New York Cerebral Palsy Lawyers

Cerebral palsy is a term that envelopes a number of disorders with different symptoms and causes. Generally speaking, cerebral palsy is a disease caused by damage to brain that leads to muscle spasticity, involuntary movement, difficulty performing motor tasks and trouble walking or maintaining balance.

There are three types of cerebral palsy:

Spastic cerebral palsy: This most common type, affecting 70-80% of victims, involves mild to severe muscle stiffness and permanent muscle contraction.

Athethoid (dyskinetic) cerebral palsy: Affecting 10-20% of victims, this type of cerebral palsy involves abnormally slow movements of the hands, feet, arms or legs. Additionally, facial muscles are affected causing drooling, frowning expressions and difficulty speaking. These symptoms may increase under stress.

Ataxic cerebral palsy: This is the least common form, affecting 5-10% of the victims, involves poor sense of balance and depth perception. These victims often walk with a wide gait, have poor coordination and have difficulty performing precise movements, such as writing.

Most cerebral palsy victims are diagnosed before 3 years of age. A common indicator of cerebral palsy is slowed or late achievement of normal developmental tasks, such as learning to roll over, sitting up without help, crawling, and walking. Doctors can often perform developmental skills assessments to test for cerebral palsy. Checking reflexes, muscle control, and ability to complete motor tasks help doctors determine if a child has cerebral palsy.

Current research shows 2 to 3 out of 1,000 children over the age of three have cerebral palsy. In total, there are about 5,000 children and adults living with cerebral palsy in the United States today.

Cerebral palsy is a result of birth injury or damage to the brain during pregnancy. This damage can be a result of infection, lack of oxygen, blood diseases or incompatibility, or premature delivery. In most cases of cerebral palsy, a cause cannot be determined, therefore making prevention of the disease difficult. There are, however, certain tests that can be performed by a doctor to lower the risk of an unborn child developing cerebral palsy. For example, a test for rubella immunity can lead to vaccination for women who are not immune. By receiving proper medical care during the term of pregnancy, a woman can reduce the chances of cerebral palsy for her child.

Cerebral palsy is a disease that presently cannot be cured. While proper therapy and management may help the affected individual to live a near-normal life, a cerebral palsy victim will live with the effects of this sometimes debilitating disease.

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, medical malpractice in New York may be to blame. By failing to perform necessary tests to prevent and check for this disease, the doctor may have put your baby at risk for developing cerebral palsy.