to the baby’s brain results in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which is a leading cause of lifelong cerebral palsy.

Cerebral Palsy Signs and Symptoms

Cerebral palsy’s symptoms, signs, and side effects vary greatly in severity and form, making the diagnosis and detection of the condition complicated. While some babies are diagnosed right after birth, it takes up to five years or more to detect CP in others. Families, teachers, caretakers, and medical professionals should be on the lookout for the following signs and symptoms:

Weakness or decreased muscle tone
Seizures
Joint and bone deformities
Gait abnormalities (such as imbalance and abnormal crawling/walking)
Spasticities, tremors, and involuntary movements
Motor function impairment and difficulty holding onto objects
Retention of the common primitive reflexes
Developmental delays (including, but not limited to, favoring one side of the body, delays in reaching motor skill milestones, difficulty speaking and sitting up, inability the control movements, and failure to blink at loud noises by one month of age)
Delayed postural reactions
Fatigue
Problems with the senses
Tenseness and irritability

Legal Help for Flint Cerebral Palsy Victims:

Legal Help for Flint, Michigan Cerebral Palsy (CP) Cases If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy or another birth injury that you believe resulted from a medical professional’s violation of the standard of care, call our skilled Flint cerebral palsy lawyers today at (888) 592-1857 or fill out our online contact form. Our experienced birth injury attorneys will evaluate your case free of charge and answer any of your legal questions.

To learn more about the resources available to individuals with CP in Flint, visit our Flint, Grand Blanc and Lapeer Cerebral Palsy Resources page here.