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Seizure Disorders and Their Causes

There is nothing parents fear more than harm to their child, and when an event like a seizure occurs, it can be understandably alarming. This is especially true when a newborn or infant experiences seizures due to (birth injury) seizure disorders.

Infant seizures can be loosely divided into partial and generalized seizures but are more specifically broken down into categories like:

  • Absence/Petit Mal seizures (involving an altered state of consciousness)
  • Atonic seizures (involving loss of muscle control and unresponsiveness)
  • Febrile seizures (resulting from high fever, especially in children with brain damage)
  • Focal seizures (affecting specific areas on one side of the brain)
  • General Tonic-Clonic/Grand Mal seizures (including muscle contractions and tremors)
  • Infantile spasms (involving sudden spasms during waking or falling asleep)

Seizures may involve one or both sides of the brain and one or more parts of the body. They can result in loss of consciousness or occur while infants remain fully conscious. They may last less than a minute up to a couple of minutes, or in rare cases, several minutes (in which case they are considered a medical emergency).

Depending on the type of seizure, any number of symptoms could occur, from eye fixation or rapid eye movement to rapid blinking or fluttering eyelids, long pauses in breathing, body stiffness, and involuntary muscle contractions, rhythmic spasms, loss of muscle control, and more. Unfortunately, it’s all too easy to miss subtle signs, and symptoms in infants, and (birth injury) seizure disorders can have lasting consequences.

How Seizures Can Lead to Lifelong Health Problems (or Even Death)

Seizures result from nerve cells in the brain firing faster than normal, resulting in unusual electrical transmissions that disrupt brain and bodily function. Brain injuries most commonly cause this during birth that deprives the brain of oxygen, infections like group B strep that lead to fever, and medical conditions like cerebral palsy.

Whatever the source of infant seizures, the damage can be lasting. While cerebral palsy may result in seizures, seizures can also be the cause of cerebral palsy. Seizures may also lead to lifelong conditions like neurological disorders, mental retardation, and more, and in some cases, death may be the final result of ongoing seizure disorders. 

In some cases, (birth injury) seizure disorders result from negligence or errors on the part of doctors or other medical staff. Common negligence or errors during pregnancy and childbirth that may result in infant seizures include failure to:

  • Supply suitable prenatal care
  • Diagnose and properly treat preterm labor
  • Provide suitable intervention during childbirth
  • Provide suitable intervention during prolonged labor
  • Provide suitable intervention for bleeding
  • Treat maternal preeclampsia
  • Properly respond to fetal distress
  • Perform proper newborn resuscitation
  • and more

The misuse of forceps or vacuum extraction (vacuum-assisted delivery) can also cause brain injury that leads to the onset of infant seizure disorders. When these instances occur, parents can seek justice and compensation with the help of a trusted medical malpractice law firm.

BIKLAW as Birth Injury Attorneys

When your infant develops (birth injury) seizure disorders as the result of medical negligence or error, you need a qualified attorney to help you pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit and seek compensation to cover medical expenses and more. The compassionate team at The Trial Law Offices of Bradley I. Kramer, M.D., Esq. has the expertise to fight for maximum compensation and a proven track record of wins in complex cases like yours.

Contact us today at 310-289-2600 or online to schedule your free initial consultation and learn more about how we can help you.

Questions? Contact us