Birth Injury – When to Contact An Attorney

A couple filed a birth injury lawsuit on July 10, alleging that their son developed Erb’s palsy following a long and difficult childbirth due to the negligence of hospital personnel. The lawsuit states that the midwife, obstetrician and several nurses at the federally managed Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida, Inc. deviated from accepted standards...

A West Palm Beach, Florida, couple has filed a birth injury lawsuit against an obstetrician who they claim caused their son’s cerebral palsy by choosing to extract him with a vacuum pump instead of allowing a natural delivery. The boy, now 16 years old, was born with the condition on March 6, 1998, and currently...

The Florida Supreme Court is assessing a cerebral palsy lawsuit that has raised questions about whether there should be caps on attorney fees in birth injury cases. The case involves a child diagnosed with a debilitating form of cerebral palsy that has left him wheelchair-bound and in need of constant care. The child’s mother alleged...

A new study by Canadian researchers suggests that genetics may play a more significant role in the origins of cerebral palsy than experts previously thought. Researchers from Sick Kids Hospital in Canada and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center have found that at least one in 10 cases of cerebral palsy has...

Pregnant women may sometimes require assisted delivery through the use of medical instruments to help the baby’s passage through the birth canal. In such cases, the doctor uses either a vacuum device or forceps to aid childbirth. An assisted delivery may be necessary if the mother is undergoing a lengthy, difficult labor and is too...

A family was awarded more than $4.8 million in a medical malpractice case arising from a birth injury that occurred over a decade ago. Guerline Cherenfant Jean, Loheirson Jean and their 14-year-old daughter filed the lawsuit in 2004 against a Fort Lauderdale midwife and doctor. Circuit Judge Michele Towbin Singer presided over the five-day trial...

Erb’s palsy is a birth injury that limits a child’s ability to use the affected shoulder, arm and hand in a “typical” capacity. Medical professionals may advise a course of treatment that includes daily at-home exercises and prescribed movements. These are intended to help the child regain mobility, prevent atrophy and promote healing. Surgery may...

In June 2015, The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched an investigation into the unusually high mortality rate among infants who underwent open heart surgery between 2011 and 2013 at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The investigation was triggered by a CNN report which stated that 12.5% of infant...

The Florida Supreme Court in December 2015 decided not to hear a dispute over whether the University of Miami could be held liable for the actions of two physicians it employed through its medical school. The case concerned a baby who sustained a brain injury during delivery in 1998 at Jackson North Maternity Center in...

A new app called QUiPP could help doctors predict the risk of preterm deliveries. Infants born before 37 weeks’ gestation are considered premature. Each year 15 million babies worldwide are born prematurely. More than one million die from the resulting birth injures and complications. Doctors use several factors to determine the risk of premature birth...

Infants are more susceptible to head injury than adults given that their heads are proportionately bigger and they have yet to develop the muscles and coordination that adults have. While most head injuries in infants are minor, serious brain injuries can occur in traumatic accidents and during complicated births. Causes of Infant Brain Injury Infants,...

For expecting mothers, nothing is more traumatizing than the thought of losing an unborn child. If you’ve been in a car accident while pregnant, you may have fears about whether or not your baby is going to be okay. After a car accident when pregnant, you should seek medical attention immediately. If either you or...

Parents of injured children often struggle with questions such as – Should I hire an attorney to pursue compensation in a birth injury claim? The answer depends on the extent and cause of the injury. An attorney can provide legal representation if a parent believes a doctor or hospital’s mistake caused a birth injury, such...

First it is important to note that not all birth injuries are caused by medical malpractice, so not every injury is grounds for a lawsuit. However, there are several types of birth injuries that are often caused by mistakes on the part of doctors or other medical personnel. When that is the case, the families...

Erb’s palsy is a condition that is caused by an injury to the brachial plexus, which consists of the nerves around the shoulder. Erb’s palsy is also referred to as brachial palsy, Erb-Duchenned paralysis or Klumpke paralysis. The condition differs from other kinds of palsy, and is marked by frailty or lack of movement in...

Some common birth injuries associated with C-sections include: Facial or body cuts Fractures Spinal cord injuries In addition to these common C-section birth injuries, other risks are present if the anesthesiologist did not administer the drug properly during a C-section delivery procedure. These potential injuries include low blood pressure, blood clots, and internal bleeding. There...

There is no one single cure for Erb’s palsy. The likelihood of recovery depends on the severity of the underlying injury. Proper medical and therapeutic care may remedy the effects of the injury or lessen the long-term impact. Unfortunately, the effects may be permanent in the most severe cases of nerve damage. Common Erb’s Palsy...