Cerebral Palsy
This is a term for a disorder
of movement and posture resulting from damage to a childs brain during
pregnancy, birth or in the early newborn period. These disorders are
non-progressive which means they do not get worse over time.
A child with cerebral palsy
may suffer from spastic paralysis (abnormal stiffness or contraction of
groups of muscles), arthetosis (involuntary writhing movements) or ataxia
(loss of co-ordination or balance). The degree of disability is highly
variable. Many affected children are also mentally handicapped.
If you wish to make an enquiry
about this form of medical negligence, please contact
us for a discussion.
How can this injury occur?
In the vast majority of cases the
damage is caused either during pregnancy or during
birth. The most common cause is "cerebral hypoxia"
(poor oxygen supply to the brain) which can occur in a
variety of ways during both pregnancy and birth.
Occasionally the condition can be
caused by maternal infection spreading to the baby
through the uterus. Post birth, possible causes
include encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or
meningitis, head injury or intracerebral haemorrhage.
Cerebral Palsy may not be
recognised until well into the baby's first year.
Sometimes the muscles feel "floppy" or less firm than
you might expect and mothers tend to pick up on the
fact that the baby is not as strong as it should
perhaps be. There may also be feeding problems and
delay in seeing the baby sit up .
Once identified most children fall
into two groups:
Spastic
In which the muscles of one or more
limbs are permanently contracted and stiff thus making
normal movements difficult. These children may be
affected by:
Diplegia - in which all four
limbs are affected, but the legs more than the arms.
Hemiplegia - In which the
limbs on just one side of the body are affected,
usually the arm worse than the leg.
Quadriplegia - In which all
four limbs are severely affected.
Athetoid
This group is characterised by
involuntary writhing movements.
Some degree of learning
difficulties occur in the majority of children but it
is less prevalent in those suffering with athetoid
cerebral palsy.
The symptoms of most types of
cerebral palsy can improve over time with specialised
management and treatment.
Negligence
Of the children suffering from this
condition only a small proportion will have been the
victim of medical negligence. it can be very difficult
to determine the timing of any damage and proving
causation can be difficult.
Contact us today by
email or phone
0800 0322210
for immediate legal advice on your
medical negligence claim.
