Case Types -Birth Injury Claims

Baby or Birth Injuries From Hospital or Doctor Procedures & Cerebral Palsy and Erb's Palsey

If your child or a child you know has suffered from a birth injury, and you suspect poor medical treatment was a cause of this , contact our law office and we will review your birth injury case. We will inform you of your legal options. The birth injury might have been caused by the negligence of the hospital / staff / doctor or  natal care.

One of many Birth Injuries is Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders characterized by loss of movement or loss of other nerve functions. These disorders are caused by injuries to the brain that occur during fetal development or near the time of birth.

A birth injury inflicted or sustained by the child or mother during the birthing procedure due to negligence or carelessness on the part of the doctor or medical staff employed by the hospital.

Congenital cerebral palsy, results from brain injury during intra-uterine life. It is present at birth, although it may not be detected for months. It is responsible for about 70% of children who have cerebral palsy.

An additional 20 % are diagnosed with congenital cerebral palsy due to a brain injury during the birthing process. In most cases, the cause of congenital cerebral palsy is unknown. Of great importance are optimal well being prior to conception, adequate prenatal care, and protecting infants from accidents or injury.

See Lawsuit Case About Dystocia & Erb's palsy

Dystocia & Erb's palsy Birth Injury Background

This nerve injury to a baby's arm is called Erb's Palsy and can vary in severity from slight stretching of the nerves causing weakness to rupture of the nerves causing complete arm paralysis. If the obstetrician recognizes the risk factors prior to the commencement of labor and/or properly manages the delivery when Shoulder Dystocia occurs, injury is avoided.

These risk factors for Shoulder Dystocia include: a previous delivery of a baby weighing over 4000 grams; a history of prior child who had Shoulder Dystocia; maternal and/or gestational diabetes; Estimated Fetal Weight (EFW) over 4,000 grams (macrosomia); maternal obesity; gestational age over 41 weeks; and a second stage of labor that lasts for more than two hours. An obstetrician can identify those patients at risk by taking a careful history from the mother about prior deliveries and birth weights, by performing ultrasound evaluation on all patients at risk for macrosomia to estimate fetal weight, and by testing for gestational diabetes with a glucose tolerance test.

The way obstetricians can prevent injury to patients at risk for Shoulder Dystocia are to (1) perform a prophylactic cesarean section for non-diabetic mothers whose fetuses have an EFW over 4500 grams and to perform a prophylactic cesarean section for diabetic mothers whose fetuses have an EFW over 4000 grams, and (2) follow a structured and practiced "plan or drill" for the management of Shoulder Dystocia if it occurs unexpectedly during delivery. The most important factor in the initial management of Shoulder Dystocia is for the operator to immediately remove his or her hands from the fetal head as soon as the diagnosis is made and to not pull on the fetal head and neck until the baby's shoulder is unstuck and freely able to exit and deliver vaginally. There are approximately sixteen different obstetrical maneuvers that can free the anterior shoulder so the baby can be safely delivered. Proper use of these maneuvers can prevent the traction on the fetal head that injures the brachial plexus and causes Erb's Palsy.

Doctors can negligently cause an Erb's Palsy injury by failing to perform appropriate prenatal testing to identify patients at risk for shoulder Dystocia thereby avoiding a vaginal delivery or, when it occurs during birth, by failing to utilize appropriate maneuvers to dislodge the anterior shoulder before continuing the vaginal delivery. It is the excessive traction to the baby's head and neck by the obstetrician that causes the injury to the brachial plexus.

Cerebral Palsy Background

Cerebral palsy is a disorder caused by damage to the brain. It affects a child's ability to control movement and posture. Palsy is a word for paralysis, even though the symptoms are usually weak muscles, not actually paralysis. The weak muscles result in an inability to make voluntary movements and suppress involuntary ones.

Injury to the cerebrum can result in the loss of nerve functions in widely different areas. The classical finding of CP is spasticity (increased muscle tone) which may affect a single limb, one side of the body (spastic hemiplegia), both legs (spastic diplegia) or both arms and legs (spastic quadriplegia). In addition, there may be partial or full loss of movement (paralysis), sensory abnormalities, and defects of hearing and vision. Speech abnormalities are common and seizures may occur.

Intellectual function may range from extremely bright normal to severe mental retardation. Symptoms are usually evident before age two and in severe cases may appear as early as three months. Cerebral palsy is a non-progressive type of encephalopathy (injury to the brain) and symptoms directly resulting from the disease do not worsen.

Classifications of cerebral palsy include spastic, dyskinetic, ataxic, and mixed cerebral palsy. Spastic cerebral palsy includes about 50% of cases. Dyskinetic (athetoid) cerebral palsy affects about 20%. It involves development of abnormal movements (twisting, jerking, or other movements). Ataxic cerebral palsy involves tremors, unsteady gait, loss of coordination, and abnormal movements. It affects about 10%. The remaining 20% are classified as mixed, with any combination of the above symptoms.

How many people have cerebral palsy?

It is estimated that some 764,000 children and adults in the United States manifest one or more of the symptoms of cerebral palsy. Currently, about 8,000 babies and infants are diagnosed with the condition each year. In addition, some 1,200 - 1,500 preschool age children are recognized each year to have cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is not contagious and may improve with treatment and therapy. It is not inherited except in rare cases. Most often, cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage during pregnancy, childbirth, or the time just after birth. Sometimes it is caused by traumatic brain injury due to infections or injury, including child abuse and neglect.

Cerebral palsy can be mild, manifesting itself as awkwardness, or severe, incapacitating a child from birth and even resulting in death. It may be complicated by other conditions, such as mental retardation, seizures, speech and language disorders, and vision and hearing problems.

If you or your child has suffered a birth injury, and you may suspect it is due to medical negligence contact our law firm to gain the legal advise you are in need of.