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Does Your Child Have Erb’s Palsy?

When a doctor or hospital makes a serious mistake during the labor and delivery process, it is often the infant who suffers. These young victims can sustain serious injuries, such as Erb’s Palsy. If your child has suffered a birth injury, you need to learn about the symptoms and treatment of Erb’s Palsy, as well as your child’s legal rights.

Erb’s Palsy refers to a condition where the arm is paralyzed from an injury to the main nerves that almost always occurs during birth.

Causes of Erb’s Palsy
Erb’s Palsy is typically caused by doctor error and can occur if there is excessive pulling on the shoulders during a head first delivery. A baby may get caught on the mother’s pubic bone and if excessive force is used to pull the baby through, an injury can occur. Erb’s Palsy is also caused from a difficult childbirth. Some of the risk factors associated with this birth injury include the following:

Large infant
Low or midforceps delivery
Vacuum extraction
Prolonged labor
Delivery of a previous baby with a similar injury

Doctors must take precautions to help avoid these types of injuries. They can be held liable if they failed to identify or react to a birth complication.

Treatment Options for Erb’s Palsy
In many cases, a child who has suffered Erb’s Palsy will recover on his or her own. When the child does not recover, surgery may be required to repair the injury. Other treatment options include nerve transfers, Subscapularis releases and tendon transfers. If a child has not regained range of motion after one year of age, the chances of a full recovery are rare.

Legal Rights for Young Victims
If your child has sustained a birth injury, such as Erb’s Palsy, you need to be aware of the legal options. You may be able to pursue legal action against the medical provider who caused the injury and could recover financial compensation. Contact an experienced New York medical malpractice lawyer at the Law Firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine at 800.734.9445 for legal advice. They have offices conveniently located in Manhattan and Long Island and are experienced in handling New York medical malpractice cases.