Nova Scotia individuals who suffer a brain injury within the first two years of their life may develop a disorder generally known as cerebral palsy. However, this term envelopes a range of movement disorders that result in movement and muscle tone abnormalities. There are three types of cerebral palsy: spastic, athetoid and ataxic cerebral palsy.
Individuals with spastic cerebral palsy often experience muscle weakness and may have trouble controlling their movement. This is because the individual has suffered damage to the outer layer of the brain, or the cortex, which is responsible for movement and sensation. A person with this type of cerebral palsy may move slowly and with difficulty.
An individual with athetosis may make involuntary movements. In this type of cerebral palsy, the basal ganglia of the brain, which controls and makes movement graceful, has suffered damage. Finally, an individual who has ataxic cerebral palsy has suffered damage to the cerebellum. This damage may affect the individual’s posture, their ability to balance and the coordination of their movements.
It should be noted that one individual may suffer injuries to different parts of their brain, meaning that they may be suffering from more than one type of cerebral palsy. The disorder may also affect each person differently, based on the extent of the injuries and when the injuries occurred.
Cerebral palsy can result from birth trauma. Birth traumas may result from medical staff failing to respond to signs indicating fetal stress or mistakes made during delivery. If there is evidence that the child developed cerebral palsy due to birth trauma, a lawyer may help the family file a lawsuit against the staff members involved in the injury. They may also assist with demonstrating the financial effects of the injury by providing the child’s estimated future medical costs.