Brainpalsy.com - Helping Parents Combat Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy, which is a medical condition, occurs because of brain damage. It also occurs because of improper brain development. Brain development occurs in a human being right from the time of conception by the mother, as the fetus begins to show signs of growth. The brain is the most important organ because it controls in almost everything the human body. Any small damage to the brain can cause tremendous harm to any involvement in the body. If damage happens in the part of the brain cells that control muscle coordination and the NERVES then the child will be born with cerebral palsy.

Damage to the brain of a child can occur anytime while the fetus is growing in the mother’s stomach, during birth or right after birth due to various reasons. If the mother has a bad fall which directly results in causing brain damage to the fetus then cerebral palsy can occur. At times during birth, doctors tended to use forceps, a kind of medical instrument used for delivery on the head of the baby. When used with slight force it can cause damage to the brain. Also during birth or while in the stomach just before delivery, due to the mother’s high blood pressure, the baby can be deprived of the much-needed oxygen that goes to the brain and this too can lead to cerebral palsy.

It is also possible that the umbilical cord connecting mother and the baby can get entangled around the neck of the baby and thus cause strangulation. This will result in the baby not getting enough oxygen to the brain and this will lead to certain cells in the brain to die a natural death because of lack of oxygen, which is so important for its survival. Leaving the baby too long inside the Womb as soon as the child is ready for delivery is likely to cause cerebral palsy in the new born infant.

All these are instances of medical negligence and it is because of this that a cerebral palsy attorney is most required if your child is born and diagnosed as having cerebral palsy. It is the bound duty of the medical fraternity to make sure that you have a safe pregnancy and the child is safe in the Womb. In addition, they should ensure that the baby is born without facing any problems so that it stays healthy and does not end up with this medical condition.

The world over, there are thousands of children who are born with this medical condition and in many cases it is due to the negligence of the medical fraternity. Proper care during pregnancy, delivery methods excellent, and proper postnatal care is all very essential to the safety of the child. Malpractice and if negligence is found to be the cause then legal remedy is to be sought, an attorney at once and needs to be consulted. The attorney will call for all the records and then file Lawsuits on behalf of the aggrieved parents. The attorney will fight the case in a court of law and get adequate compensation for the parents so that the money would be useful to help maintain and provide excellent treatment procedures for their affected child.

“Everything went well during pregnancy. I do not know what happened.” They said my baby was fine. How can we know? “I thought everything was fine - why not do something to somebody?”

These may be just some of the things that women say, think or want to know after their baby is born and they learn pretty soon or later after that your baby has cerebral palsy. The answer could be reasons or because someone has made a mistake or ignored important information that lead to the development of cerebral palsy in children. Failures in care in hospitals and other health centres happen more than you might think or hope that cases and Washington are no exception. 20 percent of the children born are delivered poorly, which led to cerebral palsy - and this is only an estimate. This is approximately 200 children per 1000 children delivered. When it comes to medical malpractice, even 1 is too.

A lawyer for cerebral palsy in Washington, DC area can help you recover at least a little of your child’s life in terms of a monetary amount for damages. You can use this money to the future of your child, he or she receive the help they need to develop and obtain more information, whether it is through a speech language therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist or other specially trained professionals.

But you still may wonder how this kind of thing happened in the first place. Was that really your doctor for negligence? If you really are presented with a demand? And if it was just an accident? Yes, accidents can happen and after all, doctors are human, too. However, some mistakes are simply unacceptable, and in the end, there is nothing wrong with asking you the type of compensation that can help your child the future - especially since it was this mistake that led to the need for compensation to the first place.

Mistakes made by health care providers are many things. Consider the following, as his Washington, DC lawyer may also want to know the same kind of information.

* There has been a failure by the doctor, nurse or other health professional to recognize an attack on her baby after birth, as well as a failure to treat the seizure.
* When it becomes difficult for a baby to be delivered, a doctor can use a vacuum extractor to pull the baby. However, the excessive use of this extractor can damage the baby’s brain and results in cerebral palsy.
* If there is something wrong inside the uterus that required a caesarean section and if the doctor does not perform the procedure in a timely manner, the baby’s brain may become damaged.
* Without enough oxygen to the brain (in adults and newborns), the brain can become damaged. Thus, if a baby’s umbilical cord becomes prolapsed, reduced oxygen to the baby. If a doctor does not become known to this problem, which can serve as medical malpractice.
* Sometimes a doctor may also use forceps delivery to help remove the baby from the mother’s womb. The use of these incorrectly may result in brain damage and cerebral palsy.
* Careful monitoring of a baby of vital signs is important; should misinterpreted the hospital staff, stop reading, or fail to respond to these vital signs, you might have a case.

* Sudden neonatal death is a clear sign that something is wrong inside the uterus and the baby is in trouble. The lack of response or declare fetal distress is a cause for medical malpractice.

Make sure you have checked the statute of limitations in your state to know whether or not you can present your case. While you are still within the deadline, please contact a lawyer and begin its case.

As mentioned earlier, medical mistakes are the cause of thousands and thousands of cerebral palsy cases. Doctors and hospitals make mistakes during delivery, and it these mistakes that could be the cause of your child’s cerebral palsy. The following are just a few of the mistakes made during delivery that have caused children to be born with cerebral palsy.

* leaving the child in the birth canal too long causing a lack of oxygen to the brain

* failure to recognize and treat seizures following delivery

* failure to detect a prolapsed cord (the umbilical cord can wrap around the child’s neck, cutting off oxygen to the brain)

* excessive use of vacuum extraction

* improper use of forceps

* failure to perform a cesarean section in the presence of fetal distress

* not responding to changes in the fetal heart rate

* failure to plan a c-section (a large birth weight infant could compromise a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery)

* failure to respond to the mothers changing conditions, such as high blood pressure or toxemia

* failure to timely diagnose and treat jaundice

* failure to timely diagnose and treat meningitis

The doctors and nurses caring for the expectant mother and unborn child are responsible for providing safe and effective care before, during, and after birth. When procedure is not followed, and the standard of care is broken, permanent brain damage to the unborn child can occur. So how can you tell if a medical mistake occurred during the birth of your child? The following are indicators that a medical mistake may have caused your child’s cerebral palsy:

1. emergency delivery with forceps, vacuum extraction, or cesarean section.

2. your child required resuscitation (CPR) after birth.

3. following delivery, your child was transferred to a different hospital, or spent time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).

4. your child had seizures immediately after birth, or within the first 3-4 days of life.

5. your child required special testing after birth, such as an MRI, or brain scan.

6. your child required oxygen to facilitate breathing after birth.

7. a specialist was called to care for your newborn.