When a Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis Raises Questions About Birth Injury

Hearing that your child has cerebral palsy can feel overwhelming. It’s a diagnosis many people have heard of, but far fewer truly understand—especially when it comes to what causes it and whether it could have been prevented.

In some cases, questions may also arise about whether medical malpractice, delayed intervention, or errors during labor and delivery contributed to the injury.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral palsy (CP), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a condition that affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It’s important to know that CP is not a single condition with a single presentation—each child’s symptoms and challenges are unique.  

What Can Cause Cerebral Palsy?

At its core, cerebral palsy results from abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain. This injury affects the brain’s ability to control muscle movement. In many cases, CP is congenital, meaning it is related to events that occur before or during birth.

While not all cases are preventable, research shows that a small but meaningful percentage—often estimated around 8–10% of congenital cerebral palsy cases—may be linked to oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery. This is known as intrapartum asphyxia, and it is sometimes associated with cerebral palsy malpractice claims involving delayed medical intervention.

Intrapartum asphyxia occurs when a baby does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow during labor. Because a baby’s brain is especially vulnerable during this time, even a short period of reduced oxygen can lead to injury.

How Can It Be Determined Whether a Case of Cerebral Palsy was Preventable?

One of the keyways medical providers monitor a baby’s well-being during labor is through fetal heart rate monitoring, which is the most common obstetric procedure.  It is performed in virtually every labor and delivery unit across the country and can share valuable information on how the baby is doing prior to birth. Certain patterns on the fetal heart tracings—such as repeated late decelerations, reduced variability, or prolonged slowing of the heart rate—can signal that the baby may not be getting enough oxygen and may be at risk.

When these warning signs appear, timely intervention is critical. Medical teams are expected to respond quickly, which may include repositioning the mother, adjusting or stopping medications that stimulate contractions, administering fluids, or, when necessary, expediting delivery, oftentimes moving to a C-section to reduce the risk of preventable injury and potential cerebral palsy malpractice.

When there are delays in recognizing or responding to signs of fetal distress, the risk of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (injury caused by oxygen deprivation) increases—and in some cases, this can lead to cerebral palsy or even death.    

How Can Plakas Mannos Help Find Answers?

For families navigating a CP diagnosis, understanding the “why” can be just as important as managing the “what’s next.” A careful medicolegal review of the pregnancy and delivery can help determine whether appropriate care was provided and whether different actions could have changed the outcome.

That’s where our experienced and compassionate team of medical malpractice and birth injury lawyers and medical professionals comes in. With OBGYN Dr. Allison Kreiner and Nurse Attorney Garrett Loyd on our team, you know that Plakas Mannos will make sure that you are getting the best to handle your case with the support of an experienced cerebral palsy lawyer.

If your child—or the child of someone you love—has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, you don’t have to navigate these questions alone. Exploring your legal and medical options with a trusted cerebral palsy lawyer can be an important step toward securing the resources and support your child may need for the future. If you’re looking for an Ohio medical malpractice attorney, contact us today.

About the Authors

Dr. Allison Kreiner, Medical Analyst, and Garrett Loyd, Registered Nurse Attorney, work directly with our Medical Malpractice, Birth Injury, and Personal Injury teams. They provide exceptional advocacy in medical malpractice litigation, personal injury, wrongful death claims, and general litigation.