Welcoming a new baby into the world can be one of the happiest days of your life. The most important and desired outcome on that special day is of course, a safe delivery, free of any harm to the baby and mother. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.
A birth injury, characterized by damage to a baby’s brain or body function due to a harmful event that occurred at birth, may be the result of a medical mistake. Erb’s palsy, a disorder sometimes referred to as shoulder dystocia or brachial plexus palsy, is the result of damage to some, but not all, of the nerves which form the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves responsible for moving the shoulder, arm, wrist and fingers. Most typically, the Erb’s Palsy injury is a “stretch injury” (neuropraxia), but sometimes the injury involves torn nerve fibers, a completely torn nerve (nerve rupture) or, a nerve root torn from the spinal cord (nerve avulsion). Erb’s Palsy is very often caused when the baby has been unnaturally or too forcefully pulled, twisted or jerked by a medical provider during the delivery period.
This harmful mistake causes significant injuries to the baby’s neck, injuring nerve roots C5 and C6, with C7 also affected in 50% of instances. Evident signs that a newborn has suffered an injury related to Erb’s palsy are as followed:
- Inability to move arm or shoulder
- Arm hangs limp with wrist and hand turned inward
- Weak or absent reflexes
- Decreased grip strength
If left untreated, Erb’s palsy may lead to:
- Partial or full paralysis of arm and shoulder
- Limited growth of the arm and hand
- Permanent arm weakness and numbness
- Deteriorating muscles (Muscle atrophy)
Although it may be possible for Erb’s palsy to resolve completely in the first year the infant’s life, no child should have to experience these devastating circumstances. Furthermore, if proper care is not administered after the preventable birth injury took place, your child may be permanently disabled.
If your child’s injury was caused by a medical mistake, the experienced Birth Injury lawyers at The Yost Legal Group are here to help.
Call The Yost Legal Group today at 1-800-YOST-LAW (967-8529) for a FREE, confidential, no-obligation consultation. When you call, you will speak with a Baltimore Birth Injury attorney with real experience absolutely free.
If we take your case, our legal team will investigate every detail surrounding your child’s birth injury and will help provide the answers you seek. Lastly, at The Yost Legal Group, you will never pay an attorney’s fee unless we achieve a recovery for you. We don’t get paid until you do.
