After seven long years of legal battle, a district court in Colorado finally awarded millions of dollars to a family who suffered from a medical malpractice incident after staff at the Children’s Hospital Colorado administered an incorrect dosage to their four-year-old daughter, resulting in lifelong brain damage and cerebral palsy, the Gazette reported on April 4.

The Arapahoe County District Court awarded $17.8 million, possibly the largest medical malpractice verdict handled out in Colorado, to Naomi Pressey, now seven years of age. In February 2008, Naomi was given the wrong dose of prostaglandin in preparation for a procedure to treat a common congenital heart defect. The error caused her to suffer from cerebral palsy, severe motor skill impairment, significant intellectual disability and cognitive impairment.

Children’s Hospital Colorado said it plans to appeal the verdict.

Medication error is considered among the most common medical malpractice causes of cerebral palsy in the country. To learn more about taking legal action against a negligent medical facility or practitioner that caused your child to suffer from this life-long condition, consult with a lawyer at the Driscoll Firm by calling (800) 900-7704 today.

At any point during labor and delivery, even the slightest of missteps on part of a medical professional may potentially cause a child to develop Erb’s Palsy. As the result of damage to the child’s brachial plexus—a bundle of nerves in the upper arm and shoulder—individuals living with Erb’s Palsy often require substantial medical treatment in order to restore flexibility and strength back to the affected arm.

Some of the early warning signs that parents of children with Erb’s Palsy first observe include the following issues with one of the child’s arm at birth:

•  A lack of movement
• A lack or response to touch
• Rigidity of the arm held against the body
• Inability to grip with one hand

Should Erb’s Palsy not be promptly diagnosed and treated, a child may suffer from the following long-term symptoms that are associated with Erb’s Palsy:

•  Numbness of the affected arm
• Weakness of the affected arm
• Paralysis of the affected arm
• Muscle atrophy in the affected arm

While symptoms may be successfully mitigated by dedicated physical therapy and surgical procedure, many children continue to struggle with the effects of Erb’s Palsy for the entirety of their lives.

If your child is found to suffer from Erb’s Palsy, you should consult with one of the birth injury attorneys at the Driscoll Firm to learn more about your legal options moving forward. If a negligent medical practitioner is found to be responsible, you may pursue financial compensation that covers medical expenses and the cost of continued treatment. To discuss the particular circumstances that you believe contributed to your child’s Erb’s Palsy, please call our offices at (800) 900-7704 today.

Though many children who develop cerebral palsy have been injured by some form of medical malpractice, a number of children sustain injuries that lead to cerebral palsy far removed from the medical environment. With that in mind, virtually any serious head trauma may potentially lead to cerebral palsy during the first few years of a child’s life. If your child has developed cerebral palsy, the birth injury lawyers at the Driscoll Firm can help you determine how this happened, and may help you pursue financial compensation for treatment expenses and any other financial losses.

To discuss the particulars circumstances that led to your child’s development of cerebral palsy with one of our birth injury lawyers, please call our offices at (800) 900-7704 to learn more about how we can help you.

A recently conducted study by the University of Adelaide-based Australian Collaborative Cerebral Palsy Research Group has found a strong link between the likelihood of developing cerebral palsy and genetic mutation, Medical Express reported on February 12.

The study found out that at least 14% of cerebral palsy cases have been a result of genetic mutation, contrary to what is believed that only up to 1% of cerebral palsy cases have been associated with genetic architecture. The study further showed that cerebral palsy share similar genetic structure as those of other neurological disorders.

This finding, which was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, hopes to change the approach on how medical professionals diagnose and manage cerebral palsy.

Although genetic predisposition may be greater than previously thought, medical malpractice is still the most common cause of cerebral palsy in the country. If you believe negligent medical care has been the cause of your child’s cerebral palsy, speak with an attorney at the Driscoll Firm to learn about the possibility of filing a claim against the party involved. Call us at (800) 900-7704 to discuss your legal options today.

Physical therapy usually begins right after a pediatrician has  diagnosed a child with cerebral palsy (CP). Physical therapy is a rehabilitative approach that has been found to significantly improve the lives of many individuals with CP. It involves training to strengthen the muscles, improve balance and flexibility, develop coordination, and promote physical function.

The primary goals of physical therapy treatment among CP patients are to maximize their independence and improve their community involvement by overcoming their physical limitations and focusing on their strengths. This would entail cooperation and constant communication among all the individuals involved: the patient, their parents or caretakers, their pediatricians, and their team of trained and licensed physical therapists.

The financial burden of cerebral palsy treatment can be very taxing and especially troubling for those whose CP has been a result of negligent medical malpractice. If your baby’s CP has been a result of medical malpractice, do not hesitate to take legal action against the parties involved. We at the Driscoll Firm might be able to help you. Call us at (800) 900-7704 for a free assessment of your case today.

Erb’s palsy is a type of brachial plexus injury that causes weakness, loss of feeling, or paralysis of the arm. Infants with Erb’s palsy may experience the condition to different extents; a child whose symptoms affect both the lower and upper arm has a global, or total, brachial plexus injury, while another may not be able to move their shoulder, but can move their hands or fingers.

Erb’s palsy occurs when the set of nerves called the brachial plexus has been stretched or ruptured. Difficult delivery, prolonged labor and breech presentation may all cause brachial plexus damage. In some cases, however, an inexperienced or negligent medical staff member may pull the infant’s neck or shoulder in the wrong manner, which may damage his brachial plexus and cause brachial plexus injuries, such as Erb’s palsy.

If you believe medical malpractice has been the cause of your child’s Erb’s palsy, you might be eligible to seek restitution for all the financial damages your family has incurred. Speak with our team at the Driscoll Firm to discuss the wide range of legal options available for you. Contact our firm at (800) 900-7704 today.

The more evidence you can provide an attorney with the better. If you have physical evidence pertaining to things like medical reports, evaluations, second opinions, expenses, or anything else directly related to the claims you will be making in your case, an attorney will be better able to help you develop a more comprehensive legal strategy. However, since each case is unique, you attorney may require more or less evidence than the examples listed above. With that in mind, it is critical that you contact an experienced birth injury attorney as soon as you can, as he or she will be able to more accurately recommend your best course of action, including what evidence to gather.

To speak with one of the cerebral palsy attorneys at the Driscoll Firm, please call our offices at (800) 900-7704 today.

Many cases of injury to the brachial plexus have been reported during the birth process. Brachial plexus is a set of nerves that runs across the neck and the shoulder and is responsible for delivering nerve signals to the shoulders, arms, and hands. When a medical staff member improperly pulls the infant’s head and neck away from its shoulders during delivery, this set of nerves may become damaged, causing a wide array of brachial plexus injuries.

Among the possible injuries is Klumpke’s palsy, which occurs when the lower or inferior trunks of the brachial plexus (the C8 and the T1) have been stretched or ruptured. The damaged nerves would then affect the forearm, the wrist, and the small muscles of the hands. Although a baby with Klumpke’s palsy may typically recover within six months, severe cases of this condition may present life-long complications that could ultimately affect a child’s quality of life.

If your child’s brachial plexus injury has resulted from negligent medical care, a lawyer at the Driscoll Firm might be able to help you pursue justice and compensation by possibly filing a lawsuit. Call us today at (800) 900-7704 for a free initial assessment of your case.

A Kentucky family’s three-year lawsuit finally came to a close last month after 10 of 12 jurors ruled that TJ Samson Community Hospital acted negligently in the birth of the family’s son, according to a WBKO article.

When the mother went in to deliver her child, she had no previous complications and her child was seemingly healthy. The doctor gave specific orders for the administration of medicine and spacing of contractions. These orders were not followed by other hospital staff and resulted in the baby being trapped in the birth canal with a limited oxygen supply. The child consequently developed spastic quadriplegia, a type of cerebral palsy, as a result of the hospitals negligent actions.

TJ Samson Community Hospital was ordered to pay the family $18 million for institutional negligence resulting in a debilitating birth injury condition. This sum included coverage for his entire life care plan of about $9 million, expected to support him over the next 67 years. He was also awarded compensation for his future lost earnings, past pain and suffering, and future pain and suffering.

This instance shows how too often, negligence by medical professionals can lead to the devastating development of disabling conditions like cerebral palsy. If your child has developed a birth injury like cerebral party due to another party’s wrong-doing, the birth injury lawyers with the Driscoll Firm may be able to help. Contact us at (800) 900-7704 today to begin taking action.

The consequences of Erb’s palsy caused by medical error can be devastating, including the severe limitation of flexibility and mobility which can lead to permanent disability. However, for some, the symptoms of Erb’s palsy may be substantially mitigated or nerve damage may potentially be altogether corrected through certain treatments. While these procedures can be prohibitively expensive for some, their impact can dramatically improve a child’s quality of life if successful.

Erb’s palsy is medical disorder that directly correlates with significant damage to a bundle of nerves, known as the brachial plexus, in the shoulder that controls the arm’s muscles. Under some circumstances, this type of nerve damage may be treated through the following methods:

• By surgically replacing any and all damaged nerves
• By performing muscle surgery to improve arm flexibility
• Through extensive physical therapy

For many children, treatment of Erb’s palsy is long-term and will necessitate extensive medical care and rehabilitation

When Erb’s palsy is developed as the result of a negligent doctor’s or nurse’s delivery room error, it is likely that financial restitution may be sought to help pay for the extensive damages that are typically associated with treating the condition. With that in mind, it may be critical that you retain an experienced medical malpractice attorney to help you build and coordinate a legal strategy intended to recover any damages associated with your child’s Erb’s palsy.

The birth injury lawyers at the Driscoll Firm are committed to holding negligent medical professionals responsible for their actions; to discuss the particulars of your case with one of our personal injury lawyers, please call our offices at (800) 900-7704 today.