Cerebral palsy can be a type of birth injury, perhaps connected to a doctor’s negligence or medical malpractice. It often happens if the child’s brain suffers from a lack of blood flow or oxygen during the birth. These lower oxygen levels can lead to brain damage, and this may have an impact on the rest of the child’s life.
However, immediately after the birth, it may not be clear that anything is wrong. It often takes weeks, months, or even years to diagnose cerebral palsy. Why is there such a significant delay, which can complicate the process for parents who are seeking compensation?
Developmental milestones
Part of the issue with cerebral palsy is that it can cause a child to miss certain expected developmental milestones.
For instance, the child may have balance issues that will make it difficult for them to walk for the rest of their life. Or they may have muscle control issues, which may only be on one side of the body, leading to difficulties doing things like rolling over, crawling or sitting up.
But a newborn baby does not have any of these abilities anyway, so parents may not realize that anything is wrong. Their only indication that the child has actually suffered harm is when those milestones are not met at the expected times. The same is true for other potential complications from cerebral palsy, such as vision issues, speech issues and more. The child simply has to grow old enough before the problems become apparent, and then a cerebral palsy diagnosis may be made.
Seeking compensation
If your child has cerebral palsy and you believe it was due to medical malpractice, be sure you know what legal steps to take to seek appropriate compensation.