Cerebral palsy is a potential birth injury that can occur, sometimes due to medical malpractice. If the doctor’s error leads to a reduction in oxygenation to the baby’s brain, the baby can suffer brain damage. This is often irreparable, so it is a life-changing injury.
That being said, the injury may not be clear the moment the baby is born. With other birth injuries, such as shoulder dystocia leading to bone fractures, there is clear evidence immediately. But it can certainly take time to diagnose cerebral palsy because of the nature of the injury itself.
Children miss milestones
One thing to consider is that the symptoms of cerebral palsy often mean that a child misses significant milestones. For instance, they may have trouble crawling or rolling over. Children with cerebral palsy may have trouble walking or look unbalanced and stiff while they do so.
But these are symptoms that parents are only going to notice over time. The day that their child is born, they have not yet developed the ability to roll over, crawl or walk in the first place, so it may appear that there was no lasting harm. Because this is a developmental injury, the symptoms are going to become more clear as the child gets older and fails to develop along the expected timeline. This is when physicians will begin looking into potential issues with cerebral palsy as they try to determine why those milestones are being missed.
This can certainly complicate a cerebral palsy case, and it is important for parents to understand exactly what legal options they have.