The shock of a birth injury can be unsettling to any family. This is true for Erb’s palsy, a condition caused by a nerve injury to a baby’s neck. It most commonly presents as a weak, floppy, or motionless arm on the side affected. When Erb’s palsy affects a child, they could face a permanent injury, and their families may be left to struggle with treatment costs and therapy.
Erb’s palsy—named after the doctor who identified the condition—can sometimes be classified as a preventable birth injury. This is true for cases involving medical issues that the delivery team could have or should have tested for, identified, or avoided by using the protocols and competence expected of a delivery room doctor.
Our Tyler Erb’s palsy lawyer team at the Birth Injury Lawyers Group may be able to help you if your child suffered a birth injury of any type. Speak with us by calling (800) 222-9529 for a free case evaluation and for a detailed assessment of your rights related to your child’s injuries.
Causes of Erb’s Palsy During Delivery
Unfortunately, the birthing process can sometimes involve a great deal of trauma for the baby. Before a natural delivery can occur, the baby needs to rotate within the womb to present upside-down, and the mother should experience a widening of the pelvic bone and cervical dilation. When these things do not occur as they should, or there are other problems, the doctor needs to take notice and act quickly to protect the mother and baby.
In some cases, the baby may become stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone, or the mother may not dilate sufficiently, causing the baby to become stuck in the birth canal. While there are proper protocols to use if this occurs, the delivery team may push or twist the baby with too much force in an effort to deliver him or her. These and other birth complications may require emergency procedures that further increase the risks of the baby sustaining an injury such as Erb’s palsy.
Any one of these concerns can lead to a situation where the baby sustains damage to the brachial plexus, which is the nerve bundle that controls movement and sensation between the shoulders and the fingers. Specifically, the upper brachial plexus can suffer an injury if a doctor or another member of the delivery team pushes too hard on the baby’s head or neck or twists the baby incorrectly. This is the injury that leads to Erb’s palsy.
"If your child was born with a birth injury, or cerebral palsy, we can help."
Negligence and Proof of Your Child’s Birth Injury
Your child’s doctors can only be held liable for negligence and any damage that your child suffered if it can be proven that your child’s birth injuries were preventable. For example, the size of a baby and the position of a baby prior to birth are both examples of identifiable risk factors that any competent medical team should screen for by default before a baby is born.
If failing to properly screen for these concerns or take action to mitigate the risk causes your child to suffer a birth injury, you may have grounds to sue for negligence. The challenge for you is to connect the medical team’s negligence to your child’s injuries and then prove that those injuries resulted in various forms of damage to your child and your family, including financial, emotional, and physical damages.
A Tyler Erb’s palsy lawyer can help you identify the damages and the types of proof needed to establish these causal connections, building a medical malpractice birth injury case on your family’s behalf. To learn more, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 today. We offer families free evaluations of their child’s birth injury case.
Tyler Erbs Palsy Lawyer Near Me (800) 222-9529
Get Professional Legal Help
To effectively handle your child’s case, provide him or her with the treatment he or she needs, and meet all of the legal and administrative requirements for seeking compensation, you can trust your Tyler Erb’s palsy lawyer to:
- Collect proof of negligence
- Interview witnesses
- Obtain expert testimony in support of your case
- Negotiate with insurance agents and hospital personnel
The Birth Injury Lawyers Group was founded to help families facing precisely these types of circumstances manage and overcome the many challenges that medical malpractice birth injuries give rise to. If your child sustained a birth injury of any type or was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy, we will help you:
- Determine when, how, and to what extent your child’s brachial plexus was injured.
- Identify who, if anyone, can be held responsible for those damages.
- Quantify your losses and estimate future costs you may face.
- Make sure you meet all filing and procedural guidelines and requirements.
The long-term outlook of Erb’s palsy is quite positive, and you should keep your hopes up that your child will make a full and complete recovery. That being said, you must still be vigilant and seek any compensation that you may be entitled to. We can help. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 today.
"We know first-hand what you are going through."
Contact Us for Help With Your Tyler Erb’s Palsy Case Today
Our commitment to you is simple. We will evaluate your case for you at no cost and will walk you through everything you need to know about how birth injury cases and medical malpractice suits are handled. If you qualify to take action, a lawyer will help you collect the evidence needed to build a case, and negotiate with the at-fault parties on your behalf until either a settlement is reached or a court ruling on your case is decided.
Speak with a Tyler Erb’s palsy lawyer today to get started. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 278-9191. Your Erb’s palsy attorney will be there every step of the way, navigating the legal process and building you a solid case while you focus on your family and your baby’s wellbeing.
"We are committed to helping families who have suffered medical negligence."