A Texas mother has filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against her obstetrician after her child developed shoulder dystocia after delivery.

The woman claims her doctor acted negligently when she decided to deliver the child vaginally instead of via Caesarean section. According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff argues that her doctor should have known the baby was at high risk for experiencing shoulder dystocia because of her obesity and diabetes.

Shoulder dystocia is when a baby’s shoulders become stuck between the mother’s pelvic bone when being delivered vaginally. It can cause nerve damage in the shoulders, arms, and hands which could eventually cause paralysis. More serious effects could lead to lack of oxygen and death.

If your child has been injured during delivery due to the negligence of the hospital staff, contact the Philadelphia birth injury lawyers of the offices of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., at 215-238-1130.

UPMC Hamot, located in Northern Pennsylvania, was recently ordered by an Erie County Jury to pay $21.6 million to a Pennsylvania mother for injuries her son suffered during delivery at the hospital.  $19.6 million of the verdict was alloted to cover future medical expenses for the boy and the rest was awarded for past medical expenses and loss of earning capacity.

The mother filed the birth injury lawsuit after nurses at the hospital were unprepared to prevent her son from suffering from oxygen deprivation that caused him to develop cerebral palsy.  The jury ruled that the nursing staff was 100 percent responsible for the now 4-year old boy’s injuries because they did not properly monitor his fetal heart rate.

If your child has developed cerebral palsy due to a birth injury caused by hospital negligence, contact the Philadelphia cerebral palsy lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. at 215-238-1130 to learn more about how we can help you.

A Norfolk, Virginia family was recently awarded $2.3 million in a birth injury lawsuit against a midwife that the mother’s obstetrician/gynecologist recommended.  The trial lasted 5 days and the jury also awarded the mother $60,000 in special damages as a reimbursement of medical expenses.

According to court documents, the midwife was negligent in her delivery of a baby boy in 2006.  The midwife pulled on the infant’s head and arms to help remove him from the birth canal.  The boy suffered from shoulder dystocia during the delivery because of the midwife’s negligent practices.  Shoulder dystocia occurs when an infant’s shoulder becomes caught on their mother’s pubic bone, making delivery more difficult than normal and often causing serious nerve damage.

The boy has permanent nerve damage and a permanently disabled right arm as a result of the negligent delivery.