subject: Lawsuits Alleges Baby's Erb's Palsy Was Due To Physician's Carelessness [print this page] Erb's palsy is an injury that affect's a newborn's shoulder, arm and hand, leaving the infant with a limp arm. The injury may arise during childbirth if excessive pressure is used, thereby damaging the nerves in the shoulder. If your baby has the injury you ought to contact a lawyer right away to learn whether you and your newborn might have a malpractice claim against the responsible doctor. Erb's palsy is an injury to the network of nerve fibers that send signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, wrist, hand and fingers, and thus affects the newborn's power to manipulate the affected areas and feeling in those areas.
It is an injury that typically during a difficult natural delivery due to too much force applied to the head, neck or shoulders. The types of deliveries during which a baby is most likely to be harmed in this manner include those involving a big baby, breeched position or prolonged labor. In such situations, the doctor or other health care professional may use maneuvers (sometimes involving the use of forceps or a vacuum) that can result in too much pulling on the shoulders in the course of a headfirst delivery or place excessive pressure on the arm and shoulder during a breech delivery.
In general terms, the infant has a tendency to exhibit a limp arm in which the arm hangs limp and is rotated internally. As a result of the lack of use, the arm might appear underdeveloped as compared to the unaffected extremity. Newborns with the injury may display several other symptoms associated with problems with blood flow, such as skin rashes, slow healing, as well as a tendency for infections.
The majority of children affected by Erb's palsy fully recover within six months, frequently after physical therapy. In situations with al rupturing or tearing of the nerves, surgery may be required, possibly including tendon transfers to compensate for nerves that no longer function. If surgery does not resolve the injury, the baby could be left with irreversible, partial, or total loss of function of the damaged nerves, leading to paralysis of the arm or arm weakness.
Should your suffers from Erb's Palsy immediately contact a medical malpractice lawyer to figure out if you and your son or daughter might be able to pursue a case against the doctor or other medical care professional liable for your baby's injury. Consider that a plaintiff has only a limited time frame within which to act or be forever barred from succeeding on the claim and from recovering. Check with an attorney concerning how much time may remain.
