The realization your child may have suffered a birth injury can be excruciating. Nobody ever wants their child to suffer from any kind of harm, but birth injuries happen far more often than we would like.
One of the most important steps in helping the impacted child medically, emotionally, and developmentally is identifying the birth injury, figuring out what caused it, and assessing just how severe it is.
For something like cerebral palsy, there are numerous tests that can help diagnose the condition, but it’s up to you as the parent to identify the potential signs of a birth injury and request the tests to justify your concerns. Here are the things you should look for and the tests doctors can perform to diagnose cerebral palsy or other birth injuries.
What Parents Must Look For
Parents have the right to request additional testing if they believe that their child has suffered a birth injury such as cerebral palsy. However, there must be a valid reason behind the request. Therefore, it’s important to keep an eye out for potential problems that can point to the possibility of a birth injury.
Here are some things you should keep in mind:
- Your instincts are usually correct: As a parent, you can often identify when something is wrong with your child. You know whether or not your labor had complications and if your child is experiencing delays in their development.
- You know what behaviors are considered unusual: Seeing your child on a day-to-day basis gives you an idea of what is normal for them and what isn’t. If you identify any unusual behavior and believe it is associated with a potential birth injury, you should jot down what the behavior was, when it happened, and how often it recurs.
- You can reach out to your baby’s doctor: Only a medical professional can officially diagnose your child with a birth injury. However, you can identify small changes in behavior and developmental delays that you can relay to your baby’s doctor to help them form a diagnosis.
If you approach your child’s doctor about additional testing to look for a birth injury and they decline your request, remember that you have rights. Make sure you go through every avenue to get the proper testing necessary to diagnose a potential problem.
How Are Cerebral Palsy and Other Birth Injuries Tested?
When it comes to many birth injuries—especially those involving trauma to your baby’s head and brain—specific testing can help to identify and diagnose the problems. Some can be as simple as a blood test, while others require more advanced methods of analysis and assessment.
Here are some of the tests that may be performed:
- Developmental screening: Doctors will monitor your child’s growth and development during regular check-ups. These screenings look at how your child moves, communicates, behaves, plays, and learns, comparing these milestones to those of other children the same age. If the doctor notices delays in development or abnormal muscle tone, they may recommend more specific testing to determine if cerebral palsy or another birth injury is present.
- PET scan testing: A positron emission tomography (PET) scan can be used to provide the doctor with images of the functionality of your baby’s brain. If the brain is not properly sending messages to the rest of the body, the PET scan can show these potential problems.
- MRI testing: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides doctors with a scan that is easy to read and can help determine if certain problems exist, including hemorrhaging in the brain or other abnormalities. MRIs can indicate what problems may exist and how they are impacting the motor and cognitive functions of your baby.
- EEG testing: Electroencephalogram (EEG) testing helps to identify if there are any problems regarding brain waves, as well as abnormalities in the brain’s electrical activity. It’s a way to determine if the brain activity is working correctly and the way alpha, beta, theta, and delta waves are being transmitted can help to identify a potential problem.
- Cranial ultrasound scan: This non-invasive imaging technique uses sound waves to create pictures of the brain and is particularly useful for screening premature infants. Cranial ultrasounds can detect brain hemorrhages, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), and other structural abnormalities that may indicate a birth injury. The procedure is painless and can be performed at the bedside, making it ideal for monitoring vulnerable newborns in the NICU.
- Blood tests: Doctors may order various blood tests to rule out other conditions that can cause symptoms similar to cerebral palsy. These tests can detect genetic or metabolic disorders, infections, or blood clotting problems that might explain the child’s symptoms. Ruling out these alternative diagnoses helps physicians confirm that the symptoms are indeed caused by a birth injury rather than another medical condition.
Who Can Test Your Child for Cerebral Palsy and Other Birth Injuries?
Several key medical professionals play important roles in diagnosing birth injuries:
- Pediatrician: Your child’s primary care doctor typically identifies initial concerns during regular check-ups and makes referrals to specialists when developmental delays or abnormalities are observed.
- Pediatric Neurologists: These specialists diagnose and treat disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. They can order specialized tests like MRIs and EEGs to confirm cerebral palsy and determine its type and severity.
- Child Development Specialists: These professionals assess your child’s motor skills, language abilities, cognitive function, and social development to identify specific delays and create intervention plans.
Remember that you have the right to seek second opinions if you feel your concerns aren’t being adequately addressed. Trust your instincts and advocate for your child’s needs – early diagnosis leads to earlier intervention and better outcomes.
Is Failure to Provide Proper Testing an Act of Negligence?
Doctors are not always willing to provide proper testing because it could indicate a mistake that they made to cause your baby harm. However, if they deny your request, it could also be considered a form of medical malpractice: a missed diagnosis.
Failure to diagnose a medical condition can result in a baby suffering long-term damage as they may not get the care they need in time. When this happens, it’s well within your rights to take legal action against the doctor for potentially causing the injury in the first place and then failing to diagnose it properly.
The Complexities of Birth Injury Lawsuits
Any time you need to file a lawsuit for a birth injury sustained by your child, it’s important to have someone on your side who can explain the process to you and help to represent your rights and those of your child every step of the way.
Birth injuries—like all matters of medical malpractice—require nuanced handling that not all lawyers can provide. A birth injury lawyer must recognize the various factors included in proving liability, including the ability to discover and exhibit various pieces of evidence to show that a birth injury occurred due to negligence. If you’ve been denied testing, you can speak with an attorney to determine if the doctor’s failure to diagnose is a viable lawsuit.
When it comes to medical malpractice causing significant harm to infants, toddlers, and babies, our Chicago birth injury attorneys take these matters seriously and work hard to help you and your family understand what comes next, as well as pursuing the compensation you need and deserve.
At Beam Legal Team, you are our top priority; your needs as a parent are top of mind. It is your right as a parent to know if your child has been injured due to someone else’s negligence and to pursue justice and the compensation you’re owed.
Contact our firm today if you believe your child has suffered a birth injury due to negligence, or if your baby’s doctor has failed to offer testing to diagnose a potential problem.
Originally published June 3, 2019.