What are some negligent acts that could cause cerebral palsy?

Each year approximately 10,000 children born in the Unites States suffer from a disorder of the brain called Cerebral Palsy, or CP.  Statistically that means that 2 out of every 1,000 children born are affected by CP. Generally, most cases of cerebral palsy are the fault of damage to the motor centers of the brain brought about by conditions apart from the delivery process.  However, there are still many cases of cerebral palsy due to negligence during childbirth.

In these cases, CP was a preventable condition if the hospital staff member and/or doctor had performed his/her duty to provide care in a proper manner.  Whether the doctor was negligent in the monitoring of the baby during pregnancy, or mishandled the labor or delivery procedures, the consequence for the child is a life-long debilitating health condition.

In the cases where cerebral palsy was the result of preventable negligence during the birth of a child, several negligent acts or failure to provide certain treatments have been identified.  These are actions which when performed or failed to have been performed make the doctor and or hospital staff responsible for the consequences of birth injury resulting in cerebral palsy and other medical conditions.  These actions include:

• Improperly using the vacuum extraction and/or forceps while assisting in a delivery
• Failing to detect that the umbilical cord has problems such as a prolapsed cord, leading to oxygen deprivation and resulting in brain damage.
• Failing to respond to fetal distress or prolapsed cord and performing a cesarean section in time.
• Failing to properly treat seizures following childbirth
• Improperly monitoring the baby’s vital signs during labor or delivery