East Brunswick Birth Injury AttorneyShoulder Dystocia - Erb's Palsy - Brachial PlexusToll Free: 1.866.NJLAWFIRMLocated in East Brunswick, the medical malpractice attorneys at Tortoreti, Tomes & Callahan, P.C. represent parents throughout New Jersey who are suffered a birth injury, including shoulder dystocia or Erb's Palsy. Children are born with birth complications every day. But it's possible that some of those birth complications, like Erb's Palsy (Brachial Plexus and Shoulder Dystocia), could have been prevented. Sometimes Erb's Palsy is due to an accident in the labor and delivery of a child. You deserve to know if your child's disability is due to negligent care and you have the right to investigate its cause and to know the options you have. You have the right to seek legal assistance to help defray medical bills, therapy costs and help prevent the same error from happening again to other children. Shoulder Dystocia is an obstetric emergency associated with the potential to injure both mother and child. It occurs when the baby's anterior shoulder becomes trapped behind the mother's pubic bone and the baby cannot come out of the birth canal. It is diagnosed when the infant's head delivers but the shoulders and body fail to follow. Even the slightest traction on the baby's head can cause injury to the brachial plexus, which is the bundle of nerves that controls the arm. 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. 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. For a free confidential consultation, please schedule a free confidential consultation and case evaluation with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer by calling us at 1.866.NJLAWFIRM or completing our online intake form. Erb's Palsy Treatment OptionsIt is essential that treatment for a Brachial Plexus injury be obtained as soon as possible from experienced medical professionals who specialize in treating Brachial Plexus injuries. Early treatment for Brachial Plexus injuries most likely will include occupational and/or physical therapy to help maximize use of the affected arm while preventing contractures (tightening of the muscles and joints). It is important to note that even with ongoing therapy treatment and surgical intervention, complete recovery from a Brachial Plexus injury may not occur. Most mild cases of Brachial Plexus injuries recover in 3 to 4 months. The more severe cases improve slowly over 18 to 21 months. By 2 years of age, any recovery that will occur should have occurred, and no further improvement is expected. Treatment consists of Physical Therapy and Surgery. Brachial Plexus injuries can also respond to physical therapy. An occupational or physical therapist will work with your child. The therapist will also help you (the parent) learn to do the exercises. Most parents need to do the range of motion exercises at home with their children two to three times a day for several years. Daily exercises help to keep the muscles and joints moving normally. They are called range of motion exercises. They: 1) Provide tactile stimulation to provide sensory awareness If your child is not able to use muscles in the arm and hand, these muscles will stay weak. The arm may not grow normally, and you may feel tightness in some muscles and joints. A joint that stays in the same position all the time can actually "freeze". Exercises keep the muscles and joints flexible. When the nerves start working better, the muscles and joints will be ready to work. Surgery may help children who do not recover by the age of 5 months. Nerve surgery is most effective when it is done between the ages of 5 and 12 months and becomes less effective after 1 year. Nevertheless, surgical correction for permanent disability or deformity can be performed in the school aged child where necessary. For some children, neurosurgery is not recommended or is not successful. In these instances, other procedures can be done to transfer muscles and tendons. This surgery is done by a plastic surgeon when the child is older. The costs for treatment and surgery could overwhelm most families. Families must be able to dedicate long hours to doctor's visits and treatment. Financial support may be available to families in the form of legal compensation. If you feel that you or someone you know has been the victim of such errors, please schedule a free confidential consultation and case evaluation with an experienced birth injury attorney by calling us at 1.866.NJLAWFIRM or completing our online intake form. Links Brachial Plexus Palsy Foundation National Brachial Plexus/Erb’s Palsy Association, Inc. United Brachial Plexus Network NINDS Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries Information Page Tenacious - Trustworthy - Compassionate Tortoreti, Tomes & Callahan, P.C. |
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