Our Atlanta cerebral palsy attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky understand how hard it is to see your child struggle, and we know that no amount of money can possibly restore what you and your child have lost. However, when your child suffers harm during childbirth, and it causes them to develop cerebral palsy, recovering compensation can help you give your child the best possible chance at leading a healthy and happy life.
Our Atlanta Cerebral Palsy Lawyers are available to meet you in your home or the hospital.
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Although not every birth injury that results in cerebral palsy can be prevented, these injuries are most often caused by acts of medical negligence. Among the leading causes of cerebral palsy is oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery. When negligent medical errors cause cerebral palsy, the affected individual or family may consider taking legal action and seeking compensation for the medical expenses, ongoing therapy, rehabilitation costs, adaptive equipment, income losses, pain and suffering, and diminished quality of life incurred as a result of their child’s injury.
Our cerebral palsy lawyers, registered nurses, and nurse-attorneys can help you determine if medical negligence contributed to your child's injuries. After we haveve determined that medical negligence was indeed a factor, we'll gather evidence in support of your claim and work diligently to hold all parties responsible.
Recent Birth Injury Settlement:
Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury settlement against a local hospital in which nurses and physicians failed to detect a uterine rupture during delivery causing an HIE event which caused cerebral palsy. Our dedicated cerebral palsy birth injury lawyers recovered $9,200,000 for the family to help with future medical expenses and developmental therapy.
Miller Weisbrod Olesky Stands Out
The majority of cerebral palsy law firms will employ one or two nurses to assist with the review of cases, medical research, and other aspects of their practice. The good news is that Miller Weisbrod Olesky has an unmatched number of in-house nurses and nurse-attorneys that provide dedicated support to children with cerebral palsy and their families throughout Atlanta.
Our team of registered nurses and nurse-attorneys are skilled in providing a level of personal and medical insight to each case we handle on behalf of our clients with cerebral palsy. Our nursing team includes both an experienced labor and delivery nurse as well as an ICU nurse. With the help of the rest of our team, they investigate the reasons behind a birth injury that caused cerebral palsy as well as how medical professionals breached their duty of care when treating this child.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is the term used to describe a group of disorders and symptoms typically caused by a brain injury that occurs before, during, or after childbirth. According to a study published by the National Library of Medicine, cerebral palsy is one of the most common motor disabilities in childhood, affecting approximately 3 to 4 per 1000 children in the United States.
Cerebral Palsy affects a child's coordination, muscle, tone, posture, and intellectual abilities. Depending on the severity and location of the damage, symptoms can range from mild to severe. Some children struggle with motor functions, while others struggle with eating and talking. Obtaining an early diagnosis is crucial to early intervention and treatment that could minimize damage to a baby's brain and make a significant difference in a child's future quality of life.
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines cerebral palsy as a group of neurological disorders caused by damage to the developing brain before birth or in infancy. Commands that travel from the brain to the muscles via nerves tell our muscles to tense and increase in tone or relax and decrease in tone. These commands between the brain and muscles must be well coordinated for our muscles to function correctly. Cerebral Palsy arises from damage to the cerebral motor cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for controlling motor behaviors and plays a role in motor learning, memory, and controlling balance and posture.
Damage to the motor cortex caused by a birth injury during labor and delivery or even shortly after birth makes it difficult for a child to control their movements and causes tremors in the arms or legs and muscle weakness or stiffness.
While cerebral palsy is a non-progressive disorder, it cannot be reversed and will often permanently affect muscle tone and posture. The motor impairments children with CP experience can range from mild to severe and impactful. Some children may experience significant limitations in independent mobility, while others only have mild coordination difficulties. Children with cerebral palsy may have learning problems, vision and hearing impairment, and seizures.
What Are Signs & Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy?
Symptoms and effects of cerebral palsy vary widely, depending on which parts of the child’s brain after affected. In severe cases, signs and symptoms of cerebral palsymay be noticeable at birth, however, most parents typically don’t notice symptoms of cerebral palsy until toddlerhood. If you think your child might have CP or have concerns about them not meeting developmental milestones, you should consult your doctor or other healthcare professional who can evaluate your child’s symptoms and perform necessary tests or screenings to diagnose their condition.
While there is no single test that confirms a diagnosis of cerebral palsy, certain signs and symptoms present in infancy or early childhood can point to CP. Because there are different types of cerebral palsy, signs, and symptoms can vary significantly, typically range from mild to severe, and may be more pronounced on one side of the body or both sides.
If there were problems during delivery or symptoms of brain damage, a doctor is responsible for responding immediately with appropriate intervention and therapies. Although Cerebral Palsy isn't a progressive disorder, some symptoms may increase and change over time.
Movement/Physical Development: Slow in learning how to sit, crawl, walk, or roll over. Children with CP tend to grow more slowly than expected.
Cognitive: Trouble adapting to the environment, functioning in daily life, solving problems, and using skills like learning letters or counting.
Social/Emotional: Difficulty communicating and interacting with others. Trouble understanding certain social cues or dealing with change.
Language/Communication: Speech delays, difficulty sharing their thoughts and expressing their needs, reduced vocabulary, and trouble understanding complex sentences.
Experiencing pain or having trouble feeling simple sensations like touch
Constipation issues that lead to urinary and fecal incontinence
Mental health issues, like anxiety and depression
Emotional problems and behavior issues, such as hyperactivity or being prone to conflict
Although it is not always possible to pinpoint what caused your child's cerebral palsy, but certain known risk factors may boost their chances of developing CP. Knowing the cerebral palsy risk factors is essential for parents to take preventative measures during pregnancy and prepare for a healthy delivery.
Preterm infants are more likely to develop cerebral palsy and require special care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A preterm birth occurs when the birth of a baby before the 37 week of pregnancy. Symptoms of conditions linked to premature birth, such as cerebral palsy, may take years after birth to manifest. Premature births accounted for 11.9% of Atlanta's births in 2022.
Symptoms of conditions linked to premature birth, like cerebral palsy, may not develop for years after birth. In 2022, 11.9% of all births in Atlanta were premature. Being born prematurely often leads to low birth weight, which increases the risk of delivery complications that can lead to cerebral palsy in children.
A study of over 30 states found that infant mortality rates increased only slightly in 2022. But Atlanta's infant mortality rate increased by 13%, compared with only 3% nationwide. There are three major causes of infant mortality: prematurity (19.4%), low birth weight (18.7%), and birth defects (18.7%).
Although cerebral palsy is typically not diagnosed until a few months to a year after birth, a medical provider will monitor the child's development during a well-child office visit if CP is suspected. During a wellness visit, the doctor will ask if you have any concerns about your child's development and evaluate how your child moves during an exam. Developmental monitoring is crucial for children who are at an increased risk for developmental problems due to low birth weight or premature birth.
If any concerns about your child's development are raised during monitoring, a short developmental screening is given to see if the child has motor or movement delays. Some of these screening tests involve interviews or questionnaires completed by the child's parents and other tests given to the child by the doctor. At 9 months, movement issues become more apparent, and most children are diagnosed by around 2 years of age. Your doctor will make referrals for developmental and medical evaluation and early intervention or child services if the screening test results are concerning.
Developmental and medical evaluations are used to diagnose the specific type of disorder affecting your child and rule out other disorders that could cause similar problems. During this evaluation, your doctor will carefully examine your child's reflexes, posture, motor skills, and muscle tone. Your doctor will also review your child's medical history and conduct additional tests to look for the underlying cause of your child's CP.
Specialists like developmental pediatricians, child neurologists, pediatric physiatrists, or pediatric rehabilitation doctors might suggest brain imaging tests, such as an x-ray computer tomography (CT scan), magnetic resonance imaging cranial ultrasound (MRI), electromyography (EMG), electroencephalogram (EEG), metabolic testing, or a combination of these tests. Your child will also likely be referred to specialists who will look at their vision, hearing, speech, and intellectual development.
For treatment to be completely effective, treating all aspects of your child's unique Cerebral Palsy diagnosis is crucial. A pediatrician and other medical specialists will identify specific issues and oversee your child's treatment plan. Treatment options for Cerebral Palsy often include a combination of various medications, therapy, and surgery. Unfortunately, many families are not prepared for the cost of therapy and other expenses associated with their child's treatment.
Spasticity is a common symptom characterized by muscle stiffness in the arms, legs, and involuntary contractions. Muscles that are too spastic or tense may have trouble functioning properly. For example, children with spastic CP may also have difficulty walking, standing, and require a lot of effort to eat and drink.
Spastic Cerebral Palsy is classified into three sub-types, these include:
Spastic Diplegia -This form of spastic CP affects the legs more than the arms and can cause difficulty walking. Babies born prematurely are at higher risk of spastic diplegia.
Spastic Hemiplegia -This is a type of cerebral palsy that affects muscles on one side of the body. Children with this condition may experience tight muscles or have difficulty completely simple tasks, such as picking up objects.
Spastic Quadriplegia – Children with this type of cerebral palsy may experience stiff muscles or walk on tiptoes because of increased muscle tone. A physician failing to properly diagnose and treat fetal distress often leads to spastic hemiplegic CP.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy is the least common form of cerebral palsy, affecting approximately 10% of children with Cerebral Palsy. Ataxic cerebral palsy results from damage to the part of the brain that controls balance and is responsible for fine-tuning movement commands for the body (the cerebellum). Children with ataxic CP may be clumsy, lack coordination, walk with their feet spread apart, and appear unbalanced or jerky.
Medical mistakes like failing to correctly identify and manage uterine rupture can put babies at risk for this type of Cerebral Palsy. Parents generally seek medical advice when a child shows developmental delays, like having trouble gripping things or displaying awkward movements.
Also called Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, this type of cerebral palsy makes it difficult for children to move their muscles in a certain way. Dyskinetic CP is thought to be caused by an injury to an area of the brain called the basal ganglia.
The basal ganglia primarily regulates voluntary motor movements and emotional behaviors and plays a critical role in cognition. Dyskinetic movements can be twisting and repetitive (dystonia), slow (athetosis), and unpredictable (chorea). Although dyskinetic CP is the second most common sub-type, it only accounts for approximately 6% of all cerebral palsy cases.
Some children may exhibit symptoms of more than one type of cerebral palsy. Mixed CP occurs when a child has sustained a brain injury to the motor control centers in multiple parts of the brain during pregnancy, at the time of labor, or shortly after birth.
The types of brain damage someone with mixed CP may have include damage to the motor cortex, pyramidal tracts, cerebellum, and basal ganglia. Symptoms of mixed cerebral palsy may consist of a lack of coordination and issues with movement, balance, and posture. Of all cerebral palsy cases, mixed cerebral palsy accounts for 15.4%. The most common combination of mixed CP is spastic-dyskinetic.
Treatment Options for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Once diagnosed, parents should seek advice from their child's doctor and other Cerebral Palsy specialists (neurologists, behavioral, occupational, and physical therapists, etc.) to help determine how to best treat their child's condition. With regular medical visits, physical therapy, medication, supportive devices, and sometimes surgery, children diagnosed with cerebral palsy can still live long, healthy lives.
The goal of therapies for cerebral palsy is to manage your child's physical impairments while optimizing mobility. The type of therapies your child's pediatrician and other CP specialists may recommend will vary depending on your child's unique needs, the type of cerebral palsy your child has been diagnosed with, and the extent of impairment.
Short-term goals for cerebral palsy treatment that your child's physical therapist will focus on include improving muscle flexibility and mobility, such as rolling, sitting, walking, or operating a wheelchair.
Long-term effectiveness of PT in CP involves enhancements in strength, independence, your child's overall quality of life, and minimizing physical limitations over extended periods.
Here's what to expect in physical therapy:
The physical therapist will create a unique treatment plan for your child by evaluating movement problems.
The physical therapist will focus on improving movement through a combination of exercises and muscle-relaxing techniques.
Flexibility exercises and massages can help improve a child's mobility, while strength training exercises can address issues with low muscle tone that causes weakness. Special exercises are also used to improve posture while sitting, kneeling, or standing and assist infants with transitional movements, such as rolling over.
A physical therapist can also provide guidance on safely caring for your child's everyday needs and continue muscle training and exercise at home between therapy visits.
Cerebral palsy often impacts the part of the brain that controls speech. Children with CP who have trouble communicating can overcome motor impairments and improve their ability to speak clearly with the help of speech and language therapy.
A speech-language pathologist will perform an initial assessment of your child's physical and cognitive functioning during the first session. After the original assessment, the speech therapist will create a treatment plan consisting of exercises tailored to address your child's struggles with communication, eating, and swallowing. Your child's speech-language pathologist can also teach sign language and how to use communication devices, such as a computer and voice synthesizer, to help them better express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
Recreational Therapy
This type of therapy consists of activity-based interventions that can help improve your child's speech, physical functionality, and emotional well-being.
Recreational therapists will create inclusive ways for your child to overcome barriers that prevent them from doing what they love by having them participate in activities like playing basketball from a wheelchair, swimming, and using assistive aids to paint or sculpt with clay. Recreational activities can also enhance your child's ability to relate to others and provide a greater sense of self-worth.
For children with cerebral palsy, occupational therapy can help them overcome various challenges and achieve as much independence as possible. An occupational therapist can teach your child how to perform self-care tasks like bathing, dressing, and personal grooming.
Your child's OT therapist will also teach your child how to use adaptive tools and mobility aids like crutches, walkers, and power scooters. After assessing your child's individual strengths and weaknesses, they will create an individualized activity program to enhance their functional abilities.
Medications
Children with CP are often prescribed various medications to alleviate pain, lessen muscle tightness, and control seizures. Muscle relaxant injection treatments can help reduce spasms and treat pain associated with stiff muscles.
Anticholinergic medications like Benztropine Mesylate and Trihexyphenidyl hydrochloride (Kemadrin) can help ease symptoms of cerebral palsy by inhibiting the nerve impulses that cause involuntary muscle movements.
Many children with cerebral palsy develop some form of epilepsy; some medications can slow the activity of the brain and nervous system and prevent seizure activity. Co-occurring conditions like incontinence, acid reflex, behavioral disorders, and respiratory issues can also be treated with medications. Your child's doctor and members of their care team can prescribe medications tailored to meet your child's specific needs and help them find the best strategies to manage CP symptoms.
Surgical Procedures
Some children with cerebral palsy may benefit from surgical interventions to reduce high muscle tone, improve range of motion, and correct anatomical abnormalities. Orthopedic Surgery can lengthen muscles and/or reposition tendons in children with muscle tissue shortening, also known as contractures.
An orthopedic surgeon can also reposition bones or joints in the arms, spine, hips, or legs through an osteotomy. In severe cases of spastic CP, a surgeon may perform an arthrodesis to permanently fuse bones together and make it easier for a child to walk.
A Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR) is an aggressive procedure that may be done when other, more conservative treatment options like physical therapy or oral medications have failed to improve or alleviate pain when a child walks or moves. SDR surgery involves a surgeon locating and selectively cutting overactivated nerves in your child's lower spinal cord that are causing spasticity. The procedure can reduce pain and relax muscles in one or both of the lower extremities.
For children with spastic diplegia or hemiplegia, SDR can provide an immediate reduction of spasticity and reduce the risk of spinal deformities in later years. Every surgery carries its risks. However, doctors can help families determine if surgery is appropriate by weighing the possible risks and benefits.
Various types of devices can be used to help a child with cerebral palsy overcome many daily challenges they may face. Adaptive equipment like braces or orthosis, gait trainers, and medical strollers can help a child with CP achieve greater autonomy and maximize their functional abilities.
Assistive communication technology like hearing aids and cochlear implants, computers with adaptive programs, augmentative and assistive communication (AAC) devices, and special typing and writing devices can improve a child's ability to communicate, educational performance, and help them lead a more engaged social life.
While our cerebral palsy attorneys investigate the facts of your case, our team of registered nurses and nurse attorneys can help you find the medical provider specializing in the treatment and therapy your child needs now. Additionally, our team will regularly monitor your child's medical treatment status, help facilitate treatment and therapy, and arrange transportation services.
We understand that children with birth injuries like cerebral palsy often require intense therapy, specialized treatment, and life-long assistive care. Let us help alleviate the stress of providing for the cost of your birth injured care by aggressively pursuing compensation your child and family deserve.
Filing a Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Lawsuit
The majority of birth injuries that result in cerebral palsy are caused by medical personnel such as obstetricians and labor and delivery nurses not treating expectant mothers' previous or current health conditions, failing to identify and respond to signs of fetal distress during labor, causing injury to the baby during delivery, or neglecting to provide proper treatment to the baby after birth.
The most common cause of cerebral palsy is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE. Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are responsible for preventing and treating dangerous pregnancy issues before, during, and after delivery. If they fail to provide the appropriate standard of care, they may be held liable for medical malpractice or negligence.
If your child's cerebral palsy occurred due to a preventable medical error, consult with our cerebral palsy lawyers in Atlanta, who will examine the facts of your case and file a cerebral palsy lawsuit against the hospital or medical professional responsible for your child's cerebral palsy diagnosis.
In addition to medical professionals such as doctors and nurses, here are some examples of other medical professionals who can be held responsible for causing a birth injury that resulted in cerebral palsy:
Maternal-fetal medicine physicians and specialists (MFM)
Laboratory staff
Vicarious liability may apply to hospitals for the negligent actions of their employees. Hospitals may be held vicariously liable for injuries or harm a patient suffers due to the negligent actions and omissions of a hospital employee acting within the scope of their employment.
It is also possible for a hospital to be held directly liable for its own negligence. For example, a hospital may be held directly liable if they fail to establish proper patient safety protocols or violate patient confidentiality by mishandling patient records.
For your cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuit to be successful, your cerebral palsy lawyer will need to gather evidence of medical malpractice/negligence by examining the medical records of the mother and infant, previous complaints filed against the negligent medical provider, and witness statements from healthcare professionals involved in the delivery of the child to prove the following four legal elements.
Duty of Care: A doctor-patient relationship existed at the time you or your child suffered from the injury. Doctors and other healthcare providers are responsible for ensuring safe and effective care for you and your child once this relationship has been established.
Breach of Duty: The doctor or other healthcare provider failed to provide the medical standard of care that another reasonable provider with similar training would have provided under the same/similar circumstances.
Causation: Negligence on the part of the doctor or other healthcare provider was the direct cause of a birth injury that resulted in a baby developing cerebral palsy.
Damages: The pregnant mother or her baby suffered financial losses and other damages (the cost of injury-related treatments, lost wages, and pain and suffering) due to the healthcare provider's breach of duty.
If your baby has cerebral palsy due to the above medical negligence requirements, you may be able to recover compensation for the cost of your child's treatment and other injury-related expenses you have incurred by taking legal action against the negligent doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider. It is impossible to make up for the trauma you and your child have suffered, but compensation obtained through a successful medical malpractice lawsuit can make you and your family financially whole again.
Our Atlanta Cerebral Palsy Lawyers will evaluate and investigate your child’s potential CP lawsuit with no upfront legal fees whatsoever. We never charge a fee or expenses to any client unless and until we have made a successful money recovery for the family.
Claimable Damages in a Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit
Parents whose children have suffered a birth injury and been diagnosed with cerebral palsy that resulted from preventable medical errors may be eligible to pursue compensation for the following types of damages.
Economic Damages cover the tangible financial losses resulting from your child's birth injury that resulted in cerebral palsy. The following are examples of economic damages:
Costs associated with medical treatment (including future treatment)
The loss of earnings or income of parents who must take time off work to care for their child affected by a birth injury that resulted in cerebral palsy (including future losses)
Expenses associated with assistive devices such as wheelchairs and communication aids
Lost future earning capacity (if the child's birth injury that caused cerebral palsy impacts their ability to work in the future)
Tutoring and special education expenses
Home or vehicle modification costs (i.e., ramps or accessible bathrooms)
In-home care and nurses
Non-Economic Damages compensate victims affected by a birth injury that led to cerebral palsy for intangible losses that are not as easy to calculate as economic losses. These damages may include:
Punitive Damages may be awarded in addition to economic and non-economic damages in cases where a doctor, hospital, or other healthcare provider's actions were reckless or grossly negligent. These damages are designed to punish the at-fault party and serve as a warning to discourage others from committing similar acts in the future.
Several factors will affect the amount of your potential settlement award, including the severity of your child's injuries and the type of treatment your child requires. To determine how much your cerebral palsy claim is worth, the Atlanta cerebral palsy lawyers at Miller Weisbrod Olesky will consult with our vast network of financial and medical experts. Get in touch with one of our lawyers as soon as possible if you have questions about compensation so we can explain your legal options and create an action plan on your behalf.
No Time to Waste...Statute of Limitation Rules in a Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawsuit
A statute of limitations is a law that specifies how much time a birth injury victim has to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against a negligent doctor, hospital, or other healthcare professional. Generally, the clock starts ticking from the date of the injury. However, the discovery rule is an exception to the statute of limitations that extends the deadline for filing a medical malpractice case based on the date the injury was or reasonably should have been discovered.
The standard statute of limitations for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Georgia can be found at section 9-3-71 of the Georgia Medical Malpractice Code, and it reads "an action for medical malpractice shall be brought within two years after the date on which an injury or death arising from a negligent or wrongful act or omission occurred".
Adults in Georgia typically have 2 years from the date of injury to file a birth injury lawsuit.
For a child, parents have until the day the child turns 7 years old to file a birth injury lawsuit.
The statute of limitations may be different (or even shorter) if your child was born in a state or U.S. government hospital. These may include military or federally funded hospitals or clinics providing care for an expectant mother and her child.
Missing the deadline in your case may prevent you from pursuing legal action and recovering compensation for your child's birth injury. It is also essential to keep in mind that the statute of limitations varies by state and the type of claim being filed.
Figuring out what statute of limitations applies to your child's case can be tricky. Let us help you ensure that you take legal action before time runs out.
Contact Our Cerebral Palsy Lawyers in Atlanta to Discuss Your Child's Case
Whenever a child is born with cerebral palsy due to the negligent mistakes of doctors and other healthcare providers, the child's family must often dedicate time and resources to the care and treatment the child will require throughout their lifetime. In the first three years after birth, you should see a medical specialist if your child begins to show signs of cerebral palsy.
If you suspect that your child developed cerebral palsy due to a preventable birth injury, you should consult with a skilled cerebral palsy attorney who can determine whether you may be entitled to pursue compensation.
Our experienced legal team at Miller Weisbrod Olesky may be able to assist you in recovering funds to cover past and future medical expenses, as well as the costs associated with your child's CP special care needs. As soon as you hire us, we'll get to work determining whether your child's birth injury, HIE, cerebral palsy, or brain injur was caused by a preventable medical error.
We've successfully represented medical malpractice clients in more than 20 states and are prepared to provide you with an honest evaluation of your claim during your free consultation. Schedule a consultation with one of our cerebral palsy lawyers in Atlanta today by calling our toll-free line at 888-987-0005 or by filling out our online form.
Cerebral Palsy Support Groups in Atlanta
It can be very valuable for parents and their children suffering from birth injuries such as cerebral palsy, HIE, facial paralysis, and spinal cord injuries to participate in support groups. Support groups allow parents the opportunity to discuss various treatment and management strategies with other parents in similar situations.
Children and families impacted by cerebral palsy in Atlanta may find the following support groups and resources helpful:
There can be several causes of birth injuries that lead to cerebral palsy, including complications during delivery and negligence by healthcare providers. Children and families affected by cerebral palsy can find a sense of belonging through support groups by communicating with others who can relate to their experiences. Support groups can also help families cope with the stress, anxiety, and depression associated with caring for a child with cerebral palsy.
