All parents dream of a healthy baby who grows into an active cherished child but what happens when a preventable birth injury trashes that dream?Arm and hand dysfunction to varying degrees may result due to injury of the brachial plexus which is a group of nerves that runs from the spine to the shoulder and controls muscle movement in the shoulder, arm, and hand. These brachial plexus injuries usually occur during a vaginal delivery when the mother has an unusually shaped pelvis or the baby is super large.
The cause is shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby is too large to pass unimpeded through the mother's pelvis where the fetus (baby's) shoulder gets stuck behind the mother's pelvic bone after the head has been delivered.
Attempts to vaginally deliver the baby - at this point - may stretch the neck excessively which causes nerve damage.
Law firms like the Philadelphia firm of Anapol Schwartz that will be evaluating your case will consider three factors affecting liability and damages:
1-the severity of the child's injuries
2-whether or not the doctor should've suspected a large baby and performed a Caesarean delivery
3-whether the doctor used appropriate delivery maneuvers once the shoulder dystocia was realized
A brachial plexus injury is the result of excessive traction of the head during birth when the baby's neck and shoulders are stretched too far apart and cause nerve tearing and damage.
Source: Justice.org - article written by Lon Walters
