Could My Doctor Be Responsible for My Child’s Cerebral Palsy?
It can be devastating to learn that your child has cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy results from brain damage. In some cases, brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy is caused by medical mistakes made by doctors and other healthcare professionals during and before labor and delivery. Mistakes made during pregnancy can result in brain damage, including a failure to diagnose an infection that causes the fetus’s brain to develop improperly.
A birth injury during labor and delivery can also cause brain damage leading to cerebral palsy. For example, a doctor who uses forceps improperly might cause damage to the baby’s brain. Failing to monitor signs of fetal distress can also result in brain damage and cerebral palsy. Several types of medical errors can injure a baby’s brain and cause them to develop cerebral palsy, affecting them for the rest of their life.
Figuring out what led to cerebral palsy and who might have been at fault is important. Pennsylvania law allows infant injury law firms such as Raynes & Lawn to pursue compensation on behalf of the victims and their families through birth injury lawsuits.
It can be difficult to determine liability in a case involving cerebral palsy. Our experienced Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy lawyers can work with medical experts to help to uncover whether your child’s cerebral palsy was caused by your doctor or another medical provider.
Medical Errors Resulting in Brain Damage and Cerebral Palsy
Medical providers who make medical mistakes or fail to provide necessary medical treatment can be liable for causing cerebral palsy when their acts or omissions result in brain damage. The following parties might be potentially liable:
- Obstetricians who provide negligent prenatal care
- Primary care doctors who fail to diagnose maternal infections
- Pediatricians who fail to diagnose meningitis in infants
- Nurses who fail to properly monitor the fetus and mother for signs of fetal distress
- Providers who fail to promptly intervene upon signs of maternal or fetal distress
- Doctors or midwives who allow labor to continue for too long
- Anesthesiologists who make mistakes when administering anesthetics
- Doctors who improperly administer Pitocin during labor
- Midwives who fail to identify a high-risk pregnancy
There are other situations in which a medical provider could be liable for a child’s cerebral palsy. Medical professionals and hospitals owe duties to pregnant patients who need care and the babies they deliver. Whenever a healthcare professional provides substandard care that results in injuries, they might be liable to pay compensation to the victims and their families.
If My Child is Diagnosed With Cerebral Palsy, Who Is at Fault?
Physicians and other medical providers are expected to provide care with the same level of competence as other practitioners in their fields and geographic areas. This means that the medical providers who provide care during a woman’s pregnancy, labor, and delivery must provide treatment that meets the expected standard of care. When their substandard treatment and medical mistakes rise to the level of malpractice, they can be held to be at fault when a baby’s brain injuries and cerebral palsy result.
In Pennsylvania, a medical expert must review the medical records and other evidence to determine whether a doctor was negligent and if the victim’s injuries resulted were caused because of the negligence before a lawsuit can be filed. If a doctor’s care violated the standard of care and caused your baby’s brain damage and cerebral palsy, you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit to hold them accountable for their actions and recover compensation to pay for your losses.
When determining whether a medical provider’s care was negligent to the degree that it amounted to malpractice, a medical expert will review the provider with others in the same practice field. For example, an obstetrician’s care would be assessed based on what a reasonably competent obstetrician in the same area would have done under the same conditions.
There might be several people or entities who are at fault in a cerebral palsy case. Nurses, doctors, and the hospital where the incident happened might all be liable for brain damage resulting in cerebral palsy. A hospital might be vicariously liable when its employees negligently cause brain damage during labor and delivery because of negligence. In some cases, a hospital might also be directly liable for its negligence if it negligently contracted with an incompetent physician or failed to properly supervise the negligent medical providers.
Determining who is at fault for causing your child’s brain injury and cerebral palsy can be difficult. An experienced Philadelphia birth injury lawyer at Raynes & Lawn can work with a medical expert to help determine all of the responsible parties that should be named in a lawsuit. Identifying all of the responsible parties can help to maximize your recovery and ensure you receive full compensation for your losses and those of your child.
Find Birth Injury Lawyers Near Me
If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy that you believe was caused by a botched delivery or inadequate care during your pregnancy, you should talk to the experienced Philadelphia birth injury lawyers at Raynes & Lawn as soon as possible. We can analyze the facts and circumstances and provide an honest assessment of your claim’s legal merits. Call us today for a free consultation to learn more about your rights at 1-800-535-1797.
For the general public: This Blog/Website is made available by the law firm publisher, Raynes & Lawn, for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog/Website publisher. The Blog/Website should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.
For attorneys: This Blog/Website is informational in nature and is not a substitute for legal research or a consultation on specific matters pertaining to your clients. Due to the dynamic nature of legal doctrines, what might be accurate one day may be inaccurate the next. As such, the contents of this blog must not be relied upon as a basis for arguments to a court or for your advice to clients without, again, further research or a consultation with our professionals.