Cerebal Palsy and Medical Malpractice
...f more than 35,000 births; they found that birth trauma was the cause of most Cerebral Palsy cases (History of Cerebral Palsy in Children 1). Dr. William John Little, and English orthopedic surgeon, suggested that children born with Cerebral Palsy were born following complicated deliveries, and that their condition was a result of lack of oxygen to the brain during the delivery, which damaged sensitive brain tissue that controls movement (History of Cerebral Palsy in Children 1). In many cases, a brain injury causing Cerebral Palsy that occurred during delivery could have been prevented. The medical providers caring for the expectant mother and the fetus are responsible in assuring that they provide adequate care during the pregnancy, during labor and delivery, and immediately after the delivery of the infant. Failing to do so can result in the doctors and nurses being held accountable for the outcome of the pregnancy. Pregnant women put all of their trust into the healthcare providers hands and expect a safe delivery and a healthy baby in return. But this is not always the case. These doctors and nurses are supposed to follow a Code of Ethics and Standards of Care. They have a Scope of Practice governing what they can do. Not all healthcare providers know their Scope of Practice. Complications occur and they deal with them in the way they feel is necessary. This is not always the ethical way. Dangerous health conditions, including Cerebral Palsy, result from these poor and inadequate attempts to follow the Standards of Care. The resulting health conditions of the new infant are either ignored or secretly compensated. Doctors and nurses continue practicing not knowing their lawful duties and obligations to their patients. This needs to be stopped and that is where the law steps in. Factors that indicate that a medical malpractice mistake may have caused Cerebral Palsy in an infant include: the doctors and nurses failure to interpret and respond to the changing condition of the fetus during labor, failure to act on changes in the mothers condition during pregnancy, failure to order specific tests during pregnancy, and not interpreting those tests correctly, failure to perform a cesarean section in the presence of fetal distress, failure to deliver the infant when the membranes have been ruptured for too long, and excessive use of vacuum extraction (Lawyers, Inc. 1). It also includes: leaving the child in the birth canal too long causing a lack of oxygen to the brain, failure to recognize and treat seizures following delivery, failure to detect a prolapsed cord, improper use of forceps, not responding to changes in the fetal heart rate, failure to respond to the mother high blood pressure or toxemia, failure to timely diagnose and treat jaundice, and/or failure to timely diagnose and treat meningitis (Medical Malpractice and Cerebral Palsy 1). Among the millions of labor and delivery mishaps these are the most common for resulting in Cerebral Palsy. Some actual complaints from mothers in cases where medical negligence resulted in their child being born with Cerebral Palsy include: the caregivers failed to do a cesarean section when it was necessary, they failed to diagnose fetal distress, they failed to interpret the fetal monitor strip correctly, they failed to act immediately when the water broke, bleeding occurred, the labor took too long to progress, blood pressure was high, the baby had low APGAR scores, the hospital did not refer the delivery to a doctor specializing in high risk pregnancies, they gave too much Pitocin and injured the baby, and/or the hospital did not have a pediatrician present at the delivery when they knew there might be problems with the baby (Lawyers, Inc. 2). An infant will experience symptoms suggesting that Cerebral Palsy occurred as a result of improper medical care or damage to the brain during the birthing process. Symptoms that could occur in the infant immediately after birth include: poor sucking ability, seizures within 48 hours of delivery, floppiness, a blue or dusky skin color, the need for resuscitation, the need to remain at the hospital after the mother goes home, problems maintaining a normal temperature, meconium staining on the baby at the time of delivery, a specialist being called to care for the infant, requiring oxygen to facilitate breathing, requiring special tests such as a MRI or brain scan, and/or if the infant was transferred to a different hospital or spent time in NICU following the delivery (Medical Malpractice and Cerebral Palsy 2). Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy resulting from labor and delivery mishaps that could occur within 1-3 months of the infant’s life include: lethargy, irritability, an abnormal or high pitched cry, trembling of the arms and legs, poor eating abilities, poor sucking and swallowing, low muscle tone, abnormal posture, seizures, staring spells, eye fluttering, bodily touching, and /or abnormal reflexes (Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis 1). During the first six months of life, other symptoms of Cerebral Palsy may also appear in an infant’s muscle tone and posture. These signs include: a gradually changing muscle tone, tight fists, asymmetries of movement, and/or poor feeding abilities due to the tongue forcefully pushing food out of the mouth (Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis 1). Once a baby reaches six months it becomes apparent that he or she is learning movement skills slower than normal. Infants with Cerebral Palsy are slower in reaching developmental milestones, such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling, walking, and talking (Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis 1). About two children out of every thousand born in this country have some type of Cerebral Palsy. Studies have shown that at least 5,000 infants and toddlers and 1,200-1,500 preschoolers are diagnosed with this condition each year. In all, approximately 500,000 people in this country have some degree of Cerebral Palsy (Cerebral Palsy Glossary 1). There is an increasing rate of Cerebral Palsy cases and the rate of this disease primarily being caused from mistakes made by doctors and nurses during the birthing process has not decreased. Innocent babies and families are being faced with disabilities simply because their healthcare providers did not follow their Standards of Care. Although in many cases medical malpractice is the direct cause of Cerebral Palsy in an infant, the origins of the disease may be antenatal (Bakketeig 1). Cerebral Palsy is not always someone’s fault, but, in many cases, it can be. See McGuiness v. Quincy Obstetricians and gynecologists, Inc. 412 Mass. 617 (1992), (Holding a mothe...