It is very common for cerebral palsy to go undetected at first. Doctors may have no idea that the child has the condition at the time that they are actually born.
Some reports indicate that the majority of cerebral palsy cases are diagnosed around age 3. With mild cases, it may take even longer, so it could potentially be years before parents get an official diagnosis.
This makes cerebral palsy much different than some other types of birth injuries, which are immediately obvious. This delay can sometimes complicate claims when parents believe that the development of cerebral palsy is due to medical malpractice or mistakes made by a doctor during the child’s delivery.
Why does it take so long?
One of the major reasons why it takes so long to get a diagnosis is that cerebral palsy often causes children to miss milestones. These can include things like rolling over, sitting up independently or learning to crawl or walk. When the child starts missing these milestones at the times that doctors expect, they begin to understand that there is a developmental disability holding them back.
But children are not expected to have all these skills right away. A newborn child is not going to be able to hit any of these milestones anyway, so parents naturally have to wait months or even years before they start to notice the delay. This is why mild cases can take longer, as the child may initially meet milestones – like rolling over – and then begin to fall behind.
If your child has cerebral palsy and you believe that medical malpractice was the original root cause, it is important to understand all the legal options at your disposal.