Cerebral palsy involves disturbances of the brain and nervous system functions that can often cause disturbances with motor functions, including spastic movements. In Sydney, Australia, doctors are performing a clinical trial with deep brain stimulation to treat these spastic movements. Though deep brain stimulation is not a cure for this aspect of cerebral palsy, the technique can make daily tasks much easier for people with cerebral palsy. For example, doctors diagnosed Martha Siede with cerebral palsy as a baby, and she has been unable to eat or dress without help from someone else, according to Nambucca Guardian. Now, at age 36, Siede states that she notices a big difference with her involuntary movements, in that they are not as often as before she began treatment with deep brain stimulation. The procedure includes doctors placing a pacemaker in the patient’s chest, with two wires that emit electric pulses to a specific…
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Birth Injury and Cerebral Palsy Attorneys Home
New Stimulation Technique Reduces Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy
September 20, 2011Settlement to Child with Cerebral Palsy Upheld
September 16, 2011Christian Arroyo, an eight-year-old quadriplegic with cerebral palsy, is happy and loving, but he requires constant care. Christian’s problems resulted from a common neonatal blood infection, easily treatable with the use of antibiotics. However, doctors and nurses at Erie Family Health Center, a federal government-funded clinic, left him untreated for more than 12 hours, which led to brain damage. Christian’s parents won a $29.1 million lawsuit last year due to medical negligence, but the government appealed the decision on the grounds of an untimely claim, since the Arroyos did not file their claim until two years later. The U.S. Court of Appeals recently upheld the 2010 verdict, noting that the doctors never informed the family that antibiotics would have prevented brain damage. Instead, the Arroyos discovered the negligence when their second son, born a year later, received immediate treatment with antibiotics for the same problem. The family’s lawyer explained that…
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Jail Neglects Woman Giving Birth
September 14, 2011Most women who file for medical negligence due to a birth injury or other birthing problem bring their suit against a hospital or other medical professional. Imka Pope, however, brings her medical negligence suit against the King County Jail, which allowed Pope to give birth alone, on the jail floor, 14 years ago. According to SeattlePi.com, Pope suffers from schizoaffective disorder. During a psychotic episode when she was off her medication, Pope fell asleep on a Metro bus bench. Police arrested the nine-months-pregnant Pope for trespassing, and six days later, she gave birth. Documents show that only one person on staff in the jail noted that Pope appeared pregnant, and her lawyers state that officers and nurses made little effort to treat her schizoaffective disorder. Pope alleges that on the day she gave birth, she asked for help from the guards. However, guards decided that she was not in imminent…
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