One of the wonders of parenthood is watching your child move their limbs and hands, exploring their surroundings, and reaching out to touch and feel the world around them. When those movements are limited, or your infant struggles with what should be simple activities, your joy can turn to fear. Your child may have suffered a birth injury that adversely affected their muscle control caused by the negligent mistakes of your physician or hospital medical staff. Worse still, those symptoms may be the product of another serious medical condition, such as cerebral palsy.
Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA is here to provide you and other Florida families with the legal representation necessary to pursue a birth injury claim. Your doctor should act to ensure the health and safety of you and your child. If negligent conduct leads to a severe birth injury affecting your child’s muscle control, your doctor or the hospital should be held responsible. To schedule a free legal consultation, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA at (305) 694-2676.
Neonatal Hypotonia and Hypertonia in Florida Infants
An infant suffering from neonatal hypotonia lacks the normal amount of muscle tone, limiting their ability to contract or relax their muscles. Hypertonia is the opposite, the muscles are too toned, resulting in unwanted movements and jerks when attempting to control specific muscle groups.
The conditions are not exclusive, and some infants can be affected by both disorders. Hypotonic infants will exhibit ragdoll-like postures, will have difficulty feeding, and may experience developmental delays in speaking or controlling their mouths.
Hypotonia and hypertonia can be caused by a lack of oxygen or traumatic birth injury to your infant’s brain. In many instances, the damage is the direct result of negligent conduct on the part of your doctor or hospital staff.
Dystonia Disorder
Dystonia disorder is a condition that affects your infant’s muscles. Usually developing near, or soon after birth, this disorder will cause a child’s muscles to contract without warning, granting your child no control over their movements. Symptoms of this condition include uncontrollable repetitive movements along with pain and exhaustion of the affected muscles.
Hypoxia, a condition where oxygen fails to reach your baby’s brain, is a common cause of dystonia. Often, hypoxia is a direct result of preventable errors by your doctor or medical staff. Additionally, an untreated infection can lead to the development of this disorder in infants. If your infant is experiencing difficulties in control their muscles, contact our experienced Florida attorney.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that can develop during pregnancy, during delivery, or soon after birth. Unfortunately, cerebral palsy is a permanent disorder adversely affecting an infant’s muscle control and movement. Often, the cause is directly related to medical malpractice on the part of your doctor.
An infant who has cerebral palsy may also exhibit symptoms of hypotonia or hypertonia. The symptoms associated with the most common types of cerebral palsy are:
- Spastic: The most common type of cerebral palsy is characterized by restrictive movement, experience stiffness, and difficulty in grasping objects.
- Athetoid: This type of cerebral palsy accounts for approximately 10 percent of all cases and affects speech, posture, and can result in involuntary movements.
- Ataxic: This form of the condition affects depth perception and balance, often causing muscle tremors.
Causes of Birth Injuries Causing Lack of Control of Muscles in Florida Hospitals
Many of the conditions that affect an infant’s motor skills or coordination develop from catastrophic birth injuries resulting from the negligent actions of doctors and professional health care providers. Medical malpractice arises when a doctor or medical professional breaches the accepted standard of medical care. All medical treatment must adhere to an accepted standard of care. In other words, the actions your doctor takes should be similar to what a knowledgeable and prudent medical professional would do under comparable circumstances.
Any traumatic head or brain injury can adversely affect your infant’s ability to control their muscles. Damage to the brain can cause cerebral palsy, dystonia, hypotonia, or other conditions that impair your infant’s brain function or nervous system. While brain injuries can be complications associated with delivery, they are often the result of medical malpractice on the part of your doctor or medical staff.
For example, if your doctor failed to diagnose or treat a nuchal cord, a condition where the umbilical cord wraps around your infant’s neck, any prolonged compression of the cord would dangerously restrict the oxygen supply to your child, causing irreversible brain damage. Similarly, excessive force applied to your child’s head by medical instruments, such as obstetric forceps, could severely injure your child’s brain or fracture their skull. If your child suffered a traumatic brain injury as a complication of birth, contact our Florida medical malpractice attorney to help determine if your child was a victim of medical negligence.
Contact Our Florida Attorney for Infant Lack of Control of Muscles from Birth Complications to Schedule a Free Consultation
Birth injuries that adversely affect your child’s muscle or nervous systems can result in years of expensive occupational and physical therapy. Additionally, the quality of your child’s life or their ability to earn a living could be severely limited by a muscular disorder. If the injury was the direct result of medical malpractice, the experienced Florida attorneys at the Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA will work to hold the negligent parties responsible and to get you the compensation you and your child deserve. To schedule a free legal consultation, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA at (305) 694-2676.