Category Archives: Cerebral Palsy

NJ Family Awarded $20 Million in Birth Injury Case

According to Law.com, a Union County, New Jersey jury recently awarded a family $20 million in damages after a child suffered brain injuries prior to her birth. A jury found that two doctors failed to promptly treat the woman despite the fact that she was showing fetal distress prior to the child’s birth. The child, born in 2011, now has cerebral palsy. In the lawsuit, the family claimed that a technician discovered that the girl developed intrauterine growth retardation during an ultrasound check at the 33rd week of pregnancy. However, a report sat in the maternal fetal medicine medical office for four days detailing the retardation before it was faxed to the mother’s obstetrician. The retardation caused the child to lose weight because it was not getting proper nutrition. Lawyers claimed in the lawsuit that it would have been the proper standard of care for an official from the maternal…
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When Can Doctors Diagnose Cerebral Palsy?

According to a report on DisabilityScoop.com, cerebral palsy can be accurately diagnosed in children as young as age 6 months. The news source reports that a study, published in the September 2017 edition of JAMA Pediatrics, found that doctors can use three tools to diagnose a child if he or she is less than 5 months old: neonatal magnetic resonance imaging, the Prechtl Qualitative Assessment of General Movements and the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination. Children over the age of 5 months may be able to get a diagnosis through an MRI, the study revealed. Children who are diagnosed early or who show symptoms of “high risk of cerebral palsy” can be entered into early treatment and intervention programs. “Early detection of high risk of cerebral palsy, followed by cerebral palsy-specific early intervention, is recommended and should be the standard of care to optimize infant neuroplasticity, prevent complications and enhance parent…
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Robotic Device May Help Those with Cerebral Palsy Gain Strength

According to DisabilityScoop, researchers are working with a robotic device that could help children with cerebral palsy gain strength, and improve their posture and walking ability. The website reported that the system is known as the Tethered Pelvic Assist Device, and is being looked at for helping those with a crouch gait improve their abilities so that their hips, knees and ankles do not bend excessively. Researchers discovered that of the 15 people participating in training sessions with the device, six children had improvement in posture and muscle coordination, as well as range-of-motion. The training sessions involved the children wearing the pelvic robot device while walking on a treadmill. The device applies downward force, similar to something a child would encounter if he or she was carrying a backpack. This helps retrain and work certain leg muscles, gaining strength and memory. “Currently, there is no well-established physical therapy or strengthening…
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