Although it is possible that your child’s Erb’s palsy is treatable, the costs associated with treatment can run high. You also face the expenses that come with caring for an infant or child with this condition—and this care may interfere with your ability to earn a paycheck.
You should know there is a chance your child’s Erb’s palsy was preventable. Furthermore, if medical negligence caused this condition, you have the right to pursue compensation from the at-fault party.
A Hialeah Erb’s palsy lawyer can review your case and explain your options for moving forward with a third-party insurance claim or lawsuit. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today for a free consultation: (800) 222-9529.
Understanding Erb’s Palsy
Erb’s palsy happens when a network of nerves called the brachial plexus suffers damage. This nerve bundle transmits signals that permit mobility and sensation from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Damage done to the upper brachial plexus affects the shoulder and arm. A plexus injury can occur during delivery if one or both of an infant’s shoulders becomes impacted. Brachial plexus injuries can include:
- Nerves have been stretched, but not torn
- Nerves have been torn, but healed with scar tissue
- Nerves have been torn or ruptured
- Nerves have torn from the spine
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How Brachial Plexus Injuries Happen
If at some point during delivery, your baby’s shoulder was forced down, while their head and neck stretched up and away from the shoulder, this could have caused injury to a nerve in the upper brachial plexus.
There is a higher risk of this sort of injury occurring during difficult births, particularly if the baby is larger than normal, there is a prolonged labor, or the fetus presents in a breech (feet first) position.
Any of these situations can lead to a baby’s shoulder becoming stuck lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone. In order to help the infant travel through the birth canal, the medical team often tries different maneuvers that can free the shoulder. These maneuvers can force the stretching or tearing of a brachial plexus nerve, causing Erb’s palsy.
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The Standard of Care Rule
Your obstetrician, nurses, and other members of the delivery team are duty-bound to uphold a standard of care when treating their patients. This means that when seeing you through your pregnancy, labor, and delivery, every healthcare provider involved had the duty to act in a way that a similar professional in a similar situation would act.
If any member of the medical team involved with the birth of your baby failed to meet the standard of care, and this failure caused your child’s injury, you are entitled to seek compensation for the damages that result.
A Hialeah Erb’s palsy lawyer can review the medical documentation, interview witnesses, and consult with experts to determine if this type of negligence caused your child’s Erb’s palsy. Call the Birth Injury Lawyer’s Group today at (800) 222-9529 for a free case review.
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How Negligence Can Cause Erb’s Palsy
There are many ways in which your obstetrician or delivering doctor may have failed to meet the standard of care, thereby causing your child’s Erb’s palsy.
For example:
- They failed to gauge your baby’s size and assess the risks of a baby whose size would make it difficult to pass through the birth canal.
- They did not plan for or act appropriately when you began to experience a prolonged labor.
- They did not take precautionary measures upon discovering your baby was presented in a breech position.
- They exerted too much force on your infant’s neck or head when trying to facilitate the delivery.
- They did not warn you of risks.
- They did not diagnose problematic prenatal conditions.
- They failed to treat risky prenatal conditions.
- They failed to perform an emergency Cesarean section in a timely manner.
- They did not induce labor.
These are just some of the ways in which the medical negligence of one or more medical professionals may have caused your child’s Erb’s palsy.
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Signs and Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy
The sooner your child’s Erb’s palsy is diagnosed, the more likely you are able to respond in a timely manner with surgery and other treatments that can minimize complications. A brachial plexus injury may produce the following signs and symptoms:
- Paralyzed or limp arm
- Inability to control muscles in the wrist, hand, or arm
- Lack of sensation in the hand or arm
A baby is not able to communicate symptoms like a lack of sensation. This makes it all the more important for medical professionals to detect signs that could be indicative of Erb’s palsy.
Types of Damages a Hialeah Erb’s Palsy Lawyer May Seek
The damages you sustain from your child’s Erb’s palsy will likely be different than those that another parent suffers. Your lawyer will need to explore the details of your case before determining the amount you should seek in a settlement or lawsuit award.
Some of the types of damages that claimants tend to seek in a personal injury case like this include:
- Costs of medical treatment (past, future, and ongoing)
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
- Emotional stress
Your lawyer will investigate and determine the types of damages that relate to your case and present a demand letter to the insurance company for the at-fault party. If the insurer does not agree to a fair settlement, your lawyer can file a lawsuit on your behalf. A judge or jury will then decide whether to grant you an award.
Call a Hialeah Erb’s Palsy Lawyer Today
Each state imposes a statute of limitations that restricts the amount of time you have to take legal action after a personal injury. Your state may also have its own rules that will let you toll (pause) the statute of limitations for a birth injury case. Still, the earlier you begin with the legal process, the more time you give your lawyer to gather evidence and build your case.
Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today at (800) 222-9529 for a free case review.
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