Cerebral Palsy Injury Attorney

Salt Lake City, Tooele and Price, Utah

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Cerebral palsy is a medical condition that affects the brain’s ability to control body muscles and movement. The condition is related to damage to or poor development of the motor areas in the brain.

As the number-one development disability in the U.S., about two out of every thousand babies born have some type of cerebral palsy.

There are two general categories of cerebral palsy:

• Acquired cerebral palsy: Brain damage occurs after birth in the first few months or years of life. Head injury and brain infections are common causes.
• Congenital cerebral palsy: Brain damage occurs during pregnancy or immediately after birth. In many cases, medical malpractice, due to inadequate care during pregnancy or delivery, can be at fault.

Specific Causes of Congenital Cerebral Palsy

In thousands of cases, the brain injury that causes cerebral palsy can be traced back to the actions of doctors or other healthcare professionals who treat pregnant women and who are involved in the delivery of the baby. The following are common scenarios:

• Failure to get a complete medical history of the mother and other family members
• Inadequately treating the mother’s changing health needs, such as high blood pressure, vaginal bleeding, premature labor, weight gain or loss, or amniotic fluid leakage, during pregnancy
• Misdiagnosis or mistreatment of “strep” or other dangerous infections during pregnancy
• Miscalculation of the baby’s size, which can lead to prolonged time in the birth canal
• Failure to monitor and act when there is a change in the baby’s heart rate or other conditions
• A delayed delivery, or a delayed decision to perform an emergency cesarean section
• Not recognizing and treating seizures in the baby following delivery
• Improper use of vacuum extraction or forceps
• Failure to identify an umbilical cord wrapped around a baby’s neck
• Untreated jaundice
• A missed diagnosis or treatment of meningitis

Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

The signs of cerebral palsy may be overwhelmingly obvious or subtle:

• Delayed motor development
• Learning problems
• Mental retardation
• Seizures
• Poor muscle control
• Reduced range of motion in limbs
• Breathing difficulties
• Eating or swallowing difficulties
• Vision, hearing or speech problems
• Problems with coordination or balance
• Involuntary movement of muscles
• Hyperactivity or behavior disorders
• Abnormal stiffness
• Reduced or lack of sense of pain or touch

Getting the Help You Need

If you think your child’s birth injury could be the result of a medical mistake, please contact an experienced birth injury lawyer at once. At G. Eric Nielson & Associates located in the Salt Lake City, Utah area, we can answer your questions during a free consultation.

Contact us

For aggressive and experienced representation, contact a Utah birth injury lawyer for a free consultation.