If your child was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy following their birth, you may have a medical malpractice claim. An Allentown Erb’s palsy attorney can guide you through the legal process and ensure that the negligent medical professionals are brought to task. Contact a Munley Law Allentown birth injury lawyer today for a no-obligation, free consultation.
What is Erb’s Palsy?
Erb’s palsy is a nerve condition in the shoulders and arms that results in weakened muscles or loss of muscle function. Each year, nearly 12,000 newborns are diagnosed with Erb’s palsy. Also known as brachial plexus birth palsy, it occurs after a trauma, most commonly following a difficult delivery where the doctor had to maneuver the baby’s head to deliver fully.
Erb’s palsy, more specifically, impacts the brachial plexus, a group of five nerves connected to the spine, arm, and hand. These nerves work together to the shoulder, arms, and hands to produce movement and feeling. When these nerves are stretched or torn, Erb’s palsy may result.
Injuries that Cause Erb’s Palsy: Medical Negligence in Delivery
While Erb’s palsy can also occur in adults who have experienced physical trauma, the most common injuries that cause Erb’s palsy in newborns are:
- Avulsion: The nerve is ripped away from the spine
- Rupture: The nerve is torn but not separated from the spine
- Neuroma: The nerve has torn and healed, leaving scar tissue that puts pressure on the injured nerve, blocking signals to the muscles
- Neurapraxia: The nerve is stretched but not torn
Any of these injuries can occur during the labor and delivery process, either during a vaginal birth or a cesarean section. Typically, they happen when the doctor moves the baby’s head to one side to allow the shoulders to be delivered from the birth canal. A brachial plexus injury is often seen in larger babies who were part of a difficult delivery.
How Does Medical Malpractice Cause Erb’s Palsy?
Sometimes, Erb’s palsy results from the way the baby was lying inside the womb before birth. But in many cases, it results from an action taken or not taken during the delivery process.
Situations which may result in Erb’s palsy due to a doctor’s negligence include:
- Failing to account for difficult labor and delaying a C-section
- Using excessive force and pulling on the head, neck, or limbs causes the nerves to stretch or tear
- Not accounting for the baby’s size during delivery
Suppose healthcare providers did not provide the best medical treatment available during your labor, and it resulted in your child having brachial plexus palsy or Erb’s palsy. In that case, you may have an Erb’s palsy lawsuit.
How Can an Allentown Erb’s Palsy Attorney Help With My Case?
Doctors are trained to handle fetal distress, but when they do not act diligently, it results in a child’s injury; you have a right to full and fair compensation. An experienced birth injury lawyer from Munley Law can help you through the medical malpractice lawsuit.
First, our birth injury attorneys will evaluate your child’s birth injury or birth injuries by reviewing medical records. Be it a brain injury, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, spinal cord damage, or another form of common birth injury, our team will determine if it was a result of prenatal risk factors or because of insufficient medical treatment.
Once we understand the extent of your child’s birth injury, we will calculate the value of your birth injury lawsuit. The more evidence you have, the stronger your case will be. Because of this, we will work with medical professionals and review the literature from similar medical malpractice lawsuits to build your case.
Our birth injury lawyers will also meet with witnesses to testify on your behalf if possible.
Additionally, we will handle negotiations with the insurance companies to get you financial compensation that accounts not just for current medical bills but also for ongoing physical therapy, the need for a specialized healthcare provider, and any other financial burden you may bear.
If a settlement cannot be reached, we will represent you and your child in court, ensuring that your child’s treatment does not become forgotten.
What are the Statute of Limitations on Erb’s Palsy Claims?
In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations on most medical malpractice claims is two years from the date of injury. However, under the statute of repose, victims have up to seven years to discover the harm that was caused, thus restarting the two-year statute of limitations.
Further, if the medical malpractice claim involves a minor, you must file a lawsuit until the child is 20.
But, these deadlines can become complicated, so working with a birth injury lawyer is your best chance of meeting all deadlines.
What Damages Can My Family Receive For a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Birth injury cases often allow the victim and their family to recover economic and sometimes non-economic damages for their suffering.
Economic Damages
Economic damages for a birth injury claim include loss of income for excess time spent away from work to handle the birth injury, medical expenses, including future medical expenses, physical therapy, and home accommodations if required.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages can be more difficult to prove in an Erb’s palsy case; however, you may be entitled to compensation for lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of quality/enjoyment of life.
Call Our Experienced Allentown Erb’s Palsy Lawyers for Help
At Munley Law, an experienced birth injury lawyer will fight for you and your loved one to ensure that your child’s injury does not go unreported and unaccounted for.
Our Allentown medical malpractice attorneys and Erb’s palsy attorneys have represented children and their families who have suffered brain damage, nerve damage, paralysis, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and other injuries in the birth canal as a result of medical professional negligence.
Do not delay seeking medical malpractice lawyers’ guidance, as evidence will become problematic. Instead, call us when you have your child’s Erb’s palsy diagnosis, and we will begin the process of determining what went wrong.
For a no-obligation, free consultation, call the medical malpractice or an Erb’s palsy lawyer from Munley Law. Our Allentown cerebral palsy attorneys, Erb’s palsy lawyers, and personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you have no upfront cost.
Call a Munley Law Allentown Erb’s palsy lawyer right now.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
609 Hamilton St
Allentown, PA 18101
(610) 857-7424
