Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a general term for a non progressive disorder of movement and posture. It occurs as a result of damage to a child‘s developing brain in either the later months of pregnancy, during birth, in the newborn period or in early childhood.

The symptoms of Cerebral Palsy differ. Some people have a severe life long disabling condition whilst others display only slight clumsiness and need no special assistance. Sometimes symptoms do not always become fully apparent until the child is a few years old. Each child is different.

Causes

In the majority of cases the damage occurs before or at birth with the most common cause being cerebral hypoxia i.e. poor oxygen supply to the brain. Another common cause can be that the baby was born very early/premature.

Following birth possible causes include encephalitis - inflammation of the brain, meningitis - inflammation of the brain‘s protective covering, head injury or intra cerebral haemorrhage - bleeding within the brain.

Types and Symptoms

There are 3 main types of Cerebral Palsy but sometimes a person may have a combination of these types.

Spastic Cerebral Palsy - characterised by stiff and difficult movement because muscle tone is too tight.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy - characterised by a difficulty in controlling movements because the muscle tone is mixed.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy - characterised by poor coordination and balance resulting from low muscle tone.

Children in the spastic group may be affected by the condition in various limbs, the terms used are:-

Diplegia - all four limbs are affected, but the legs more severely than the arms.
Hemiplegia - the limbs on just one side of the body are affected, usually the arm is worse than the leg.
Quadraplegia - all four limbs are severely affected. Not necessarily symmetrically.

Cerebral Palsy can be associated with other problems if other parts of the brain are also affected for example impairment of sight, hearing or speech and epilepsy. It may also be associated with learning difficulties but it must also be remembered that people with Cerebral Palsy are often of average or above average intelligence.

There is no cure for Cerebral Palsy but early treatment and support can help minimise the problems it causes. Physiotherapy is required to teach an affected child how to develop muscular control and maintain balance. Inadequate speech can be helped greatly by speech therapy and for those children that cannot speak techniques and devices have been developed to teach them how to communicate non verbally.

Bringing a Claim

Most medical negligence claims arise from negligent management of the pregnancy, birth or neonatal care. Of the children suffering with Cerebral Palsy only a very small percentage have this condition as a result of negligence during childbirth.

Investigating a Cerebral Palsy Claim is a complex process and needs the experience and skills of a specialist Clinical Negligence Solicitor. There are few such specialists in the UK today who have this experience. We at Barcan Woodward have this level of experience to help you through the process of bringing a claim.

If you would like to consider your potential claim with us please make either an on line inquiry or telephone us to discuss.

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