A lack of care by medical staff can contribute to cerebral palsy, but it is only one of several possible causes, and in many children the cause is never fully known. When a preventable lapse in monitoring, diagnosis, or delivery does play a role, it usually happens in a few specific windows: during pregnancy, during labor and delivery, or in the first days of a newborn’s life. Knowing which window to look at is the first step in finding out whether a child’s cerebral palsy could have been prevented.
At Davis & Davis, our Houston attorneys represent families in birth injury cases, and we approach every cerebral palsy question with the medical records first. This post explains what the research says about causes, what “lack of care” can mean in each stage, and what Texas law requires before a family can bring a claim.
What Causes Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy is a group of movement and posture disorders caused by damage to, or abnormal development of, the parts of the brain that control muscles. It is permanent, but it does not get worse over time, and with therapy and support many children make real gains.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s page on cerebral palsy risk factors, most cases, about 85 to 90 percent, are congenital, meaning they relate to events before or during birth. The CDC also notes that in many cases the cause is not fully known. Recognized risk factors include low birthweight, premature birth, multiple births, infections during pregnancy, jaundice and kernicterus, certain maternal medical conditions, and birth complications such as placental detachment, uterine rupture, or umbilical cord problems. A smaller share of cerebral palsy is acquired in the first years of life, often after an infection or injury.
“Before or during birth” is not the same as “caused by care during birth.” A 2008 systematic review in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology estimated that about 14.5 percent of cerebral palsy cases are associated with reduced oxygen and blood flow during labor (intrapartum hypoxia-ischemia). That is a meaningful share, and those are often the cases where timing and monitoring matter most, but it is also a reminder that a diagnosis alone does not show what went wrong.
Where a Lack of Care Can Play a Role
When cerebral palsy is linked to a preventable error, the problem is usually a failure to recognize a risk and act on it in time. Examples by stage include:
- During pregnancy: Missing or not treating a maternal infection, or not managing a condition such as preeclampsia that can threaten the baby’s oxygen supply.
- During labor: Misreading or not responding to concerning fetal heart rate patterns, delaying a needed cesarean delivery, or not recognizing signs of placental abruption, uterine rupture, or a cord problem.
- Anesthesia: Not monitoring for and correcting a drop in the mother’s blood pressure or oxygen levels, which can reduce oxygen reaching the baby.
- Delivery: Using excessive force, or forceps or a vacuum extractor improperly, during a difficult birth.
- After birth: Delayed resuscitation of a newborn who is not breathing well, or not treating severe jaundice or a newborn infection promptly.
Our article on oxygen deprivation during labor explains the labor-and-delivery window in more detail, and our page on failure to monitor fetal conditions covers the monitoring side.
How Doctors and Lawyers Tell the Difference
Because cerebral palsy has many possible causes, the question in a legal review is whether the evidence points to a specific, preventable event. Qualified medical professionals typically look at the fetal heart monitoring strips, the timing of decisions during labor, the baby’s condition at birth (including Apgar scores and umbilical cord blood gases), whether the newborn showed signs of encephalopathy, and brain imaging that can show the pattern and timing of injury. Placental pathology, when it was done, can also help.
When those pieces line up with an injury around the time of birth, a claim may be worth pursuing. When they point to an earlier cause, such as a genetic condition or an infection that could not have been detected, there may be no malpractice even though the family’s loss is just as real. Our article on hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy during birth covers one of the conditions these reviews often look for.
What Texas Law Requires
A cerebral palsy claim against a doctor or hospital is a health care liability claim under Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. The general filing deadline is two years, but a child injured before age 12 generally has until their 14th birthday, subject to a 10-year statute of repose. Families must also serve a report from a qualified medical professional on each defendant within 120 days after that defendant answers, explaining how the care fell short and how that caused the injury. Our article on how a birth injury can affect a Houston family over time covers the rest of the Chapter 74 process and the long-term costs these claims have to account for.
Because the deadlines are strict and the records can take months to gather, it helps to request them early, even if you are not sure a claim exists.
Talk With Davis & Davis About Your Child’s Diagnosis
Our firm focuses on medical malpractice, and birth injury cases are a core part of that work. We review prenatal, labor, delivery, and newborn records with qualified medical professionals to determine whether a different course of care could have changed the outcome. Every case is different, and we cannot promise a particular result.
If you have questions about whether the care around your child’s birth contributed to their cerebral palsy, contact Davis & Davis to request a free consultation and talk through the records and your options.
Frequently Asked Questions About Cerebral Palsy and Medical Care
Is most cerebral palsy caused by mistakes during delivery?
No. Most cerebral palsy relates to events before or during birth, but many of those events happen during pregnancy, and in many children the cause is never fully identified. A 2008 systematic review estimated that about 14.5 percent of cases are associated with reduced oxygen during labor, which is where delivery care is most often questioned.
What signs in the records suggest a birth-related injury?
Reviewers look for concerning fetal heart rate patterns, delays in delivery, low Apgar scores, abnormal umbilical cord blood gases, signs of newborn encephalopathy, and brain imaging that shows an injury pattern consistent with the time of birth. No single finding settles the question; the overall picture does.
When is cerebral palsy usually diagnosed?
Signs can appear in the first months, but many children are not formally diagnosed until they are a year or two old, when delays in movement become clearer. Families should not wait for a formal diagnosis to request birth records.
How long do we have to file a cerebral palsy claim in Texas?
Texas generally allows two years for a health care liability claim, but a child injured before age 12 generally has until their 14th birthday to file, subject to a 10-year outer limit. Parents’ own claims, such as for medical expenses they pay, can follow different timing, so it is wise to have the dates reviewed early.
What records should we request?
Ask for the mother’s prenatal records, the complete labor and delivery chart including fetal heart monitoring strips, anesthesia records, the baby’s newborn nursery and NICU records, and any placental pathology report. An attorney can help if a provider is slow to respond.
