Imagine what it would be like if your arms were paralyzed or if they hurt and twisted all the time. People with brachial plexus injuries experience this, and sometimes it happens at birth when a doctor doesn’t do their job correctly.
If a doctor has diagnosed your child with a brachial plexus injury, Erb’s palsy, or another nerve condition involving the arm, you may be eligible for compensation. Find out if you have a case with one call to the Birth Injury Lawyers Group. We’ll connect you to a Mesa, AZ, brachial plexus lawyer.
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Erb’s Palsy and the Brachial Plexus
The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves in each shoulder that controls how the arms work. Nearly every muscle of the arm and shoulder is operated by the brachial plexus. It’s possible for it to get damaged during birth and create conditions like Erb’s palsy.
Erb’s palsy extends and locks the arm while twisting it inward. An arm with this condition cannot lift itself. One common cause of Erb’s palsy is shoulder dystocia, where the shoulder of a baby gets stuck on the mother’s pelvis. Others include very long labor, breech birth, and heavy babies.
Sometimes, in an effort to free the baby, a doctor may push too hard or use forceps with too much force. This can tear or stretch the brachial plexus, causing Erb’s palsy or several other conditions, some of them painful and permanent.
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Signs of Brachial Plexus Damage in Infants
Identifying brachial plexus damage in newborns is tough, but doctors use several techniques. This includes checking grip strength, the position of the arm, and any paralysis or numbness. They can also use an infant’s startle response and see how the arms react.
Not all brachial plexus injuries are permanent. With treatment, babies can get back movement and feeling in the affected arms. However, if the nerves are completely torn, it may take surgery to reconnect the nerves or a nerve graft. Muscle and tendon transfers may also be needed.
If surgery must be done, it can take months before the body learns how to use the arm again and another 18 months to improve strength and range of motion. Your child might need to visit many specialists to retrain the arms. All of this is expensive.
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Was My Baby Injured By Malpractice?
Obstetrics is the most common target for malpractice lawsuits. So many things can go wrong at birth, and many of them are the fault of doctors and hospitals. Whether those faults rise to the level of malpractice is something you need a legal expert’s help to know.
If your doctors were operating within the standards of care, then it will be hard to win your case, even if there was an unforeseen medical emergency. However, if we can show that they breached the standards and injured your child because of that, then you can win.
Going back to the example of forceps, a doctor may need them to free a baby’s shoulder. A stuck baby is a medical emergency. However, it’s all too easy to grip too hard or pull the wrong way and damage the nerves of the brachial plexus. If your doctor was too rough, you may have a case.
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How a Brachial Plexus Injury Attorney Helps You
Making a claim against your doctor’s malpractice insurer is extremely difficult to do on your own. It’s likely they’ll brush you off by saying that your doctor acted within the standards of care. If you hire a birth injury lawyer to help you make your claim though, we can make them listen.
Our team pursues malpractice cases to the fullest extent possible. While you take care of your child’s injury, we’ll get to work gathering evidence, calculating the full costs of your damages, and negotiating hard with insurers to get you the compensation your child needs and deserves.
Also, by working with one of our brachial plexus attorneys in Mesa, you have the added threat of taking the insurer to court if they don’t offer a fair settlement. We have plenty of expert witnesses ready to look over your case and provide proof to a judge and jury that your medical care wasn’t correct.
How Long do I Have to File My Claim?
Since you probably live in Arizona and you’re suing on behalf of a minor, the statute of limitations is quite long. For adults, you have two years from the discovery of the injury to make a claim. Children have that clock suspended until they’re 18 years of age. Then they have two years to sue on their own.
Yet the longer you wait, the harder it will be to win your lawsuit. As time passes, it’s harder for everyone to remember what happened. Records can get lost, and even medical standards can change. Also, the longer you wait, the longer it will take to get the money you need to care for your child’s injury.
That’s why you should contact our legal team as soon as your child has been diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury. We can tell you if there is a case and your chances of success. You owe it to your child to at least ask us. At worst, we’ll say that you don’t have a case.
Are There Malpractice Caps in Arizona?
Unlike many other states, there are no caps for economic or non-economic damages for malpractice cases. In fact, the state Constitution prohibits them! This means there is no limit written in law for how much you could get for your claim.
Instead, the limits are set by the extent of your damages and the policy limits of the malpractice insurer, though these may get breached if a judge and jury believe you deserve more. Cases of gross negligence may even be eligible for punitive damages.
Help Your Child by Hiring a Mesa Brachial Plexus Attorney
Once your child has been diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury, you need to speak with a lawyer in your area about potential malpractice. These injuries rarely occur because of a defect. Mishandling of your child is more likely.
Call or text the Birth Injury Lawyers Group or email through our contact page and we’ll put you in touch with a lawyer in Mesa, AZ, who can help you. Your case evaluation is without obligation and completely free. You owe us nothing unless we win you compensation. Call now.
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