Cerebral palsy, a condition that the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes as “any one of a number of neurological disorders that appear in early childhood.” Though this condition does affect muscle movement, it is actually caused by brain injury. The brain has control over these muscle movements and due to abnormalities that occur with injury, the child loses proper function over the muscles.

While some children are born with CP, some have developed the disease because of brain damage that occurred during the delivery. The Institute goes on to state that common symptoms of this disease are a lack of muscle coordination, stiff or tight movements, exaggerated reflexes or the tendency to drag a foot or a leg while walking.

The term dyskinetic is a major subgroup of CP, along with the spastic, mixed variety. Demos Medical Publishing states that 25 percent of all cases of CP are dyskinetic. These types of disorders are characterized by “extrapyramidal movement patterns.” Furthermore, children with dyskinetic CP will face a greater risk of physical disability, involuntary movements, seizures, deafness, paralysis and hypotonia (abnormal loss of muscle tone).

There a number of things that can go wrong during a baby’s delivery, and some of these mistakes can lead to dyskinetic CP development. The doctor is responsible for accurate diagnosis, scheduling appropriate tests, recognizing fetal distress and is also responsible for expediting the delivery if there is fetal distress. If a doctor fails in this regard, whether due to negligence or incompetence, then he must be held accountable.

If your baby was injured and subsequently developed cerebral palsy then you may have a medical malpractice case on your hands. Call Rasansky Law at 1-800-ATTORNEY to get a free consultation!