Houston Erb's Palsy Attorney

Michael Grossman, Texas Birth Injury and Malpractice Lawyer, Discusses Erb’s Palsy

While certain types of minor injuries are often to be expected in the birthing process, severe injuries can also occur, often resulting in a child suffering a birth injury that may require life-long medical attention.

Such medical help is accompanied by a hefty price tag, and families that have been affected by the negligence of a medical professional resulting in their child’s injury may have legal recourse through a Texas medical malpractice lawsuit to seek compensation for their child’s injury in order to have their incurred damages, like past and future medical bills, taken care of through the compensation that could be awarded. Houston Erbs Palsy attorney Michael Grossman offers the following informative article on a particular subset of birth injuries that can occur when a child’s brachial plexus nerves are injured.

What is a Brachial Plexus Injury?

The brachial plexus is the name given to a bundle of nerves that connect the spine to the shoulder, are, and hand. Damage to these nerves can cause permanent disability, but such damage is preventable as long as medical malpractice does not occur. Damage to the brachial plexus nerves can happen when dystocia, or an arduous delivery process, occurs. Such a difficult labor process can be caused by many different reasons, from an abnormally large child to an abnormally small birth canal, or due to an abnormal position of the baby within the womb. Dystocias happen in approximately 20% of all pregnancies. When dystocia occurs, an assisted delivery must often happen in which forceps may be used, or an emergency c-section is performed. If these procedures, or even a normal delivery, are done incorrectly or negligently, serious birth injuries can occur that affect the brachial plexus nerve bundle, resulting in varying degrees of injury to the child.

What is Shoulder Dystocia?

Injuries that affect a newborn’s shoulder are generally known as shoulder dystocias. Such injuries often occur because of the size of the child, the size of the birth canal, or the positioning of the child. In such instances, the baby’s shoulder can become lodged in the birth canal, resulting in large amounts of pressure being put onto the baby’s head and neck, as well as the umbilical cord. If quick action is not taken by a medical professional involved in the delivery, serious to severe brain injury can occur. In these types of deliveries, a doctor or obstetrician must readjust the child, which, if done incorrectly, can result in damage to the brachial plexus nerve bundle. If the head or neck is pulled away from the lodged shoulder, the brachial plexus nerves can be bruised, torn, stretched, or severed. Depending on the extent of the injury, operations may be necessary to repair the damaged nerves. In severe instances of damage to the brachial plexus nerves, Erb’s Palsy can occur.

What is Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s Palsy is noted by loss of movement or significant weakness in the affected arm or shoulder. Since movement of the arm is limited, the muscles atrophy, leading to an even more weakened arm or shoulder. Newborns that may be suffering from Erb’s Palsy may not show signs of spontaneous movement in an arm or shoulder, may not be able to grip with the affected arm or shoulder, and may hold the arm tightly to the side of their bodies in a ninety-degree angle. Competent medical professionals should be able to notice these symptoms quickly.

The extent of the symptoms of those suffering from Erb’s Palsy is dependent on the extent of the injury done to the nerves in that arm or shoulder. Those with Erb’s Palsy may require lifelong medical help, therapy, or adaptive technologies. The nervous system, the muscular system, and the circulatory system can all be affected to varying degrees by Erb’s Palsy. Less severe nerve damages may require multiple surgeries to replace or repair the injured nerves. However, such surgeries are rarely perfect, which may result in the child always having a weak arm or shoulder.

Contact Houston Erbs Palsy Attorney Michael Grossman for Help With Your Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Birth injuries that result in brachial nerve injury, shoulder dystocia, or Erb’s Palsy may often have occurred due to the negligence of a medical professional. If you believe that your child suffered a birth injury resulting in their need for extended medical care, consider contacting Houston Erbs Palsy attorney Michael Grossman at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free legal consultation. With two decades of experience in personal injury law, we’ll work to investigate your medical malpractice case in order to see if such negligence played a role in your child’s suffering. Through a medical malpractice lawsuit, you may be able to be compensated for your incurred financial losses, like past and future medical bills, while also working to ensure that future medical malpractice does not happen to another family or child.