Cerebral palsy (CP) is a term used to refer to a group of permanent neurological disorders that impact muscle tone and movement. CP is typically caused by abnormal brain development during the prenatal period or by brain damage either before, during, or immediately after birth.
Labor and delivery room errors can and do cause cerebral palsy to develop and, in fact, are one of the leading causes of this group of disorders. If your medical care provider makes a mistake when your child is being delivered, you should take legal action for medical malpractice to get the compensation you need to provide the best care for your child.
Gill Ports Hoste LLC is here and ready to help. Chicago birth injury lawyers at our firm have represented many parents and children affected by a cerebral palsy diagnosis, and we can put our legal experience in birth injury claims to work for you. Give us a call or contact us online to find out more about the legal advocacy we can offer.
Causes of cerebral palsy
Some of the top delivery room mistakes that can cause cerebral palsy include:
- Failing to monitor the baby for signs of fetal distress: Doctors should have a heart rate monitor and keep careful tabs on the fetal heart tracing to react quickly to signs that the baby is in distress.
- Delayed C-section: If a vaginal delivery becomes too dangerous because of issues like placental abruption, prolonged labor, or fetal distress, doctors need to act quickly to order a cesarean. An unnecessary delay can cause damage to the infant’s developing brain that leads to CP.
- Failure to respond to signs of hypoxia: If there is any indicator that a baby is experiencing oxygen deprivation in the brain, including an abnormally low heart rate, this is an emergency that a doctor must respond to immediately
- Failure to identify a problem with the umbilical cord: Medical providers must monitor for signs of a prolapsed or compressed umbilical cord that affects the baby’s oxygen supply.
- Untreated maternal infections: Group B strep or chorioamnionitis can result in inflammation in the brain (encephalitis) that can cause CP.
- Mismanaging shoulder dystocia: If the infant’s shoulder gets stuck, properly freeing the baby is critical to avoid excessive force that can cause traumatic brain injury or nerve damage.
- Improper use of forceps or the vacuum extractor: Using these tools in an unsafe way can damage the baby’s brain.
- Untreated jaundice: Severe untreated jaundice can result in kernicterus.
Many of these cases of cerebral palsy are serious errors that could be prevented if doctors exercised reasonable care.
Can you hold your provider liable for delivery room errors?
If a delivery room error caused your child to suffer harm, you may be able to take legal action for medical negligence. The key question is whether the care you received lived up to the accepted standard of care.
If no reasonable medical care provider would have made the mistakes your doctor did, then you should be entitled to compensation for the harm that those errors caused your child to suffer.
You’ll need to prove how your doctor’s care fell short, show it was the cause of the CP, and demonstrate the extent of the damage. An experienced Chicago cerebral palsy lawyer can help you gather the proof you need to make a strong case.
Getting help from a Chicago birth injury lawyer
Gill Ports Hoste LLC has helped many families affected by birth injuries, and we’ve recovered millions for our clients so they can get the best care possible for their children.
To find out how our Chicago birth injury lawyers can help you, give us a call or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation.