Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries

The brachial plexus is an important group of nerves that is responsible for movement and feeling. It stretches from your spine, up to your shoulder, and down to your fingers. Thus, when you suffer from a brachial plexus injury, it can damage your motor skills as well as feeling anywhere from your shoulder to the tips of your fingers.

While you can injure your brachial plexus in sports accidents and car wrecks, one other major source of these injuries is damage sustained during birth. If your precious child now has brachial plexus damage due to doctor negligence, you should not let this go unpunished. Contact a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney from Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. today at 215-238-1130 to discuss your case.

Types of Brachial Plexus Palsies

There are two main types of palsies associated with brachial plexus injuries; they depend on the location of the damage. First, Erb’s palsy describes weakness of the entire arm. With this, the top of the nerve bundle has suffered damage, so the child may not be able to raise his or her whole arm.

If the nerve damage affects the fingers, wrist, or hand, it is called Klumpke’s palsy. A child may be unable to rotate his or her wrist or make a fist.

Source of Brachial Plexus Injuries

Brachial plexus injuries during birth are often due to shoulder dystocia. With this, the baby gets stuck in the birth canal, typically due to the shoulder wedging against the mother’s pubic bone. A doctor can use simple maneuvering and positioning of the mother’s body to help the baby slip free. However, if the physician is not gentle enough, it can tear the brachial plexus.

Contact Us

Doctors should be calm yet efficient during problems like shoulder dystocia. If a doctor has applied unnecessary force to your baby during birth, resulting in brachial plexus injuries, you should contact a qualified Philadelphia birth injury lawyer from Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 today.