Cerebral palsy
It is often said that birth is the most dangerous journey most of us will ever make, but whilst it is fraught with potential difficulties, for the majority of us that journey involves nothing more than pain and discomfort for our mothers. For some, however, what happens during birth will have far reaching consequences for the rest of their life.
What is cerebral palsy?
It is defined as a disorder of movement and posture and is caused by damage to the part of the brain which controls our motor functions. It is the most common cause of motor impairment in children affecting 2 children out of every 1000 born.
In addition to disorders of movement, children with cerebral palsy often have other problems caused by more widespread damage to the brain. These include such things as learning impairment, visual impairment and squints, hearing and speech problems, behaviour problems and epilepsy.
What causes cerebral palsy?
There are many causes of cerebral palsy most of which occur before birth during pregnancy or conception. It is estimated that only 10% of children with cerebral palsy suffered damage to their brain at birth.
Should we seek legal advice?
If you have a child with cerebral palsy it may be possible to bring a claim for compensation. If, for example, it can be shown that incompetent care during or after the labour may have caused or contributed towards the baby’s brain damage. The most common example of this is where a baby has been deprived of oxygen before or during birth.
Oxygen deprivation in an unborn child can be caused by a number of factors. In an age where there is careful monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat during labour any damaging lack of oxygen ought to be apparent to the midwives and doctors attending the mother.
With our breadth of experience in these cases our solicitors aim to identify, at a very early stage, those cases which are unlikely to succeed. In view of the difficulties inherent in these cases our aim is to tell you as soon as possible if your child’s claim has no prospects of success. For those cases which do progress beyond this point we aim to maximise the damages your child receives and ultimately provide financial security for the future.
If you have suffered as a result of a medical accident or because of sub-standard care or management, the law can help you find out what happened and why, and in some cases recover compensation for your suffering. Contact us for further information.
See our Birth Injuries section for more details >
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