Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy affects 1 to 2 of every 1,000 babies born each year in the United States. It's a birth injury caused by a stretching or tearing of the brachial plexus, the system of nerves from the spinal cord to the arms and hands. An infant with Erb's palsy may be partially or completely unable to move his or her arm, or may be able to move just the fingers. The attorneys of The Berkowitz Law Firm have a significant amount of experience helping families of children born with Erb's palsy due to medical malpractice or negligence.

During Delivery

Erb's palsy usually occurs during birth; for example, when:

the baby is larger than normal (e.g., weighing more than nine pounds at full term)
the baby's presentation is breech (i.e., the baby is exiting buttocks- or feet-first)
the labor is longer or more difficult than usual
a doctor, midwife or nurse pulls the baby from the birth canal with too much force

Types of Nerve Injuries

There are four general kinds of nerve injuries, and a baby may suffer more than one type in a single injury:

1. An "avulsion," when a nerve is torn from the spinal cord. This is the most serious type of nerve injury, and it may not be possible to repair an avulsion. In some cases, a nerve from another of the baby's muscles may be transplanted to restore some of the nerve's function.

2. A stretch injury that tears apart (ruptures) the nerve itself. A ruptured nerve will not heal on its own.

3. A stretch injury that damages some of the nerve fibers. This may result in scar tissue that presses on the remaining healthy nerve (a "neuroma").

4. A neurapraxia: A stretch injury that "shocks," but doesn't tear, the nerve. These nerve injuries usually heal on their own within a few months.

Causes of Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy may be caused by a mistake or negligence on the part of the obstetrician, midwife, or other healthcare staff responsible for a baby's delivery. A failure to recognize the risk factors or to respond to them in time, or the delegation of a delivery procedure to inexperienced junior staff may be the direct cause of this type of birth injury. If you suspect that your baby's Erb's palsy was caused by some form of medical malpractice, we can discuss your case with you and tell you about your options.

Contact a Berkowitz Law Firm erbs palsy attorney in Stamford, Connecticut or Danbury, Connecticut today.

Stamford, CT Office

1010 Washington Blvd.
9th Floor
Stamford, Connecticut 06901

Phone: 866-314-9352
Fax: 203-324-5067

Danbury, CT Office

57 North Street Suite 206
Danbury, Connecticut 06810-5627

Phone: 203-730-1100

Bridgeport, CT Office

855 Main Street
Bridgeport, Connecticut 06604

Phone: 203-331-1940

$9,000,000.00 medical malpractice recovery against an obstetrician and a hospital whose failure to timely deliver the infant plaintiff, despite signs of fetal distress, left her severely brain damaged.
$6,100,000.00 settlement against a hospital and two physicians on behalf of a client who sustained permanent paralysis following the administration of anesthesia and prior to undergoing an anterior cervical discectomy.
$4,750,000.00 medical malpractice award on behalf of a child who sustained brain damage as a result of a hospital's negligent airway management.
$4,000,000.00 medical malpractice verdict against a gynecologist who caused the plaintiff to undergo a hysterectomy following a negligent surgical procedure and destroyed her ability to bear children.
$3,000,000.00 medical malpractice recovery against an anesthesiologist whose negligent administration of spinal anesthesia left an infant plaintiff profoundly brain damaged.
$3,000,000.00 medical malpractice settlement on behalf of a brain damaged newborn against a hospital as a result of the hospital's failure to timely deliver said newborn despite signs and symptoms of fetal distress.
$2,600,000.00 wrongful death verdict against a family practitioner and a urologist whose failure to timely diagnose prostate cancer led to the plaintiff's death.
$2,500,000.00 settlement against a radiologist for his failure to timely diagnose the plaintiff's spinal tumor which progressed to metastatic late stage cancer.
$2,450,000.00 total award against a hospital for its failure to properly restrain a hospital psychiatric patient who jumped out of a hospital window and fell three stories sustaining a permanent brain injury.
$2,300,000.00 medical malpractice settlement against a hospital following its failure to diagnose a bacterial infection causing a child to go into respiratory arrest and without oxygen for 20 minutes leading to the child's brain damage.