The onset of Erb’s palsy can occur when a doctor pulls forcefully on a baby’s head or pulls at an incorrect angle during delivery. The medical condition can also result from the improper use of forceps or a vacuum. If your baby has suffered any type of birth injury due to medical negligence, you need a Connecticut Erb’s palsy attorney to fight for you.
If your baby was born in Connecticut and has been diagnosed with Erb’s palsy, you deserve help from qualified lawyers who have the resources and experience to stand up against large health systems and fight for justice. You should be receiving full compensation for this devastating birth injury.
Erb’s Palsy Risk Factors
There are certain risk factors that can increase the likelihood of a brachial plexus injury during prenatal care, birth, or after delivery that will cause Erb’s palsy.
Some of these risk factors include:
- Breech deliveries: The baby is coming out of the birth canal feet or bottom first and their arms are raised during delivery, making it easier for a nerve injury to occur.
- Shoulder dystocia: The child’s shoulders get stuck and a doctor may end up pulling on the baby’s head, stretching the nerves.
- Using medical instruments: During difficult deliveries, if forceps or vacuum extractors are used incorrectly when trying to deliver the baby, nerve damage can occur.
- Oversized baby or petite mother: The baby is on the larger side or the mother is a small woman, making the likelihood of a difficult delivery more common.
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Why Should You File an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit?
Birth injuries can leave families with unanswered questions. It’s common for people to file an Erb’s palsy lawsuit because of the suffering the condition can bring to a child. A claim can give families a sense of closure and justice by holding negligent medical professionals accountable.
The compensation you may be eligible to receive can also help cover the costs of treatment for nerve damage, medical bills, and home modifications. Parents may not be financially prepared for the higher healthcare costs and out-of-pocket expenses that come with an Erb’s palsy diagnosis.
According to studies from the National Institutes of Health, low-income families are unfortunately hit the hardest by the cost that comes with their child’s medical care. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can provide financial relief to families who need it most.
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What to Expect in a Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit
Each Erb’s palsy case starts out with a free consultation with a birth injury lawyer. In a lawsuit, both your legal team and the hospitals’ will present their case and then negotiate until an agreement is made. Although each case is different, most Erb’s palsy lawsuits follow a similar set of steps in the legal process.
1. Sending a Demand Letter
Before you can file your Erb’s palsy lawsuit, your lawyer may file a demand letter to seek full recovery for all related birth injury damages from the hospital or doctor’s attorney and insurance company. This tactic is useful when the case involves a small amount of money.
2. Building Your Case
Your lawyer can begin building your case if the other party rejects your demand letter or you decide not to send one. This step requires disclosing everything you know to your legal team so that they can create a timeline of events leading up to and following the birth injury.
Your Connecticut Erb’s palsy attorney will want to know:
- When, where, and how the accident occurred
- Who you believe is responsible for your child’s injury and condition
- How your child’s Erb’s palsy could have been prevented
This information helps your lawyer explain to the defendants, judges, and jury why you deserve compensation from this claim.
3. Filing a Lawsuit
Once the case has been built, your lawyer will file your lawsuit within the appropriate Connecticut jurisdiction. After this documentation has been filed and accepted by the civil court, the defendants will receive a copy of the claim and need to respond within an allotted time, or else you win the case automatically.
4. The Discovery Phase
Once the defendants respond, both sides will need to develop an argument for their cases by collecting important information such as:
- Depositions (witness accounts from the liable party, your family, and other medical staff members)
- Medical records
- Photographs of your child’s injury
- Details, bills, and receipts of economic damages and out-of-pocket expenses
Your Connecticut Erb’s palsy lawyer will either hire a medical expert to testify the presence of medical malpractice, or prove this themselves. They also must identify the risk factors that were ignored by the negligent healthcare providers. Once both sides have gathered all their evidence, they will present their findings to each other and work toward an agreement.
5. Negotiating a Settlement
While meeting in-person and outside of the courtroom, both legal teams will try to reach a settlement that satisfies both parties’ interests. If an agreement is met, your family will receive a sum of money and the lawsuit comes to an end.
6. Trial and Appeal
If the Erb’s palsy case is not resolved during mediation, your lawyer will take the case to trial where a judge and jury will listen to both parties’ arguments and determine the presence of negligence. You could walk away from a trial without any compensation at all if the judge and jury do not favor your side.
In some instances, if you lose in court, you can overturn the verdict through an appeal where a higher-level court will review the first decision and make a new judgment of their own.
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How Can a Connecticut Erb’s Palsy Lawyer Help?
The injury your child suffered that led to their diagnosis could have been because of an error a healthcare provider made. An Erb’s palsy lawyer in Connecticut will investigate the events leading up to your child’s birth injury and handle your legal responsibilities, such as:
- Identifying what damages your family has faced such as hospital and therapy bills, pain and suffering, and estimated future costs of all medical treatment.
- FIling all paperwork and communicating with insurance parties on your behalf
- Negotiating with the hospital’s strong legal team and insurance company
- Taking your case to trial if the defendant refuses to make you a fair offer
- Hiring an expert to testify that malpractice transpired in your case and file an affidavit
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Connecticut Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations determines how much time you have from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit. In Connecticut, you have two years from the day the medical negligence occurred to file your claim, according to General Statute §52-584. If this deadline passes, the court will likely dismiss your case.
This may seem like plenty of time, however, it’s in your family’s best interest to contact an experienced Erb’s palsy lawyer as soon as possible because:
- Your case still needs to be evaluated
- Your attorney will need to retain an expert to conduct an investigation of how the injury happened and what the medical professional should have done
- Paperwork for your lawsuit needs to be prepared
- Witnesses will need to be contacted
Get Help Pursuing Compensation with Birth Injury Lawyer Group
If the injuries your child sustained before, during, or after birth could have contributed to their condition, you may be able to take legal action. You can pursue compensation with the help of the Connecticut Erb’s palsy lawyers at Birth Injury Lawyers Group.
Over the last 20 years, our attorneys have recovered millions on behalf of families with children affected by birth injuries like Erb’s palsy. Contact us for a free case review today with a lawyer in your area or call to learn more about your legal options and how we can help.
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