Cerebral Palsy Can Be Caused By Something That Happened After Labor And Delivery
A Florida jury awarded the family of Kiarra Smith $19.2 million. Kiarra was prematurely born at 24 weeks gestation and weighed approximately 680 grams. Even though she was a premature baby, she was doing very well after delivery. Due to her young age, she did not have the suck and swallow reflex yet so she could not drink from a bottle. Kiarra had to receive her nutrition, Total Parental Nutrition (TPN), through an intravenous (IV) line until she was able to take formula from a bottle or breastfeed.
According to the Complaint, when Kiarra was about 15 days old, the pediatrician or neonatologist mistakenly wrote Kiarra’s weight in kilograms, instead of grams. That mistake in her weight caused Kiarra to receive 100 times the amount of vitamins and nutrients she was supposed to receive. As a result of the overdose, Kiarra developed brain damage due to metabolic acidosis and cardiac arrest. She is currently blind, wheelchair bound, and has Cerebral Palsy (CP).
Cerebral Palsy occurs when there is damage to a developing baby’s brain. In addition to causing problems with crawling or walking, it can also cause problems with breathing, speech, bowel and bladder function, eating, swallowing, learning, vision, and hearing. The brain injury or insult can occur either during prenatal period, labor, delivery, after birth, or within the first few years of life. Some of the early signs of CP can be a delay in crawling or walking, a lack of coordination, not reaching milestones, tight or stiff muscles, walking on toes, or a floppy, decreased muscle tone. Cerebral Palsy is usually diagnosed by the time the child is three years of age.
Recently the Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawyers of Reiff & Bily have joined forces with the Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Delaware personal injury lawyers of the Beasley Firm to form the Beasley Reiff Law Group. Our experienced medical and legal teams have had over $2 billion awarded for injured people like you or your baby. We have secured hundreds of settlements, verdicts, and awards in excess of $1 million dollars. For a free, no obligation consultation, contact us online at www.reiffandbily.com or toll free at 800-421-9595.
