Were Your Baby's Infantile Spasms Caused by Medical Malpractice?

Infantile Spasms (sometimes called West Syndrome) is a condition that begins in infancy. Babies with this condition show abnormal, jerking body movements, also called spasms; hence the name, Infantile Spasms.

The cause of Infantile Spasms is not always known. However, the most common known cause of Infantile Spasms is a lack of oxygen to the baby during delivery. In some cases the brain damage caused by this lack of oxygen could have been prevented if doctors had taken proper steps during delivery to insure the baby was receiving enough oxygen. As a result, many children who have Infantile Spasms are victims of medical malpractice.

While some children who have Infantile Spasms recover completely, others will have serious problems that will require a lifetime of care.

What else should I know about Infantile Spasms?

 The exact number of children who suffer from Infantile Spasms is not known, but it has been estimated that it affects 1 out of every 2 or 3 thousand babies. Infantile Spasms usually begin between 1 and 12 months of age and usually go away on their own, even if left untreated, by the age of 2 to 4 years old.

The spasms really are spasms of the muscles that affect a child's head, body, arms, and legs. The spasms commonly occur in clusters (grouped together). These movements may be small and barely noticeable, like twitches, or be large movements of the arms, legs, and body, followed by stiffening of those parts. Infants may have dozens of clusters and several hundred spasms per day. The intensity and/or the number of the spasms may increase, decrease, or stop altogether over time. The spasms tend to occur when the baby is tired, usually just after waking up or just before going to sleep. They rarely occur during sleep.

What Causes Infantile Spasms?

Doctors sometimes can find the cause of Infantile Spasms, and sometimes they can’t. Because of this, doctors have divided patients with Infantile Spasms into two groups.

The first group consists of patients in whom an underlying problem can be identified (also called the symptomatic group). The kinds of problems that can be found in this group are many. As was mentioned earlier, the most common cause is a lack of oxygen to the baby during delivery. Other causes include such things as mothers who had infections during pregnancy, mothers who had been exposed to certain chemicals during pregnancy, and babies who have abnormal brain development for other reasons.

The second group includes those patients in whom no specific underlying problem can be found (also called the cryptogenic group) after different medical tests (blood tests, spinal taps, CAT scans etc) are done looking for a cause.

 It is important to divide the groups this way, because children in the first category (symptomatic) almost always have problems for the rest of their lives (epilepsy, cerebral palsy, mental retardation), while patients in the second category (cryptogenic) often make a complete recovery.

Is there any treatment for Infantile Spasms?

The two most common treatments are medicines called Prednisone and ACTH (abbreviation for Adrenocorticotropic Hormone). These are related to the extent that both have something to do with cortisone, a chemical normally made in the adrenal glands of the body. Prednisone is a pill form of cortisone. ACTH is a hormone normally made in the brain, but which can also be given as a medicine, to stimulate the adrenal glands to make extra cortisone.

Cortisone has been shown in many cases to stop the spasms. Most doctors think that controlling the spasms with early treatment with Prednisone and ACTH improves the chances of these patients developing normally.

Another medicine used to control Infantile Spasms is vigabatrin. It is currently not approved for sale in the United States because of some of its side effects.

If I have a child with Infantile Spasms, what can I do?

If your baby has been diagnosed with Infantile Spasms, you may have a medical malpractice claim against healthcare providers who caused this injury. The malpractice claim is for the harm your child has suffered, and for the cost of care and treatment for your child.

The lawyers at Feldman Shepherd are pursuing medical malpractice claims for children with Infantile Spasms. The lawsuits filed on behalf of Infantile Spasms patients and families seek damages for medical bills, loss of earning potential, pain and suffering, and loss of the pleasures of life. Click here to read about a 9.3 million dollar settlement won by Daniel S. Weinstock, Esq., on behalf of a family with a baby with Infantile Spasms and Cerebral Palsy.

If you would like more information about your legal rights concerning a medical malpractice claim for Infantile Spasms, please contact Daniel S. Weinstock, Esq., Carol Nelson Shepherd, Esq., or Carolyn Chopko, Esq., by telephone at 888-583-4942 or by filling out the form on this page.