Cerebral Palsy - Who Is Responsible?

Cerebral palsy is a term which is used to denote a number of disorders in the functioning of the brain. These disorders affect the movement of the body in some way. Generally, this type of disorder develops at the early age of body development, and in most cases, its symptoms in a child are quite evident by the age of three.

Children get birth injuries or are prone to disorders at the stage of birth; one of them being cerebral palsies (CP). In this kind of disorder, the muscle tone, movement, and motor skills of an infant are affected. The child may not properly learn the ability to move or may lose the ability to focus on something. Other problems associated with cerebral palsy are hearing and speech problems that evolve as a child grows. All in all, the learning abilities of a child become adversely affected and they may worsen with time.

An unfortunate case of birth injury can be traumatic for everyone involved. It becomes almost unbearable to see a child suffering. Some cases are so severe that they may require surgery and rehabilitation to bring them back to life again. On the part of the parents it is important to assess who is responsible for the injury and what type of compensation can be acquired as in the case of cerebral palsy. There is no cure, only the hope of some form of rehabilitation which may involve money being spent.

The cause of cerebral palsy is often due to the fault of incompetent medical procedures. Without developing prior assumptions one should try to understand where the medical staff failed in their duties. In some instances it is the medical staff which fails to diagnose a disease in the mother, or either was unable to treat the mother for any of the life-risk diseases such as gestational diabetes, which is often the cause of cerebral palsy in children.

It may even be the case of misjudgment on the part of the medical staff in estimating the baby's accurate weight prior to the delivery time. The oversized baby can be a risk and the doctors are held responsible if they fail to inform the parents of the risks involved in delivering.

Many a times, it is the responsibility of the mother to take proper care. Not just a healthy pregnancy must be ensured but also a healthy diet, even before conceiving. Medical problems must be diagnosed and treated properly. After conception, medication should be taken with consultation of the gynaecologist, if and when necessary, in order to avoid disorders or problems in the children.

Various complications might be caused during pregnancy, and the doctors are responsible for diagnosing the problems and providing the patient with prompt treatment. Even though most doctors are very cautious about these issues, sometimes they might show professional negligence, which can result in cerebral palsy. A doctor should be able to recognise potential symptoms of cerebral palsy, and if prompt treatment is provided, it might be possible to prevent the development of this disorder at an early stage.

One positive note about cerebral palsy is that although the magnitude of the problem varies over time, but the condition of the patient remains stable and the disease does not worsen over time.