Yes, cerebral palsy can be caused by a medical mistake or error. In fact, most children who suffer from the disorder have had it since birth, often due to a lack of oxygen to the brain (called hypoxia) or to the body (asphyxia), premature delivery, or birth trauma — sometimes because of medical malpractice and delivery mistakes during labor or child birth.

In cerebral palsy lawsuits there are a variety of health care providers that could be responsible for your child’s birth injury. Typically speaking when a mother is in labor, a fetal heart monitor is placed on her abdomen to feel the contractions, as well as to see the baby’s heart rate. The monitor picks up the heart rate and is able to determine whether or not the child is getting proper oxygen. Clear signs that your child’s CP was caused by a medical mistake is when a nurse fails to notify a physician when the fetal monitor tracings are indicating a problem or a physician does not properly respond to the fetal monitor tracings.

To help parents better understand what medical negligence is and how it can occur during the birth of your child, our Michigan cerebral palsy attorney, Randall Blau recorded this video: https://youtu.be/mGc9zgbVYIc