Every year hundreds of families are affected by a variety of birth injuries. Many birth injuries are simply unavoidable, but in some cases, these injuries may have resulted from medical malpractice. After a birth injury, some families choose to file lawsuits alleging negligence, hoping that compensation from such a lawsuit will help them with medical expenses going forward.

One recent such birth injury lawsuit filed in the United Kingdom has resulted in an Erb’s palsy lawsuit settlement.

A family of a four-year-old girl in the UK filed a lawsuit after the child was born with a condition known as Erb’s palsy. According to the lawsuit, the baby was delivered using forceps. This was the mother’s second baby, and her first child had been delivered using forceps as well.

However, this time was different, the lawsuit claims. The mother remembers being able to feel the forceps, despite having received an epidural. Both parents remember seeing the obstetrician make a sharp turning motion with the forceps.

The Erb’s palsy lawsuit alleges that medical staff failed to recognize the shoulder dystocia that would complicate the birth, which then prevented them from effectively managing this birth. The plaintiffs allege this was negligence on the medical staff’s part.

Shoulder dystocia is a condition in which contact between the baby’s shoulder and the mother’s pubic symphysis. Had the hospital recognized the potential complications from shoulder dystocia, the pareints claim, the baby may have been delivered without injury.  As it is, the baby was born with Erb’s palsy, a birth trauma condition that can impact the nerves responsible for movement and feeling in the arm.

The Erb’s palsy lawsuit settlement means that, while the hospital has not admitted any liability in this case, the case has still been brought to an end with a settlement award.

Birth Injury Lawsuits

Hundreds of families like this one file lawsuits each year after they realize their child suffered a birth injury potentially due to negligence or medical malpractice. Families hope that compensation from a birth injury lawsuit will help them with medical expenses going forward.

Common birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Oxygen deprivation
• Mental retardation
• Erb’s palsy
• Klumpke’s palsy
• Brachial plexus
• Retinopathy of prematurity

Of course, not all birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice. For many children, these injuries just happen, especially when delivered using obstetrical forceps, vacuum extraction, or cesarean section.

For others, however, injuries like substantial nerve damage during birth may have been avoided with the proper care. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer may help you find answers.

If your child has suffered a birth injury caused by medical malpractice, you may be able to file a lawsuit. Although filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering of these conditions, a financial award like this Erb’s palsy lawsuit settlement can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by medical expenses and lost wages.