Doctors And Parents Agree To $900,000 For Claim Physician's Medical Error Led to Child's Erb's Palsy Injury by Joseph Hernandez

Doctors And Parents Agree To $900,000 For Claim Physician's Medical Error Led to Child's Erb's Palsy Injury
by: Joseph Hernandez

One of the more frequent kinds of birth injuries is an Erb’s palsy injury which affects the child’s shoulder and arm. This might be a considerable injury that in the most extreme circumstances leave the child with inadequate use of the arm even after surgery. In a number of cases the injury is avoidable. If this happens as a result of malpractice by a physician in the course of the delivery process the parents may go after the doctor with a lawsuit for themselves and their infant.

As an example, think about a reported case regarding a woman pregnant with her third baby. The woman was either borderline for or actually had gestational diabetes, abnormal weight gain in the course of the pregnancy and had earlier given birth 2 large babies. About four months into the pregnancy the woman's physician recorded that the baby was larger than estimated by the gestational age and 3 months later she was borderline on her blood sugar test for gestational diabetes. An ultrasound done a brief time after that consultation placed the baby’s weight within the 90th percentile. At her final prenatal visit the day before the doctors planned to induce her labor the physician documented the fundal height (a measurement of the uterus employed to evaluate fetal growth and development) at forty three centimeters. The woman was forty weeks pregnant.

The next day the pregnant woman was admitted at the hospital as planned. Once she was admitted, a second doctor took over her care. The hospital record documented her previous borderline glucose test and that she was at high risk given her earlier “large gestational age” babies. This doctor failed to, nevertheless, test her glucose level or make any effort to determine the unborn child's weight before medically inducing her.

Almost four hours subsequent to her admission to the hospital the expectant mother's membranes spontaneously ruptured. When this happened a substantial quantity of meconium was observed. This is frequently a sign that the baby is in difficulty and typically necessitates an emergency C-section. About 40 minutes later the physician performed a vaginal examination. The physician recorded that the woman was four centimeters dilated. The physician used a fetal scalp electrode which showed early decelerations. Despite the fact that it was not noted in the publication of the lawsuit, specific types of decelerations might be an indication of fetal distress. Just more than one hour later the expectant mother was fully dilated. The nurse’s notes indicated the existence of shoulder dystocia, the delivery of the baby’s head, and the use of suprapubic pressure to help delivery.

The child weighed 10 pounds 10 ounces at birth. The infant had a head circumference in the ninetieth percentile and she was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy. When she got older her arm atrophied from her incapacity to use it. She has developmental delays and she has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The doctors failed to monitor the mother for gestational diabetes even though they had sufficient knowledge that the baby was large before delivery. Nevertheless, they failed to plan on a Caesarean and did not attempt a common method before using traction to the child's head. These steps might have avoided the child's injury. The parents pursued a lawsuit against the physicians and the law firm that represented the family revealed that the lawsuit settled for $900,000.

About The Author

Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting birth injury medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about erbs palsy and other types of birth injuries such as group b streptococcus matters by visiting the website

The author invites you to visit:
http://www.medical-negligence-law.com