Cerebral Palsy Glossary
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ABO Blood Type Incompatibility: Results when the blood type of the fetus, or developing child, differs from the blood type of the mother. When incompatibility occurs, the mother creates antibodies to defend against the blood type of the infant. These antibodies cross the placenta and begin destroying the fetus' blood cells. The result is that the fetus develops jaundice.
Adjudicate: To settle in a legal setting.
Affidavit: A voluntary statement or declaration of facts that has been written down and confirmed under oath.
Allegation: An assertion, declaration or statement that is made in a pleading by one of the parties to the action and tells what that party intends to prove.
Answer: Written response in a civil case where a defendant admits or denies the allegations contained in the plaintiff's complaint.
Apgar Score: When a child is born, a physician will take note of the baby's activity - including the muscle tone, pulse, grimace, reflex irritability, appearance, skin color, and respiration. These observations are done immediately after birth and then again five minutes later. A score of zero to ten is given. A low score alerts a doctor that immediate care may be necessary and a high score may confirm a healthy baby. Children with cerebral palsy often receive low Apgar scores.
Arbitration: A process for deciding a legal dispute out of court; substitute for an ordinary trial.
Assumption of risk: The defendant's allegation that the injured plaintiff recognized the danger of the plaintiff's course of action but, nonetheless, chose to risk such danger.
Ataxia: Jerky, uncoordinated movements.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: Low muscle tone and poor coordination of movements.
Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: About 10 percent of children have this type of CP. It is caused by damage to the cerebellum or basal ganglia, which are areas of the brain responsible for enabling smooth and controlled body movements. Patients frequently have trouble speaking, eating, reaching, grasping and other movements requiring coordinated movements.
Athetosis: Involuntary movements; uncontrolled movements.
"After all the information came out, I was bitter. But eventually I put it in my heart to forgive.
It's not about the money, but it helps a lot, because brain injury causes a lot of problems that
you don't know about early on."
"First, you cry. You bawl. You ask yourself, 'why me?' But then I looked at Nathan and I
thought, 'He's exactly the same kid he was before. Now you just know more.'"
"I would tell anyone who's had an experience like ours to keep asking questions.
Don't let them go unanswered. Get a qualified lawyer to look into your case, and don't give up hope."
"The saddest moment came when Ken told us that if Lizzy had been born any time between when I came
in at 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., she would be fine. The doctor had misread the fetal monitoring strips.
She had made a mistake."
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