Catastrophic Injury

Cerebral Palsy Linked to Increased Risk of Fractures

Cerebral palsy is often caused by an injury at birth, and may lead to long-term complications. According to a recent study, middle-aged men with cerebral palsy are up to 5.6 times more at risk of suffering fractures compared to men without the disorder. The researchers at the Michigan Medicine Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation who conducted the study said they are not sure why this happens, but say it may be related to structural differences that occur during adolescent growth or because of greater bone mineral loss at an earlier age for people with cerebral palsy compared to peers.

What the Study Showed

The study, published in BONE, looked at the timing and site of bone fracture for around 10 million people with and without cerebral palsy using public and private insurance claims from 2016. The team of researchers examined fracture risk across the lifespan to see if the critical periods of bone health from the general population align with the timing of fracture vulnerability for people with cerebral palsy.

In addition to the findings regarding elevated fracture risk in middle-aged men with cerebral palsy, researchers found that adolescence and young adult years are a particularly vulnerable time for bone breaks for people with cerebral palsy. Researchers say while it is known that people with cerebral palsy have a higher risk of fractures, this new study will change the way we think about fracture prevention, particularly for adults. Fracture prevention for people with cerebral palsy can be an important part of clinical care.

According to the Mayo Clinic, cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect movement and muscle tone or posture. It is caused by damage that occurs to the developing brain, often during birth. Signs and symptoms may appear during infancy. Cerebral palsy typically causes impaired movements, rigidity or floppiness of the limbs and trunk, involuntary movements, unsteady walking, etc. People will cerebral palsy may also have problems with swallowing, vision and hearing.

Seeking Compensation

Cerebral palsy may occur due to brain damage caused during labor and delivery. It is the responsibility of medical professionals to monitor the condition of the fetus and the mother and make decisions that would reduce or eliminate the risk of a risky delivery. If your child has cerebral palsy he or she may be able to receive compensation that helps pay for medical expenses, lost income, cost of therapy, future treatments, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc.

The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.

One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict that was reduced by the appeals court to $1,846,000 because the verdict was so large. This was the highest amount upheld by the appellate (appeals) courts for many, many years. In addition we recovered $1,400,000 for a newborn who lost motion in the arm during birth due to doctors applying incorrect force on the baby’s head. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.

We have seen many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with cerebral palsy or Brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness), and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.

The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospital Corporation):

• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000

Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury and/or medical malpractice cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.

Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:

1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES

Please visit us at: www.WORK4YOULAW.com

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S875632822100171X

Published by
Ken Wilhelm