A cerebral palsy diagnosis changes a family’s life forever. For some children, the condition is unavoidable. For others, it is the result of preventable complications during labor and delivery.
At Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C., our attorneys represent families whose children have suffered catastrophic harm due to medical negligence. Cerebral palsy is one of the most serious and life-altering outcomes we see in childbirth injury litigation. If you are searching for answers about what caused your child’s condition, understanding how cerebral palsy develops and how birth injuries occur is an important first step.
This Blog post explains what cerebral palsy is, how it can be linked to birth injuries, and when medical malpractice may be involved. We will also examine how doctors are expected to respond to signs of fetal distress and what happens when those standards are not met.
What Is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the brain that occurs before, during, or shortly after birth. In some cases, that damage results from preventable complications during labor and delivery.
Cerebral palsy affects movement, muscle tone, posture, and coordination. Some children also experience cognitive delays, seizures, vision problems, or feeding difficulties. The severity varies widely. In the most serious cases, a child may require lifelong assistance with daily activities.
There are several types of cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy involves stiff muscles and exaggerated reflexes. Dyskinetic cerebral palsy causes involuntary movements. Ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance and coordination. Some children have a combination of these forms.
Cerebral palsy is permanent. While treatment can improve quality of life, there is no cure.
Can Cerebral Palsy Be Caused by a Birth Injury?
Yes. Cerebral palsy can be caused by a birth injury, particularly when a baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen during labor or delivery.
Not every case is the result of negligence. However, oxygen deprivation, untreated fetal distress, delayed emergency intervention, or trauma during delivery can permanently damage a newborn’s brain. That damage may later be diagnosed as cerebral palsy.
One of the most significant and preventable causes of birth-related cerebral palsy is a condition known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE.
What Is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)?
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a type of brain injury that occurs when a baby’s brain does not receive enough oxygen and blood flow around the time of birth.
Brain cells begin to suffer injury within minutes when oxygen levels drop. If the interruption continues, permanent brain damage can occur. In many cases, families later consult a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer after learning that HIE was present at birth.
HIE often develops in situations involving prolonged labor, placental abruption, uterine rupture, umbilical cord compression, or severe fetal distress. These complications are frequently detectable through fetal monitoring and require immediate medical intervention.
When doctors or nurses fail to recognize warning signs or delay delivery, the consequences can be catastrophic.
What Are the Signs of Oxygen Deprivation at Birth?
Hospitals use electronic fetal monitoring to detect distress during labor. Certain patterns on these monitors indicate that a baby may not be receiving adequate oxygen.
Signs that should prompt urgent action include:
- Persistent abnormal fetal heart rate patterns
- Repeated late fetal heart rate decelerations
- Minimal or absent fetal heart rate variability
- Prolonged fetal heart rate decelerations
- Meconium-stained amniotic fluid combined with distress
- Very low Apgar scores after birth
After delivery, babies suffering from oxygen deprivation may show poor muscle tone, difficulty breathing, seizures, or a weak cry.
Ignoring these warning signs can lead to permanent brain injury.
What Is the Difference Between Genetic and Birth-Related Cerebral Palsy?
Some cases of cerebral palsy are caused by genetic abnormalities, brain malformations, maternal infections during pregnancy, stroke before birth, or complications related to extreme prematurity. These cases may not involve medical negligence.
Birth-related cerebral palsy, however, is often associated with oxygen deprivation or trauma during labor and delivery. In those cases, the injury typically occurs during a critical window when the baby’s brain is highly vulnerable to oxygen loss.
Determining the cause requires a detailed review of prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal heart monitoring strips, imaging studies such as MRI scans, and placental pathology. Pediatric neurologists and obstetrical experts are often necessary to evaluate whether the injury was preventable.
In situations where medical error is suspected, an experienced birth injury attorney can coordinate this investigation and work with qualified medical experts to review the records in detail.
How Do Medical Mistakes During Labor Cause Cerebral Palsy?
When cerebral palsy is linked to medical negligence, it typically involves a breakdown in monitoring, communication, or timely intervention.
One of the most common failures is the misinterpretation of fetal heart rate tracings. Medical providers are trained to recognize patterns that signal oxygen deprivation. Failure to act quickly can allow hypoxia to continue long enough to cause permanent injury.
Delayed emergency cesarean sections are another frequent issue. When a baby is in distress, minutes matter. Hospitals must be prepared to perform an emergency C-section without unnecessary delay. Waiting too long to call a physician, lacking operating room readiness, or failing to escalate concerns can all contribute to preventable brain damage.
Improper use of labor-inducing drugs such as Pitocin can also reduce oxygen supply if contractions become too frequent or intense. Careful dosing and monitoring are required to avoid uterine hyperstimulation.
Umbilical cord complications, including cord prolapse or compression, require immediate recognition and rapid delivery. Untreated maternal infections may also increase the risk of neonatal brain injury.
In many cases, cerebral palsy results not from a single dramatic mistake, but from a series of failures that compound over time.
What Are the Early Signs and Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy in an Infant?
Cerebral palsy is not always diagnosed immediately. Parents are often the first to notice developmental delays.
Warning signs may include delayed milestones such as difficulty rolling over or sitting independently, unusually stiff or floppy muscle tone, persistent head lag, feeding problems, favoring one side of the body, scissoring of the legs, or seizures.
If your child experienced complications during delivery and later showed these symptoms, a cerebral palsy birth injury lawyer can help determine whether oxygen deprivation or trauma may have occurred.
What Should Doctors and Nurses Do to Prevent Birth-Related CP?
Preventing cerebral palsy related to labor and delivery requires strict adherence to accepted medical standards.
Healthcare providers must carefully monitor fetal heart rate patterns, recognize signs of distress, communicate concerns clearly among the medical team, and intervene without delay when necessary. Emergency cesarean sections must be performed promptly when indicated. Medications used to induce or augment labor must be administered safely and adjusted appropriately.
When hospitals fail to meet these standards, children can suffer irreversible harm.
When Is Cerebral Palsy Considered Medical Malpractice?
Cerebral palsy may constitute medical malpractice when a healthcare provider fails to follow the accepted standard of care and that failure directly causes a brain injury. These cases are among the most complex forms of medical malpractice during labor and delivery.
To prove malpractice, it must be shown that the provider acted negligently, that the negligence caused oxygen deprivation or trauma, and that the child’s resulting brain damage led to cerebral palsy.
Because these claims are complex and heavily defended, many families choose to consult with a lawyer who has experience handling catastrophic birth injury cases.
What Should Parents Do If They Suspect Negligence?
If you believe your child’s cerebral palsy diagnosis may be linked to a birth injury, you should request complete copies of your prenatal, labor, and delivery records as soon as possible.
One of the most important pieces of evidence is the fetal monitoring strip. A fetal monitoring strip is a continuous printout generated during labor that tracks the baby’s heart rate and the mother’s contractions. Doctors and nurses use this information to determine whether the baby is tolerating labor or showing signs of distress.
Certain patterns on these strips can indicate that a baby is not receiving enough oxygen. For example:
- Repeated late decelerations are drops in the baby’s heart rate that occur after a contraction and can be associated with reduced oxygen supply.
- Minimal or absent variability refers to a lack of normal fluctuations in the baby’s heart rate, which can signal that the nervous system is under stress.
- Prolonged decelerations are extended drops in heart rate and may indicate periods of significant oxygen deprivation.
When these warning signs appear, medical providers are expected to act quickly to protect the baby. An early review of these records can help determine whether preventable errors occurred and whether further investigation is warranted.
Determining the cause of cerebral palsy often requires a detailed review of prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal heart monitoring strips, imaging studies such as MRI scans, and sometimes placental pathology. Pediatric neurologists and obstetrical experts are often necessary to evaluate whether the injury was preventable.
In situations where a medical error is suspected, an experienced birth injury attorney can coordinate this investigation and work with qualified medical experts to review the records in detail.
How an Experienced Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help
Cerebral palsy cases require substantial resources and a willingness to go to trial. Hospitals and insurers aggressively defend these claims.
At Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C., our birth injury attorneys conduct comprehensive investigations, analyze thousands of pages of medical records, and work with nationally respected medical experts. We consult pediatric neurologists, neuroradiologists, life care planners, and economists to determine the full lifetime cost of care for a child with severe disabilities.
Children with significant cerebral palsy may require around-the-clock assistance, surgeries, ongoing therapy, assistive technology, home modifications, and lifelong medical treatment. The financial impact can reach millions of dollars over a lifetime.
The goal of this process is to ensure families have the financial resources necessary to provide lifelong care and support for their child.
Contact BBGA’s Birth Injury Attorneys
Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C. routinely represents parents whose children have been severely injured or killed during labor and delivery.
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you suspect medical negligence played a role, contact our team today.
Call 706-354-4000 or reach out through our online contact form.
Our attorneys have decades of experience handling complex birth injury cases and are prepared to investigate cases involving catastrophic harm during labor and delivery.
This article is the second in a blog series focused on BBGA’s birth injury practice. In this series, we explore various types of birth injuries and address the critical questions parents often ask when their child is seriously injured during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Our goal is to help families better understand how these injuries happen, whether they may have been preventable, and when medical negligence may be involved. Future posts will take a deeper look at specific birth injuries, warning signs of medical error, and practical guidance for parents navigating the aftermath of a traumatic birth.
Loading...