Causes and Effects of Infant Cortical Blindness or Impaired Vison
There’s nothing more important than your child’s health. That’s why parents do everything they can to get their children the best possible medical care.
If your child has any type of vision issues, it’s important to get the correct diagnosis as soon as possible. Early intervention and treatment will help improve your child’s prognosis and enhance their quality of life.
What Is Infant Cortical Blindness?
Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is a neurological disorder that causes various types of visual problems. It’s a leading cause of vision loss among children. Although CVI is often referred to as cortical blindness, that’s not really an accurate description. In fact, patients with CVI may have normal eye examinations.
The word cortical refers to the visual cortex, which is the part of the brain that integrates and processes images received from your eyes. When the visual cortex is damaged, several types of visual impairment may result, including low vision, impaired visual processing, and decreased visual acuity, perception, and field of vison.
Symptoms of CVI include:
- Reacting slowly to visual cues
- Gazing at lights
- Gazing for no apparent reason
- Inability to fixate on objects
- Inability to follow moving objects
- Preference for familiar objects
- Looking at things from a certain part of their vision, such as side vision
- Difficulty adjusting to complex visual environments
- Distinct color preferences
- Frustration with visual tasks
What Causes CVI?
If you notice issues with the way your child processes vision, you’ll want to refer them to a pediatric low vision specialist right away. It could be a sign of a serious medical condition or birth injury. Frequent causes of CVI include:
- Lack of oxygen during labor and delivery or following delivery in ICU
- Birth injuries
- Prenatal anomalies
- Head injury (CBI)
- Epilepsy
- Hydrocephalus
- Metabolic disorders
- Infection
- Periventricular leukomalacia
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
If your child’s CVI was caused by an injury at or near the time of delivery, they may also be suffering from developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, hearing loss, or other health problems.
Treatment for CVI
Vision plays a crucial role in your child’s motor development, spatial orientation, balance, and body awareness. Grasping, reaching, and manipulating objects is a natural part of a child’s early development. As they grow, a child will automatically reach for objects in their field of vision and follow their movements.
Visual impairment can cause delayed motor and physical development, impacting important milestones related to hand-to-eye and foot-to-eye orientation, balance, and overall body awareness.
Treatments and interventions for CVI and CVI-related issues include:
- Occupational therapy
- Visual stimulation therapy
- Speech therapy
- Art and music therapy
CVI and Medical Malpractice
It’s an inescapable fact that CVI is often caused by medical malpractice. Careless mistakes made by an OB/GYN or another medical professional during labor and delivery or post-delivery may have catastrophic consequences.
If your child’s CVI was caused by medical malpractice, nobody at the hospital is going to tell you about it. But the experienced trial lawyers at Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. can conduct a thorough investigation and file claims against anyone whose negligence contributed to your child’s injuries.
Settlements in birth injury malpractice lawsuits cover these types of expenses:
- Current and future medical bills
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Pain and suffering
- Physical and occupational therapy
- In-home caregivers
- Reduced earning capacity
- Medical and educational devices
Our attorneys have won millions of dollars in settlements against negligent doctors and hospitals. Call (303) 759-9945 to learn more today.