Birth injuries of any type can be life-altering, not just for the affected individual but for his or her family as well. From slightly stretched or pinched nerves that heal on their own to oxygen deprivation that leads to permanent nerve or brain damage, childbirth is a sensitive time and exposes the baby to a wide range of risks. If anything goes wrong or the unexpected happens, the child can be left with long-term physical damage, mental and emotional challenges, lost life opportunities, substantial care costs, and more.
Erb’s palsy is a good example of such a birth injury. It is caused by damage to the nerves in the brachial plexus, which is a bundle of nerves near the neck and shoulders. These nerves can become twisted, pinched, torn, or bruised in an instant. Whether or not you have a case for medical malpractice will depend on why the brachial plexus injury occurred.
Contact a Forth Worth Erb’s palsy lawyer to learn about how Erb’s palsy is diagnosed and treated and how to build a case for negligence. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 today to discuss your case with an experienced birth injury lawyer.
Causes of Erb’s Palsy
The most basic cause of Erb’s palsy is some form of brachial plexus damage. Irrespective of whether this damage occurs during, soon after, or well after childbirth, the symptoms determine the classification of the illness. Vehicle accidents, sports injuries, and child abuse can all cause brachial plexus damage, but the brachial plexus is most often injured in some way during childbirth. If a newborn’s neck or head is squeezed, twisted, or pushed too far to one side, nerve damage can result.
This often happens when a baby becomes stuck in some way inside the mother. A large baby may not be able to pass from the womb through to the birth canal and out into the world, the mother may not dilate enough for her child to pass, or the baby may present in the wrong position. Maternal obesity has also been linked to Erb’s palsy in children. The incorrect use of assistive devices such as forceps that apply pressure on the baby to extract it from the mother can also damage the baby’s delicate nerves.
The medical team responsible for delivering your child must make preparations beforehand for potential birth complications such as these. Failing to do so can not only cause an injury but it can leave the medical team exposed to a malpractice lawsuit for not having adequately prepared for your child’s delivery in a way that any other competent doctor would have.
Other causes of birth injuries include:
- A failure to address a preventable complication
- A failure to monitor vital signs or health indicators
- Errors made in administering medications
- Recordkeeping or administrative errors
- Misreading reports
- Misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses of identifiable health issues
There are different types of proof required to prove that a birth injury of a specific type led to harm or damages of a certain type. Furthermore, connecting the actions of the at-fault party you deem responsible for your child’s injuries requires an understanding of medical malpractice law, insurance law, and local laws. A Fort Worth Erb’s palsy lawyer on our team can provide you with invaluable guidance as to how you should proceed with handling your child’s birth injury case.
Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 today for details.
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Long-Term Prognosis
Most cases of Erb’s palsy clear up on their own. Unless your child’s case involves a nerve rupture or an avulsion—which is when a nerve detaches from the spine—he or she may be able to make a complete recovery within six months or so. Severe cases involving torn or detached nerves, however, usually require some combination of therapy, specialized treatments, assistive devices, and surgery to reconnect or transfer nerves to help in the recovery process in the target area.
According to the latest research, any delay in initiating treatment for Erb’s palsy beyond week four of the child’s life can lead to permanent nerve damage. This means you must act quickly to diagnose your child, identify the location and extent of the damages he or she suffered, and initiate treatments to restore the strength, feeling, and motor function of your child’s affected arm.
At the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, our network of medical experts and care facilities can help you give your child the treatment he or she needs, when it is needed. We can also deliberate your case with resident experts to determine whether or not negligence of any sort was responsible for your child’s injuries and, if it was, deliver a letter of intent to sue to the at-fault parties responsible so that you can recover the damages you are legally entitled to.
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To diagnose Erb’s palsy, your child must undergo a battery of tests and physical exams, and you must consult with therapists and specialists to get a better picture of the type, location, and extent of your child’s injuries. Once you’ve established that nerve damage has, in fact, occurred, you can begin treating it with physical therapy or medication as directed by your doctor. The use of assistive devices may also be required, and you may have to pay caretakers, take time off from work, or pay for surgical procedures too.
The costs of the above can quickly add up, placing substantial stress on your ability to make it through this difficult time physically, emotionally, and financially. However, if your child’s injuries were caused by the mistakes or negligence of a doctor or another caregiver, you should not have to bear these costs yourself and you must seek compensation for all of the damages you were unfairly made to suffer. This is especially true for Erb’s palsy caused by doctor inattention, negligence, or distraction.
We strongly encourage you to contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation at (800) 222-9529. Our team can help you diagnose your child’s condition, identify where and how badly your child’s nerves were damaged, and help you initiate the treatments needed to help your child start on the road to recovery. Do not delay and call now. Find out how a Forth Worth Erb’s palsy lawyer can help.
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