Bringing a child into the world is an incredibly joyous yet fragile experience. For some parents, complications during labor and delivery can lead to traumatic births and serious newborn injuries. One of the most devastating outcomes of birth trauma is cerebral palsy, a lifelong condition affecting movement, muscle tone, and posture. If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after a difficult birth, you may be asking yourself how it happened, despite your doctor’s answers. And if your baby was born with brain damage, should you investigate? Should you file a lawsuit?
If you’re asking these questions, you are on the right track. Even though things may feel hopeless now, the best thing you can do after your baby is born with cerebral palsy is to learn as much as possible about the condition and how it happens.
In this article, our birth injury lawyers explain the medical and legal aspects of cerebral palsy and the physical trauma that causes it during birth, as well as other causes. We also discuss when medical negligence is to blame and how to know when a lawsuit may or may not be warranted. Cerebral palsy has various signs and causes, but knowing the difference between unavoidable circumstances and negligence is key to determining if you have grounds for a cerebral palsy lawsuit.
Birth Trauma and Injuries Leading to Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is usually the result of damage to a baby’s developing brain before, during, or shortly after birth. In many cases, this brain damage occurs during labor and when the baby is being delivered, which is why birth trauma is a major concern. Birth trauma in this context refers to both physical injuries (think “blunt force trauma”) or medical complications that happen in the process of childbirth. When severe, these injuries can disrupt the baby’s oxygen supply or directly harm brain tissue and nerves, potentially causing cerebral palsy.
Oxygen Deprivation
The most common cause of cerebral palsy related to birth trauma is a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain (birth asphyxia or hypoxia). Starving a baby’s brain of oxygen, even for just a short period, can lead to brain cell death and permanent neurological damage. This can happen due to physical issues like a prolapsed umbilical cord, when the umbilical cord descends into the birth canal before the baby does, -It can also happen if the baby is deprived of oxygen by issues affecting blood flow in the mother, such as placental abruption and uterine rupture. These instances of oxygen deprivation highlight the importance of proper medical monitoring, which allows healthcare providers to detect fetal distress and respond to these issues.
Physical Birth Trauma
Trauma to the baby’s head and body during delivery is another cause of newborn brain damage and cerebral palsy. Sometimes, difficult or prolonged labor can necessitate the use of tools like forceps or vacuum extractors to help deliver the baby. However, improper use of these instruments can cause skull fractures, bleeding in the brain, or other head injuries if too much pressure is applied. Using these instruments with excessive force can cause intracranial hemorrhage (brain bleeds) or brain swelling that results in cerebral palsy. The link between improper use of forceps and birth trauma is well-documented in the USA and Canada.
Another form of physical birth trauma is shoulder dystocia, which describes an emergency situation where the baby’s shoulder gets stuck on the mother’s pubic bone. This complication compresses the baby’s upper body and potentially cuts off the oxygen supply. It may also stretch the baby’s head far away from its shoulder, damaging essential nerves and causing a brachial plexus injury (which often leads to Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy). If obstetricians panic and mismanage shoulder dystocia, the baby’s brain and nerve tissue can be seriously damaged, leading to cerebral palsy.
Other Preventable Complications During Birth
Several other medical issues around the time of birth can lead to cerebral palsy if not addressed with care. Maternal or newborn infections such as chorioamnionitis (an infection of the womb’s amniotic fluid) or meningitis in a newborn can cause inflammation in the baby’s brain, and if these infections are not diagnosed and treated in time, they may result in permanent brain damage and cerebral palsy. Additionally, untreated newborn jaundice can lead to a condition called kernicterus (a type of brain damage caused by high bilirubin levels), which is a known cause of cerebral palsy. Although these are not based on injury or birth trauma, all of these scenarios are examples of birth-related problems that could be avoided or minimized with proper medical care.
What is the most common cause of cerebral palsy?
If your baby was born with brain damage or developed cerebral palsy, you have likely wondered what exactly caused it. You’ve probably also wondered what the most common cause is, and if you are part of a common thread.
Unfortunately, many times, the cause of cerebral palsy is reported as unknown, as doctors cannot always pin down the origin of individual cases.
However, oxygen deprivation is the most common culprit in birth trauma-related cases of cerebral palsy, as noted above. Umbilical cord issues, a placenta that detaches too early, internal bleeding in the mother, and prolonged contractions can all contribute to this. Aside from oxygen issues, traumatic brain injury during birth is another major cause, such as when obstetricians mismanage difficult births and use techniques or instruments that damage the baby’s brain with excessive mechanical force.
Preventable Birth Injury or Unmanageable Conditions?
It’s important to note that not all cerebral palsy is due to birth trauma, medical error, or issues arising from a difficult birth in the delivery room. For instance, a number of cerebral palsy cases originate from events during pregnancy (long before labor) or even from genetic factors.
While newborn brain damage can be caused before labor by factors such as viral infection, malnutrition, and premature birth, you should not immediately rule out a birth injury if your baby was born with cerebral palsy. Furthermore, even if your baby’s cerebral palsy was ultimately a result of a condition existing before birth, this does not immediately rule out medical negligence, as certain conditions can be recognized and responded to by doctors. The specific causes, conditions, or events that inflict brain damage during birth and lead to cerebral palsy are highly variable, and the occurrence of these conditions is not always obvious to the mother or other family members present during childbirth.
This is why determining the true cause of your child’s cerebral palsy is so crucial. If it was due to an unpreventable genetic or developmental issue, there may be no basis for a lawsuit. However, if it was due to something like oxygen deprivation or injury that could have been prevented by proper medical care, or an identifiable maternal condition that was missed by a doctor and untreated, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice and birth injury lawsuit.
Ultimately, if your baby was born with cerebral palsy and you feel unsure about the exact cause, you have every right to get to the bottom of it. If you’re unsatisfied with what you’ve learned from the hospital, request copies of your medical history and all notes from the pregnancy and delivery. This information is crucial when investigating the cause of your child’s cerebral palsy with a birth injury lawyer.
Cerebral Palsy Cases: When Medical Negligence is Involved
Every cerebral palsy case is unique, both medically and legally. Cerebral palsy itself can result from many different scenarios, as we’ve discussed. The central question for a family considering a lawsuit is: Did medical negligence cause my child’s condition? In other words, would cerebral palsy have been avoided if proper care had been given? Answering this question is not always easy, which is why experienced birth injury lawyers and medical experts should always review the details.
Examples of Malpractice Causing Cerebral Palsy
Here are some scenarios where medical negligence might be found in cerebral palsy cases:
Failure to Act in Time: If the medical team observed complications (like prolonged labor with no progress) and did not act fast enough, this is a common basis for negligence. For instance, an obstetrician who doesn’t perform an emergency C-section despite clear signs of fetal distress could be liable if the delay caused the baby’s brain injury.
Inadequate Monitoring: Labor and delivery nurses and doctors are supposed to continuously monitor the baby’s well-being. If they missed obvious signs, like a sudden rise in the baby’s heart rate or a spike in the mother’s blood pressure, this may be a clear sign of negligence. Many cerebral palsy lawsuits involve failure to monitor or respond appropriately.
Improper Technique or Tools: Misusing delivery instruments or applying improper technique in birthing maneuvers (like during shoulder dystocia resolution) can be negligent. There are standard protocols for these situations, and deviating from them can cause harm. For example, an obstetrician pulling too hard on a baby’s neck when gentler alternatives or a different approach should have been used can be deemed medical malpractice if the baby was harmed.
Failure to Diagnose: Failing to notice and identify problems that are known to lead to birth injuries is also a common form of negligence. For example, if a doctor failed to diagnose you with preeclampsia and treat you accordingly, this greatly increases the risk of premature birth and placental issues that can deprive the baby of oxygen. If it leads to an injury, their failure to diagnose you amounts to medical malpractice.
Post-birth Care Errors: Sometimes negligence occurs right after birth. If a newborn was clearly in distress (difficulty breathing, very low blood sugar) and the medical staff failed to address it in time, the hospital could be at fault. A classic case is untreated jaundice, since red flags like kernicterus are almost always preventable with simple therapy techniques.
Cerebral Palsy Lawyers: When and Why to Contact One
If you suspect that medical negligence played a part in your child’s condition, whether or not birth trauma occurred, you should absolutely consult a lawyer. Furthermore, it is extremely important to choose a lawyer who is experienced in cerebral palsy lawsuits and complex birth injury cases.
Below are a few reasons why you should contact a cerebral palsy lawyer, and how their expertise will help you move forward.
Determining If You Have a Case
As we’ve discussed, knowing whether you have a valid malpractice case isn’t straightforward. A cerebral palsy lawyer will review your prenatal, labor, and delivery records, often with the help of additional trusted medical experts, to identify any deviations from standard care. The right lawyer for these cases has a great understanding of both medicine and the law, and can spot red flags that warrant further investigation. They will help tremendously in determining if medical negligence caused your child’s cerebral palsy.
Navigating Complex Medical Evidence (from Before and After Birth)
Cerebral palsy cases involve both reviewing and creating complex medical information that is not understood by non-experts. A cerebral palsy lawyer will review records from before your birth, and may find certain notes or omissions about your pregnancy that you were never aware of (remember, not all origin signs of preventable cerebral palsy are obvious to families).
If you want a chance at filing and winning a lawsuit, all kinds of evidence must be gathered: fetal monitor strips, blood gas levels, MRI scans of the baby’s brain, etc. A specialized lawyer knows how to interpret these and build a compelling story of what went wrong. They will also know which expert witnesses (like pediatric neurologists or obstetricians) to bring in to support your claim.
Securing Compensation for Your Child’s Needs
Raising a child with cerebral palsy can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars over a lifetime of care. Therapies, wheelchairs, home modifications, and surgeries are just some of the necessary expenses. A successful cerebral palsy lawsuit will provide much-needed financial relief so that you can afford to give the best possible life and care to your child without bankrupting your family. Compensation can cover past and future medical bills, rehabilitation, caregiving costs, specialized education, and also compensate for pain and suffering. While money can’t heal your child, it can dramatically improve their access to resources and reduce the stress on your family.
Holding Negligent Parties Accountable
Beyond the financial aspect, many parents pursue legal action for accountability and justice. If a doctor’s error harmed your baby, a lawsuit can bring that to light and potentially drive changes in hospital practices to ensure this doesn’t happen to someone else’s child. It also assigns responsibility to the medical provider rather than leaving the family to bear all the consequences.
Compassionate Help for Families – Cerebral Palsy and Birth Trauma Lawyers at Stalwart
Caring for a child with cerebral palsy is a journey that no parent expects, and you shouldn’t have to walk it alone.
At Stalwart Law Group, we understand how overwhelming a cerebral palsy diagnosis can be for your family. If you suspect that a birth injury or medical negligence played a role in your child’s condition, our team is here to provide clarity, compassion, and a deep knowledge of cerebral palsy birth trauma cases. We offer free consultations to review your medical records, answer your questions, and help you understand whether you have a case that needs to be pursued.
Stalwart Law Group wants families everywhere to know and understand the rights they are entitled to. Contact us today to speak with a highly qualified cerebral palsy birth trauma lawyer who will fight for your child’s rights and future. If negligence occurred, we’ll hold the responsible parties accountable and work to secure the support your family deserves.
