If your child has been diagnosed with Erb’s palsy, a condition often resulting from complications during childbirth, you likely know that there are challenges and uncertainties that lie ahead.
Keep reading to learn more about Erb’s palsy and what your potential recourse is if it’s caused by medical malpractice.
Can You Sue For Erb’s Palsy?
Yes, you can sue for Erb’s palsy if medical malpractice or negligence during childbirth contributed to the condition. Parents often pursue legal action when they believe their healthcare provider’s actions or failure to act appropriately during delivery led to their child’s Erb’s palsy.
The Role of Erb’s Palsy Lawyers in Your Case
When faced with an Erb’s palsy diagnosis for your child, the support of specialized Erb’s palsy lawyers becomes invaluable. This neurological disorder can lead to significant physical and developmental complications that can affect your child’s quality of life and bring about substantial medical expenses and care needs.
Here’s how we can help with your case:
- Reviewing Medical Records: With meticulous attention to detail, our Erb’s palsy lawyers thoroughly examine prenatal, birth, and postnatal records. This step is pivotal for pinpointing moments of possible medical negligence or oversight by healthcare providers that could have contributed to the condition.
- Consulting Medical Experts: Our Erb’s palsy attorneys work closely with neurologists, obstetricians, pediatricians, and other relevant medical professionals. A medical expert’s role is crucial in substantiating birth injury claims by offering authoritative insights on whether the standard of care was breached and how such deviations may have resulted in injury.
- Advising on Long-Term Care Needs: Understanding that Erb’s palsy entails continued medical treatment and rehabilitation, our brachial plexus injury lawyers offer critical advice on planning for future care requirements ensuring families are prepared to meet their child’s long-term needs.
The Statistics of Erb’s Palsy
Erb’s palsy occurs when the nerves in the upper group of the arm are injured. This often happens during the child’s birth due to complications such as shoulder dystocia, where a baby’s shoulder becomes trapped behind the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery.
The injury impacts nerve fibers that transmit movement and sensory signals from the spinal cord to specific muscles in the arms and hands, resulting in limited mobility and stunted muscular development.
It affects the lives of many newborns and their families each year:
- Erb’s palsy has an estimated prevalence of 0.9 to 2.6 occurrences per 1,000 live births. [1]
- The condition results in considerable arm weakness that affects approximately 0.4 to 5 out of every 10,000 births. [1]
- Neglect or improper management may result in extensive damage, leading to a 20% to 30% permanent deficit of nerve function. [1]
- About 90% of infants with Erb’s palsy demonstrate recovery over time as nerves heal. [1]
- Approximately 10% of those affected will experience continued dysfunction in the arm. [1]
The Most Common Causes of Erb’s Palsy
Here are the common risk factors that can lead a child to develop Erb’s palsy:
- Excessive pulling or stretching of a baby’s head and shoulders
- Difficult childbirth
- Awkward position in the womb—baby’s head descends into the birth canal
- Improper use of delivery tools
Understanding the causes of Erb’s palsy is crucial for pursuing justice and compensation for your child’s brachial plexus injury with the support of our Chicago birth injury attorneys.
Types of Brachial Plexus Injuries
These birth injuries can vary significantly in terms of location and severity, leading to a range of physical effects.
Here are the main types:
- Avulsion: This is the most severe form of this injury, in which the nerve is completely detached from the spinal cord. It often results in significant loss of function and sensation in the affected limb.
- Rupture: This type of birth injury occurs when the nerve is torn but not at the point where it attaches to the spine. Similar to avulsion in its severity, a rupture can lead to significant functional and sensory deficits in the affected arm and hand.
- Neuroma: This injury arises when a previously torn nerve heals improperly and forms scar tissue. The disrupted communication between the nerve and muscle can result in discomfort or limited movement.
- Neurapraxia: Representing the mildest form of brachial plexus injuries, neurapraxia occurs when a nerve is stretched but not structurally damaged (no tearing or avulsion). It is often characterized by temporary loss of function in the affected limb.
Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy
Symptoms of Erb’s palsy can vary depending on the severity of the brachial plexus injury but they usually include:
- Paralysis or limpness of the shoulder, arm, and elbow
- Shoulder or arm pain
- Numbness or tingling in the arm or hand
- A hand position known as ‘the waiter’s tip’ position, where an individual’s palm points toward their back while their fingers curl inward
- Reduced grip ability
The Consequences of Brachial Plexus Palsy
The consequences of a brachial plexus injury leading to Erb’s palsy affect various aspects of a child’s life. Managing this condition often involves a multifaceted approach encompassing the following:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Surgical interventions
- Adaptive equipment
- Pain management
- Psychological support
If you suspect your child developed Erb’s palsy because of the negligence of a medical professional before, during, or after birth, it’s essential to seek specialized legal assistance.
How Our Erb’s Palsy Attorneys Can Help
Our Erb’s palsy attorneys are dedicated to navigating the legal process on your behalf, offering comprehensive support through each stage. Here’s how we can assist:
- Gathering Information: We begin by collecting all pertinent information about the pregnancy, birth process, and any medical care provided to identify potential areas of negligence.
- Claim Investigation: A thorough investigation is conducted, including reviewing medical records, interviewing witnesses, and consulting with medical experts to build a strong foundation for your claim.
- Filing a Claim: Our team prepares and submits a detailed claim to initiate the birth injury lawsuit process.
- Discovery Process: We gather additional evidence through interrogatories, document requests, and depositions from healthcare providers and other relevant parties.
- Negotiations: We work tirelessly during negotiations or any mediation sessions before trial in an attempt to help your family pursue financial compensation without court intervention.
- Represent You at Trial: If we can’t reach a settlement, we will represent you in court before a judge or jury.
Legal Liability in an Erb’s Palsy Case
In an Erb’s palsy case, determining legal liability involves identifying who may have acted negligently or failed to provide the standard of care expected during childbirth.
Here are potential parties that could be held responsible:
- Obstetricians/Gynecologists: If their actions during delivery, such as improper use of forceps or failure to address shoulder dystocia effectively, contributed directly to the condition, they can be responsible for damages.
- Pediatricians: Responsible for monitoring and caring for newborns immediately after birth, pediatricians can be held legally liable if they fail to diagnose and treat conditions related to or contributing to Erb’s palsy.
- Hospitals or Birthing Facilities: Organizations can be liable for systemic issues like inadequate training or understaffing that contribute to your child’s injuries. In addition, hospitals might bear vicarious liability for negligent acts committed by their employees.
- Nurses and Midwives: These medical professionals play vital roles during labor and delivery. If their negligence, such as improper handling of a baby during delivery or failing to follow the obstetrician’s instructions correctly, leads to Erb’s palsy, they could be held accountable.
- Anesthesiologists: While less commonly involved in direct causes of Erb’s palsy, they could still face liability if improper administration or monitoring of anesthesia affects the birthing process, leading to complications that contribute to this birth injury.
Ultimately, any member of the medical team could be held liable, and it takes legal expertise to help you make this determination.
Proving Liability in an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit
To prove liability in an Erb’s palsy lawsuit, our medical malpractice attorneys have to be able to demonstrate negligence, which is done by proving the following elements:
- Duty: The first step is to establish that the healthcare provider owed a duty of care to the child (and, in some cases, the mother if she’s injured as well). This means showing that there was a professional relationship and, therefore, an obligation to provide treatment in line with accepted medical standards.
- Breach of Duty: Showing a breach of duty involves proving that the healthcare provider violated their duty of care by failing to adhere to standard medical practices during childbirth. Examples include improper use of birthing instruments or failure to manage shoulder dystocia correctly.
- Causation: You Erb’s palsy lawyer must demonstrate a direct connection between the healthcare provider’s breach of duty and the child’s birth injury. This means establishing that the negligent actions were not just present but directly led to or significantly contributed to the condition.
- Damages: Finally, demonstrating damages is about proving that the child has suffered physical, emotional, financial, and/or developmental harm as a result of the breach of duty.
You Have Limited Time to File an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit
In general, children affected by medical malpractice have until they turn 22 or eight years after the incident to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, whichever comes first.
If a disability, like a child’s Erb’s palsy, directly hinders their ability to file a lawsuit, then this deadline is paused, extending the window for filing a claim.
If your child has been diagnosed with Erb’s palsy and you suspect that medical negligence during childbirth is to blame, don’t delay seeking the justice and compensation you deserve.
Damages That an Experienced Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyer Can Help You Recover
When pursuing a claim for a birth injury, an experienced Erb’s palsy lawyer can help you recover various types of damages that fall into the following primary categories:
- Economic Damages: These are quantifiable financial losses directly related to the injury. They include past medical bills and future medical costs related to the condition, like surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and lost potential wages due to the child’s birth injury if they’re unlikely to be able to work in the future.
- Non-economic Damages: These address injuries or losses that are not easily quantifiable in monetary terms but have a significant impact on the quality of life. Common examples include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and physical disfigurement or disability associated with the child’s injury.
- Punitive Damages: Although less common, punitive damages may be pursued if there is evidence showing exceptionally wrongful conduct by the defendants. Punitive damages are meant to punish wrongful behavior and deter similar conduct in the future.
Financial Compensation Awarded in Erb’s Palsy Cases
There is no standard average medical malpractice payout when it comes to financial compensation awarded in Erb’s palsy cases. Each case is evaluated to determine an appropriate level of compensation that fairly covers all damages incurred.
Factors Affecting Erb’s Palsy Settlements
The settlement or award from a successful claim depends on many different factors, such as the severity of the injury, the cost and duration of medical treatment required (both current and future), potential lifelong disabilities or impairments, pain and suffering, and lost earning capacity.
The Time It Takes to Settle Erb’s Palsy Claims
Settling claims for birth injuries can vary widely regarding how long they take due to the unique nature of each case. There are no predefined timelines, as the overall duration depends on a multitude of factors, often including:
- Severity and complexity of injury
- Whether there are disputes about liability
- Number of parties involved
- The defendant’s willingness to settle
- Competence of attorney
The Cost of Hiring an Erb’s Palsy Attorney
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we understand the financial strain families face when dealing with a diagnosis like Erb’s palsy, especially if it was caused by medical negligence.
That’s why our Erb’s palsy attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no upfront costs to you. We receive payment only if we successfully secure a settlement or court award on your behalf.
Our fees then come as a deduction from the settlement amount, ensuring that your family can pursue justice without any financial burden.
Contact an Experienced Erb’s Palsy Injury Attorney Today!
Navigating the aftermath of an Erb’s palsy diagnosis can be a daunting journey, but you don’t have to face it alone. Understanding your child’s condition and knowing your legal options is crucial for seeking justice and securing the necessary resources for their care.
At Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers, we are committed to providing compassionate legal support tailored to the unique needs of families affected by this condition due to medical malpractice.
If you suspect that your child’s Erb’s palsy was caused by negligence during childbirth, take action today. Call us at (888) 424-5757 or contact us online to discuss how we can assist you.
Specific Cases We Handle
- Face Presentation Birth Injuries
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
- Low Apgar Score
- Marginal Cord Insertion
- Meconium Aspiration Syndrome Lawyer
Resources: [1] NIH
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