Victims of Negligence » Medical Malpractice » Childbirth Injuries

Childbirth Injuries

Our firm has represented a number of families whose children were severely injured during childbirth. Serious injuries can occur during birth due to errors by medical practitioners that result in a baby being deprived of oxygen and suffering permanent brain injury. Additionally, serious injuries can occur during childbirth due to the large size of a baby or the small size of a mother's pelvis. This condition, usually referred to as "shoulder dystocia," is a serious obstetrical complication characterized by impaction of the baby's shoulder behind the mother's bony pelvis, and often can be detected and avoided by appropriate testing before a woman goes into labor.

An encounter of shoulder dystocia requires the initiation of certain delivery maneuvers to safely relieve the impaction of the shoulder and permit delivery of the chest and legs. The most critical aspect of such a delivery is eliminating excessive traction on the baby's head to avoid injury to the brachial plexus, the bundle of nerves running from the neck into each arm. When appropriate procedures are not followed, an infant can be born with permanent injuries and paralysis to the shoulder and arm, often referred to as an Erb's palsy.

SS&L firm lawyers successfully obtained significant settlements on behalf of a young boy who lost the use of his right arm as a result of improper delivery maneuvers taken by a student doctor, and on behalf of another child who suffered a nerve injury as a result of an obstetrician's failure to use appropriate maneuvers to free the shoulder during delivery.

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