Can Erb’s Palsy Attorney Help My Family?

By Author: Frank Torres
Total Articles: 26
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Erb’s Palsy, also known as Brachial Palsy, usually takes place during a difficult labor and delivery, and is caused by trauma to the infant’s shoulder. The condition is preventable, and may make physicians liable for medical malpractice. An Erb’s Palsy attorney can review the pertinent medical and hospital records and let you know if you and your child may be entitled to damages. Here are some important points to consider:

Erb’s Palsy takes place during problematic labor and delivery
Your physician has the ability to estimate the baby’s size from several sources. He can take a sonogram to measure the weight, review mother’s prior history of delivering large babies and account for the woman’s significant weight gain during pregnancy. Since the condition is caused when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during the delivery, often due to baby’s large size, deciding to do a C-section is often the way to avoid Brachial Palsy. Otherwise the health care professional runs the risk of being unable to extract the rest of the baby after the head comes out, causing him or her to panic and perform unsafe ...
... maneuvers of stretching the baby’s head, leading to severe shoulder trauma. Erb’s palsy attorneys are experienced in recognizing, by reading the hospital records, if the brachial plexus was unreasonably stretched leading to Erb’s Palsy.

How severe is this condition?

The condition can manifest in a variety of way; paralysis of shoulder, being unable to feel the shoulder (or numbness), being unable to bear weight to the shoulder and even stunted growth of the infant’s arm and hand. Children affected by this condition require often lifelong physical and rehabilitative therapy, medication, additional surgeries and psychological counseling to deal with the emotional effects of Erb’s Palsy. Many families struggle to pay for the child’s long-term medical needs and should consult with an Erb’s Palsy attorney to see if the damages for pain and suffering, loss of future earning capacity, loss of enjoyment of life and medical bills could be recovered.

Is it caused by malpractice?

Physicians and nurses are trained in being able to manipulate the baby to safely release the shoulder and allow the rest of the baby to be delivered. However, in case of emergency, some obstetricians panic and start pulling the baby’s head causing the brachial plexus to stretch - leading to the shoulder dystocia. The excessive pulling results in nerve damage that can range from bruising to a complete tear from the spinal canal in severity. The issue is that Erb’s Palsy could have been avoided if the physician a) stayed calmed and performed the prescribed maneuvers to safely deliver the baby or b) taken the fetus’s size into account and preceded with a C-section as opposed to vaginal delivery. The doctor’s preventable mistake may give rise to medical malpractice, and an Erb’s Palsy attorney is in the best position to thoroughly evaluate the circumstances surrounding each case and decide if there is a viable cause of action against the obstetrician.

Medical malpractice is a highly specialized field. It is important to contact a law firm you can trust. At Duffy & Duffy our Erb's palsy lawyers see all types of birth injures. When you compare us to other medical malpractice law firms you will see that our expertise and professionalism know no equal.