Cerebral Palsy

What is cerebral palsy?

Cerebral Palsy is a physical condition that affects movement as a result of injury to the brain. This condition affects the body movement and muscle coordination. There are varying degrees of Cerebral Palsy some suffers only have a mild disability which is barely noticeable to very serious disabilities meaning the patient requires 24-hour care for the rest of their life.

Some of the problems that Cerebral Palsy can cause for suffers include difficulty with the control and use of their muscles which can impact on their ability to walk, write, eating, talk, etc. Problems often occur with balance and coordination, posture, hearing, learning and epilepsy.

How can cerebral palsy be caused by medical negligence?

Cerebral palsy can be caused by problems during the gestation and birth of a baby; however, the cause of Cerebral Palsy for some people remains unclear. Cerebral Palsy can be due to medical negligence when there has been a lack of oxygen to the baby during the delivery.

The main causes of cerebral palsy through medical negligence include:

  • delay in delivery, causing deprivation of oxygen
  • Failure to interpret the CTG trace correctly which causes delay in timely delivery
  • failure to diagnose or treat low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia)
  • failure to diagnose or treat jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia and kernicterus)
  • delay in diagnosis or treatment of serious medical conditions such as meningitis

If you have concerns that your birth of your child was mismanaged contact us to discuss whether you may be entitled to claim compensation.