Cerebral palsy is one of the most feared diagnoses a new parent can hear, and one of the most misunderstood when it comes to legal responsibility.
Most cases of cerebral palsy are not caused by anything that happened during labor and delivery.
But when it is caused by a preventable error, medicine has specific, well-established criteria for identifying that link, and understanding them is the first step toward knowing whether your child’s diagnosis was truly unavoidable.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Is Cerebral Palsy and What Causes It?
Cerebral palsy is a lifelong motor disorder caused by abnormal brain development or an injury to the developing brain. It shows up as problems with muscle tone, movement, and coordination, and it’s typically diagnosed sometime in a child’s first few years of life, not always right at birth.
There are several types: spastic cerebral palsy, marked by stiff, tight muscles, is the most common; dyskinetic cerebral palsy causes uncontrolled, involuntary movements; and ataxic cerebral palsy affects balance and coordination.
Here’s the part that surprises a lot of families, research reviewed by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Task Force on Neonatal Encephalopathy has found that in roughly 90 percent of cerebral palsy cases, a lack of oxygen during labor could not have been the cause.
Most cases trace back to factors during pregnancy, genetic conditions, or complications of premature birth that have nothing to do with how labor and delivery were managed.
That doesn’t mean malpractice is never the cause. It means the medical evidence has to actually support that conclusion, not just the fact that a difficult delivery happened before the diagnosis.
How Do Doctors Determine Whether a Birth Injury Caused Cerebral Palsy?
Medicine doesn’t rely on guesswork here. In 2003, and again in a 2014 update, a joint task force convened by ACOG and the American Academy of Pediatrics laid out the criteria doctors and medical experts use to evaluate whether an infant’s brain injury was caused by an acute lack of oxygen during labor, as opposed to something that happened earlier in pregnancy or afterward.
The 2014 update moved toward a broader, multidimensional review of all the evidence together rather than a single checklist, but the same categories of evidence are still central to how these cases get evaluated.
What Evidence Points Most Strongly to an Intrapartum Cause?
Four pieces of evidence, sometimes called the essential criteria, form the core of the analysis, and under the original framework, all four generally needed to be present together to support a finding that labor and delivery caused the injury.
Metabolic acidosis in the umbilical cord blood drawn at delivery, specifically a pH below 7.0 and a base deficit of 12 mmol/L or higher, which reflects real oxygen deprivation at birth
Early, moderate to severe neonatal encephalopathy in an infant born at 34 weeks or later, meaning clear signs of brain dysfunction in the first days of life, not a diagnosis that only became apparent months later
A specific type of cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegic or dyskinetic, since these patterns are more consistent with an acute oxygen-deprivation injury than other forms
No other identifiable cause, meaning trauma, a genetic condition, an infection, or a clotting disorder has been ruled out as the actual explanation
Beyond these four, doctors also look at supporting evidence that suggests the injury happened close to the time of labor and delivery, generally within 0 to 48 hours.
This includes a specific triggering event during labor, such as a uterine rupture or a cord prolapse, a sudden and sustained drop in fetal heart rate after a previously normal pattern.
Apgar scores that stayed low well past the first few minutes after birth, signs of injury to multiple organ systems within the first three days of life, and brain imaging consistent with an acute injury rather than one that developed earlier in pregnancy.
Can Cerebral Palsy Be Caused by Something Other Than Oxygen Deprivation at Birth?
Yes, and it’s worth knowing about since it points to a different kind of preventable error with a different timeline.
Severe, untreated newborn jaundice can lead to a serious condition called kernicterus, in which excess bilirubin damages the brain, and it’s a recognized cause of dyskinetic cerebral palsy.
Unlike an intrapartum oxygen deprivation injury, this type of harm generally develops over the days after birth, from a failure to monitor and treat rising bilirubin levels in a newborn, not from anything that happened during labor itself.
If your child’s cerebral palsy diagnosis followed a period of severe jaundice, the relevant medical records and timeline look very different from an oxygen-deprivation case.
What Kinds of Medical Errors Lead to a Preventable Cerebral Palsy Diagnosis?
A few recurring patterns show up in cases where cerebral palsy was arguably preventable. Failing to properly monitor fetal heart rate during labor, or failing to act on a concerning pattern once it appeared, is one of the most common.
So is a delayed response to signs of fetal distress, including an unreasonably long gap between deciding on an emergency cesarean section and actually delivering the baby.
Mismanagement of labor-inducing medication like Pitocin, which can cause contractions strong or frequent enough to cut off the baby’s oxygen supply, is another recurring issue.
Improper resuscitation immediately after birth, and, as described above, a failure to monitor and treat severe newborn jaundice, round out the most common preventable causes.
If you or a family member may have been harmed by a doctor's error in New York, the team at Porter Law Group can review the medical records and your options at no cost.
What Are the Key Deadlines in a New York Cerebral Palsy Case?
Situation | Deadline | Rule |
|---|---|---|
Child’s claim against a private hospital, doctor, or provider | The earlier of age 18 plus 2.5 years, or 10 years from the malpractice (in practice, almost always the 10-year cap for a birth injury) | CPLR 208, CPLR 214-a |
Notice of claim if a public or municipal hospital was involved | 90 days, not extended by the child’s age | |
Parent’s own derivative claim | 2.5 years from the date of the malpractice, not extended by the child’s infancy | CPLR 214-a |
Because cerebral palsy often isn’t diagnosed until well into a child’s second year or later, families can lose significant time off this window before they even know there’s a reason to look into what happened.
Porter Law Group has written in more depth about how New York’s birth injury deadlines work, since the 10-year cap is shorter than almost every parent expects.
Before filing, New York also generally requires a certificate of merit under CPLR 3012-a, confirming your attorney has already consulted a qualified medical expert who found a reasonable basis for the claim.
In a cerebral palsy case, that typically means an obstetrician or maternal-fetal medicine specialist to evaluate the labor and delivery, and often a pediatric neurologist to evaluate the injury itself.
Summing It Up
Most cerebral palsy isn’t caused by anything that happened during labor and delivery, but when it is, the medical evidence, cord blood gases, fetal heart rate patterns, the type of cerebral palsy, and imaging, tends to tell a consistent story.
Porter Law Group has built its reputation on trial-tested representation for New York families in birth injury and medical malpractice cases, and our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win.
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you have questions about whether it could have been prevented, reach out to discuss what happened and what your legal options look like.
Call 833-PORTER9 or email info@porterlawteam.com to schedule a free consultation.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a difficult delivery automatically mean my child’s cerebral palsy was caused by malpractice?
No. Research reviewed by ACOG’s Task Force on Neonatal Encephalopathy has found that intrapartum oxygen deprivation could not be the cause in roughly 90 percent of cerebral palsy cases. Whether a delivery caused the injury depends on specific medical evidence, not just the fact that labor was difficult.
What type of cerebral palsy is most associated with an injury during birth?
Spastic quadriplegic and dyskinetic cerebral palsy are the patterns most consistent with an acute intrapartum oxygen-deprivation injury under the criteria used by ACOG and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Other types and patterns are more often linked to causes earlier in pregnancy.
How long do I have to file a cerebral palsy claim in New York?
Generally, the earlier of age 18 plus 2.5 years, or 10 years from the malpractice, under CPLR 208. Because a birth injury happens at or near birth, the 10-year cap is almost always the deadline that actually applies, and it can pass before a cerebral palsy diagnosis is even confirmed if a family doesn’t act early.
Can untreated newborn jaundice cause cerebral palsy?
Yes. Severe, untreated jaundice can lead to a condition called kernicterus, a recognized cause of dyskinetic cerebral palsy. This pathway develops in the days after birth, rather than during labor itself, and involves a different set of records and a different timeline than an oxygen-deprivation case.
How much does a cerebral palsy lawyer cost in New York?
Most plaintiff-side medical malpractice attorneys, including Porter Law Group, work on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers compensation on your behalf.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
