Iowa Cerebral Palsy and Birth Injury Legal Help
Child Diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy From an Iowa Birth Injury? Call 1-855-833-3707 today.
Cerebral palsy is most often the result of brain damage which occurs either during pregnancy, during the birthing process, or shortly after delivery. Many times, the cause of this brain damage is directly related to the negligence or malpractice of a doctor or other medical professional resulting in a birth injury.
If your child has recently been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer in Iowa may be able to help you recover the monetary compensation that your child will require for future medical care. While not all cases of cerebral palsy are caused by medical malpractice, a competent cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer can look into your Iowa Birth Injury or cerebral Palsy case and explain the options available to you – and we will do this for no cost when you call 1-855-833-3707.
Types of Cerebral Palsy
There are some circumstances under which malpractice results due to the nursing staff or obstetrician’s failure to diagnose any potential pregnancy risks and/or take appropriate proactive action. Oftentimes, medical professionals (including the obstetrician) may even fail to diagnose the existence of a poor fetal response during labor or cut off oxygen to your child during labor which can lead to hypoxia.
There are five types of cerebral palsy birth injuries each of which has a slightly different set of symptoms.
- Spastic Cerebral Palsy is characterized by increased muscle tone that results in stiff muscles and jerk movements.
- Athetoid Cerebral Palsy is characterized by slow and writhing movements in any part of the body.
- Ataxic Cerebral Palsy affects coordination and balance and in most cases, this includes depth perception.
- Mixed types of cerebral palsy with a common combination being that of spastic and athetoid.
The majority of children who suffer from a cerebral palsy birth injury need a substantial amount of medical and physical care. Some of these expenses can relate to occupational and physical therapy, mobility/accessibility, medical bills, medication, and more.
Primary Causes of Cerebral Palsy Birth Injuries
Damage to specific parts of the brain as it is in its developing stages is the most common cause of cerebral palsy. This can occur during the early stages of pregnancy while the brain is just beginning to develop, during delivery as the baby passes through the birth canal resulting in a birth injury, or following delivery during the baby’s first few days. However, in some cases, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of the brain damage and birth injury. By having an Iowa birth injury lawyer look at the facts of your case for free, you can not only have a better understanding of how the birth injury occurred, you may even discover that your child has a valid claim for recoverable damages.
Technically speaking, an inadequate supply of oxygen is usually blamed for the development of cerebral palsy from a birth injury. Several factors could cause an inadequate supply of oxygen to reach the baby including the following:
- Compression on the umbilical cord
- Cord wrapped around the baby’s neck
- Excessive contractions
- Contractions that are too strong
- Forceful extraction methods (such as forceps delivery or vacuum extraction) can also cause damage to the brain
Sometimes a lack of oxygen that leads to brain and birth injury can occur after birth, commonly because of inadequate resuscitation efforts by medical professionals.
When to Contact an Iowa Birth Injury Lawyer
You should consider at least consulting with a birth injury lawyer. Consultations are free, and if you decide to pursue a claim, our medical malpractice law firm charges you nothing unless we recover money through a settlement or trial verdict. There’s no risk involved.
If your baby has been diagnosed with any of the following birth injury conditions, you must speak to a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer in Iowa as soon as possible:
- Hypoxic injury
- Brain injury is obvious on MRI or CT scan of the brain or ultrasound
- Seizures
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
- Respiratory Distress Syndrome
- Intraventricular Hemorrhage
- Periventricular Leukomalacia
If the baby is diagnosed with any of the above, there is a good possibility that the brain injury is the result of negligence on the part of the nursing staff, physicians (including obstetricians), or midwives who were present during the labor and delivery phase of the birth.
Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Treatment
While there is no cure for cerebral palsy, when treatment is begun early in the child’s life, it is possible to reduce the symptoms that are normally associated with the condition. There are many different therapies available, most of which fall under the supervision of either a medical professional or an allied health specialist.
The treatment plans can be very expensive and will continue for a lifetime, so to offset those costs, consulting a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer about your Iowa case is in your best interest. You want to be sure you always have the funds that are necessary for your child’s ongoing care, and our attorneys can help. Call us today for a free consultation, toll-free at 1-855-833-3707.