Brachial Plexus Injury at Birth: When to Sue
The day your baby is born should be one of the happiest days of your life. But a birth experienced plagued by a devastating injury to mother or baby can cause lifelong trauma. If your healthcare provider is responsible for the injuries you or your baby sustained, you may be able to hold the liable party accountable.
One of the more common types of birth injuries seen in medical malpractice is brachial plexus injuries. The personal injury lawyers at Wilt Injury Lawyers have years of experience in handling complex brachial plexus birth injury and Erb’s palsy medical malpractice claims.
If we are able to take on your case, we’ll stop at nothing to secure the compensation your family needs to get through this devastating time in your life. Continue reading to learn more about what a brachial plexus birth injury is and who could be responsible for your baby’s birth injury.
What Is a Brachial Plexus Birth Injury?
During labor, when the baby is going through the birth canal, their head usually comes first, followed by the shoulders. Sometimes, one of the baby’s shoulders can get stuck under the mother’s pelvic bone- stalling the birth and putting both mother and baby in jeopardy.
This is called shoulder dystocia. To get the baby out, the healthcare provider delivering the baby will use various techniques to maneuver the baby out from under the pelvic bone. This is when most brachial plexus birth injuries occur.
During these maneuvers, the nerves in the baby’s shoulders can become torn or severed. This is the brachial plexus injury. For many, brachial plexus injuries will go on to heal and leave no permanent damage or paralysis. But for others, the damage can be permanent and impact them for the rest of their lives.
Liability for Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries
The maneuvers used to get the baby out from under the mother’s pelvic bone are not typically the cause of the brachial plexus birth injury. Rather, healthcare providers making careless mistakes are responsible for the brachial plexus injury the baby sustained.
For brachial plexus injuries, this could mean the healthcare providers failed to notice the signs of impending shoulder dystocia such as prolonged labor, macrosomia, maternal gestational diabetes, pregnancies with multiples, and maternal obesity. Further, they may have failed to take the measures that could have prevented the birth injury had these signs been noticed.
It’s also possible your healthcare provider was inexperienced in handling shoulder dystocia during childbirth. No matter the mistake, if your midwife, obstetrician, nurse, surgeon, or other healthcare provider made a mistake that caused your baby’s brachial plexus birth injury, you may be entitled to financial compensation.
Meet With an Erb’s Palsy Lawyer in Kentucky
If your baby suffered a brachial plexus injury at birth and you are interested in learning more about whether you have grounds for a medical malpractice claim contact a qualified Kentucky birth injury lawyer.
At Wilt Injury Lawyers, we are passionate about helping families get the justice they deserve. Call our office at 502-253-9110 or complete the quick contact form included at the bottom of this page when you are ready to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation.