Types of Spastic Cerebral Palsy: Birth Injury Lawyer in Oregon

Understanding the Types of Spastic Cerebral Palsy from Our Birth Injury Lawyer in Oregon

 

Cerebral palsy is a condition affecting the brain which causes muscle weakness, imbalance, and affects movement.  There are more than 760,000 people in the United States with cerebral palsy.  The CDC literally defines cerebral palsy, or CP, as “cerebral” meaning the brain and “palsy” meaning weakness.  Sometimes the symptoms are significant and debilitating.  The symptoms depend on the type of cerebral palsy, which in turn depends on the area of damage to the brain.  There are many different types of cerebral palsy, but there are generally four main types.  The four main types of spastic cerebral palsy, dyskinetic cerebral palsy (also known as dystonic or athetoid cerebral palsy), ataxic cerebral palsy, and mixed cerebral palsy.  All of these types can be debilitating and permanently affect a person’s life.  However, our birth injury lawyer in Oregon wants to focus on the types of spastic cerebral palsy that could affect a family.

 

This is because spastic cerebral palsy is the type of cerebral palsy which is the most common and affects more Americans than any other type of cerebral palsy.  It also could be caused by Oregon medical malpractice which causes serious birth injuries or damage that could be due to Oregon medical malpractice.  Unfortunately, the prognosis of someone who has CP is not great in the sense that cerebral palsy cannot be cured.  This is because it is due to permanent brain damage from lesions in the developing brain.  These lesions create gaps in development where an individual’s brain does not form correctly.  The largest cause fo these lesions is oxygen deprivation while the brain is rapidly developing.  This usually occurs immediately before, during, or after the birthing process known as labor and delivery.  There are instances when CP could be caused up to two years after the birth of a child, but that is rarer.

 

Understanding Spastic Cerebral Palsy

 

Spastic cerebral palsy is the most common cause and is usually due to damage to the brain’s motor cortex.  It is commonly referred to as “stiff” or “rigid” cerebral palsy because a person’s movements typically manifest that way.  This is because a person usually suffers from hypertonia, or an increased muscle tone.  This increased muscle tone results in a loss of range of motion due to the intense muscle structure or strong contractions caused by this form of CP.  The contractions can be painful and prevent a person some being able to walk, run, sit, stand, or even lay down comfortably.  There are many different forms of this type of CP.

 

Forms of Spastic Cerebral Palsy

 

There are three common forms of spastic cerebral palsy that our birth injury lawyer in Oregon wants all families to know could be caused by medical malpractice.  The three most common forms include the following:

 

• Spastic Diplegia – also known as diparesis, or “di” meaning two and “plegia” meaning paralysis, this type of CP causes disability in two limbs which are usually the legs.  This could cause a person extreme difficulty walking, including walking on tippy toes or having to completely rely on ambulatory devices for help.
• Spastic hemiplegia – also known as hemiparesis or “hemi” meaning half and “plegia” meaning paralysis, this type usually means that half the body is affected.  This is the cerebral cortex which is commonly injured and that side of the body will suffer from stiff or rigid movement.  This means that limbs on the same side of the body will all be stiff and injured together.
• Spastic quadriplegia – also known as quadriparasis or “quad” meaning four and “plegia” meaning paralysis, this is the most serious type of spastic CP which causes paralysis in all four limbs and most of the torso and body.  The paralysis is due to increased or stiff muscles which can affect many bodily functions, including causing incontinence, difficulty eating, speech problems, and completely ambulatory issues.  Spastic quadriplegia is usually very severe and debilitating.

There is No Risk to Have our Spastic CP Lawyer Review Your Case

 

Our birth injury lawyer in Oregon can handle any type of cerebral palsy case.  But when it comes to spastic cerebral palsy, your family should know they can absolutely rely on our law office to review your case fairly and help determine what happened.  We offer a free case review and, if we accept your case, we will investigate your claim by possibly hiring experts on liability and damages.  

 

We also accept cases on a contingency fee agreement.  This means that there is no money down for us to begin to review your case.  We only get paid once you get paid in a settlement or court award.  Our experienced cerebral palsy lawyers know how important it is for you to have the representation you need.  This is why we offer these contingency fee agreements to allow families to keep money in their pocket now while we investigate their claims.

 

Was Your Child Diagnosed with Any Type of Spastic Cerebral Palsy?  We Can Help

 

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form.  We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.

 

Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton,  Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles,  St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.

 

We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.