Cerebral Palsy Cause And Effect

Cerebral palsy is a devastating condition and is caused by an injury to the brain before, during, or shortly after birth. A large number of factors can injure the developing brain including medical negligence, however the main cerebral palsy cause is a failure of the brain to develop properly or neurological damage to the child's developing brain which may be as a result of inappropriate medical treatment.

The following are just some of the medical mistakes made during delivery that have caused children to be born with a birth injury:

• leaving the child in the birth canal too long causing oxygen deprivation;
• failure to recognize and treat seizures in the newborn infant;
• failure to detect a prolapsed umbilical cord causing oxygen deprivation;
• inappropriate vacuum extraction;
• improper use of delivery forceps;
• failure to perform a c-section in the presence of distress;
• inadequate monitoring of the foetal heart rate;
• failure to plan a c-section for a large birth weight;
• inadequate monitoring or treatment of mother's high blood pressure or toxaemia;
• failure to recognise and treat jaundice or meningitis:

The following are indicators of medical negligence that may have been a cerebral palsy cause:

• emergency delivery with forceps, or by caesarean section;
• resuscitation immediately after birth;
• transfer to an intensive care unit;
• seizures within 3-4 days of birth;
• MRI scan, CT scan or brain scan shortly after birth;
• oxygen required after birth;
• involvement of a specialist:

There are four main categories:

• Spastic Cerebral Palsy affects 70-80% of patients. Patients have tight muscle groups which cause stiff and jerky movements and may have difficulty moving from one position to another or holding and letting go of objects.
• Athetoid Cerebral Palsy affects 10-20% of patients and is caused by damage to the areas of the brain that enable smooth, coordinated movements and maintain body posture causing involuntary, purposeless movements, especially in the face, arms, and trunk which interfere with speaking, feeding, reaching, grasping and other skills requiring coordinated movements.
• Ataxic Cerebral Palsy affects just 5-10% of patients and is characterised by poor muscle tone and altered sense of balance and depth perception, leading to slow, uncoordinated, unsteady and shaky movement.
• Mixed Cerebral Palsy is a combination of two or more of the forms of spasticity, athetoid or ataxic outlined above.

Cerebral Palsy is classified as follows:

• Quadriplegia - all 4 of the limbs are involved
• Diplegia - all 4 limbs are involved though the legs are usually affected more than the arms
• Hemiplegia - one side of the body is affected, usually the arm more than the leg
• Triplegia - 3 limbs are involved, usually one leg and both arms
• Monoplegia - 1 limb is affected, usually an arm

If you believe that your child's injury was caused as a result of a medical negligence and you would like free advice from a specialist then just complete the cerebral palsy cause report form and a solicitor who is a member of The Law Society panel of medical negligence experts will telephone you to discuss your claim.