Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy, or CP, is a condition that affects a person's ability to move, balance, and maintain posture. It's caused by damage to the developing brain — damage that most often happens during or just before birth.

When parents hear the words "cerebral palsy" from a doctor, the first question many ask is: Could this have been prevented? The honest answer, for many families, is yes.

During labor and delivery, a baby's brain is extremely vulnerable to oxygen deprivation. If a baby goes without adequate oxygen — even for just a few minutes — brain cells can die. This is called hypoxic-ischemic injury, and it is one of the leading causes of cerebral palsy.

Doctors and hospitals have a legal and professional duty to closely monitor both mother and baby during labor. They must watch fetal heart rate monitors, recognize signs of distress, and act quickly — including performing an emergency C-section when necessary. When they don't, the consequences can be permanent.

Common forms of hospital negligence that lead to cerebral palsy include:

• Failure to recognize or respond to fetal distress on heart rate monitoring strips
• Delayed or improperly performed emergency C-section
• Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors during delivery
• Mismanagement of a delivery complication like shoulder dystocia or cord prolapse
• Failure to treat a maternal infection during pregnancy (chorioamnionitis)
• Failure to manage umbilical cord compression

Many families don't learn that their child's CP could have been prevented until years after birth — often only when an independent attorney reviews the medical records with a birth injury specialist.

If your child has cerebral palsy, you deserve to know the truth. A free, independent case review costs you nothing and gives you real answers. Our team has helped families recover millions of dollars — and more importantly, secure the resources needed to care for a child with CP for a lifetime.

Birth injury claims have strict deadlines. In most states, the clock starts running from the date you discovered — or should have discovered — that negligence caused your child's injury. Don't wait to find out whether you have a case.