Erb's Palsy :: Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

Doctor Blamed for Erb’s Palsy Birth Injury

An obstetrician recently received a public reprimand from her state’s medical board. The reprimand states that the doctor’s negligence caused a newborn baby to suffer Erb’s Palsy. According to the report in The Mercury News, the negligent doctor tried a suction delivery, but the baby was too large for natural birth. This risky move caused the baby’s shoulder to become locked on the mother’s public bone, damaging the baby’s shoulder nerves and causing Erb’s Palsy, which left his arm and shoulder paralyzed.

Levin & Perconti have represented clients in a number of Chicago birth injury cases involving Erb’s Palsy. In 2009, John Perconti and Patricia Gifford settled a lawsuit for $1.35 million on behalf of a 9-year-old Waukegan girl who lost movement in her arm. Her doctors failed to inform the girl’s mother of her increased risk for shoulder dystocia. They also failed to perform the proper techniques during labor and delivery to disimpact the newborn's shoulder, causing her injury. To learn more about this birth injury lawsuit, read our latest newsletter.

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Posted In: Brachial Plexus , Erb's Palsy , Illinois Birth Injury , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Shoulder Dystocia

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Erb’s Palsy in Infants

Birth injury can lead to Erb’s Palsy, which is a condition in which nerves are stretched and cause the hand, arm, shoulder and face to be injured. The disease is frequently caused by the excessive force or inappropriate traction on a newborn’s head or neck during childbirth. This will not happen without medical error. Characteristics of Erb’s Palsy include a limp arm, delayed healing of skin on the affected arm, loss of motor function and loss of sensation. Although Erb’s Palsy can be immediately apparent, the extent of the birth injury may not be known for some months after the baby’s birth. Recently, the birth injury lawyers at Levin and Perconti received a settlement for a birth injury case involving Erb’s Palsy. To learn more about the birth injury settlement, please check out Levin and Perconti’s newsletter.

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Posted In: Erb's Palsy

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Law Firm Introduces Birth Injury Resource Center

A Massachusetts birth injury law firm recently announced a new website for parents of children who suffered serious birth injuries, www.childrc.com. The birth injury website contains valuable information, including contacts and tools to help parents who are affected by birth injuries such as cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy. The website also gives parents the opportunity to interact with birth injury experts. Follow the link to learn more about this new resource for birth injury information.

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Posted In: Erb's Palsy , Publications/Resources

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Women Experiencing Shoulder Dystocia More Likely to Suffer the Complication In Deliveries of Later Children

A new study published in this month’s issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology finds that women who experience shoulder dystocia incur an increased risk of the complication recurring in subsequent deliveries. The study, which looked at the deliveries of womens’ second children, found that shoulder dystocia occurred in 0.8% of all women, but that women with shoulder dystocia in their first delivery had a 7.3% risk of recurrence. While the prior experience of shoulder dystocia does increase the likelihood of future delivery complications, the study’s authors emphasized that the baby’s birthweight is the most important factor in predicting the probability of the birth injury's occurrence.

Click the following link for more information on the shoulder dystocia study.

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Posted In: Erb's Palsy , Reports & Studies , Shoulder Dystocia

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Brachial Plexus Injury Awareness Week

Next week, October 19-26, will be the 9th annual Brachial Plexus Injury Awareness Week. This event was created by the United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc. with the goal of increasing general awareness of brachial plexus injuries.

A brachial plexus injury occurs when the network of spinal nerves which controls the muscles of the fingers, hand, arm, and shoulder, called the brachial plexus, is damaged. These nerves originate at the back of the neck and extend through the axilla (armpit) and into the arm, where they form 3 trunks in the upper shoulder. Erb’s Palsy refers to an injury to the upper trunk while a lower trunk injury is called Klumpke's Palsy.

A brachial plexus injury can result in full or partial paralysis of one or both arms and can be permanent if the nerves do not completely heal. In less severe instances, the nerve damage may cause weakness or a loss of muscle control in the arm, hand, or wrist, resulting in the impaired ability to grasp, extend, or reach, or a lack of feeling or sensation in the arm or hand. Physical appearance can also be affected.

Most brachial plexus injuries occur during an emergency birth condition called shoulder dystocia in which the baby’s shoulder becomes wedged behind the mother’s pubic bone while in delivery. There are several techniques or maneuvers to free the baby’s shoulder and complete the delivery safely but if the person performing the delivery is careless or applies excessive force to the baby’s head or neck, the brachial nerves can become stretched or torn.

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Posted In: Brachial Plexus , Current Issues , Erb's Palsy , Shoulder Dystocia

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