According to the Mayo Clinic, there are 200,000 to three million cerebral palsy (CP) cases in America each year. You may have noticed that many of our blogs in the past have dealt with either lawsuits that have involved CP or discussions about birth injuries that may lead to CP.
Many people do not know that CP is actually a group of disorders that have some variances. Some of these can be caused by pharmaceutical or medical malpractice.
Types of Cerebral Palsy
The specific types of cerebral palsy are categorized based off where cerebral damage has occurred. The three primary locations of CP-related brain damage are:
- Motor cortex, which results in spastic cerebral palsy. This is the most common form of CP, encompassing about 70 to 80 percent of all people with CP. An individual with spastic CP will appear to have stiff and tight muscles.
- Basal ganglia, which can cause dyskinetic cerebral palsy. People with dyskinetic CP will have irregular movements that they cannot control. Movements can be irregular and dance-like, slow and stormy movements and twisting and repetitive.
- Cerebellum, which can lead to ataxic cerebral palsy. This form of CP can cause issues with balance and space, especially depth perception. People with this condition will often have shaky movements.
Children and adults with any of these forms of CP often need extra medical attention throughout their lives, which can be costly. If your child was born with CP, then you may not be at fault. Consult a birth injury attorney to see if a healthcare provider or a pharmaceutical company may be the cause of your child’s injuries.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to see how we help children with cerebral palsy in Florida. We hold a leadership position with the Miami Children’s Hospital so that we can better defend the rights of injured children.
[Did You Know? Some scholars speculate that Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, had cerebral palsy.]
Farrell & Patel – Birth Injury Lawyers
