A birth injury lawsuit filed over shoulder dystocia after effects has been brought to an end, with the jury awarding $3 million in damages to the family.

According to the lawsuit, the obstetrician present during the 2008 birth was accused of pulling the baby out by its head, leading to paralysis of the infant’s right arm. The lawsuit claims that the doctor pulled the head and neck too roughly in an attempt to dislodge the shoulder, but this caused permanent nerve damage.

The major shoulder dystocia after effects were that two of the five nerves in the baby’s shoulders had been ripped in half, and the rest were stretched to the point of total dysfunction.

The child, now almost ten years old, is still feeling the shoulder dystocia after effects. He has already undergone surgery in his young life in an attempt to regain mobility of the arm. Even now, he has difficulty performing basic daily functions like zipping his own pants. Other tasks are impossible, like riding a bike or lifting his right arm behind his head.

In response to these shoulder dystocia after effects, the family chose to file a birth injury lawsuit, alleging negligence on the part of their care providers.

This birth problem is known as shoulder dystocia. “Shoulder dystocia typically occurs during delivery when the baby’s shoulders become stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone,” says attorney Denise Bradshaw. “Some of the medical risks caused by shoulder dystocia include nerve damage to the baby’s shoulder, arms and hands, which can cause shaking or paralysis, bruising of the mother’s bladder, and lack of oxygen to the baby, which can cause brain damage or even death.”

The family filed their suit in the New Castle County Superior Court back in 2014. The Delaware jury granted the family its $3 million verdict, but it is likely that the doctor will keep his license.

Common Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can include birth trauma or nerve damage, any of which can lead to long-lasting or permanent complications for a child. While in some cases, birth injuries are unavoidable, in other cases, medical negligence during childbirth is at least partly to blame for the injury.

The most common birth injuries include:

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

Some of these birth injuries can resolve themselves on their own. For many children, however, birth injuries lead to ongoing, often severe, health problems, like shoulder dystocia after effects.

Many parents who believe that medical negligence during childbirth caused their child’s birth injury choose to file lawsuits—hundreds each year. Of course, not all birth trauma is the direct result of medical malpractice. For some children, birth injury is unavoidable or purely random, and made much more likely during a particularly difficult birth. Babies delivered using obstetrical forceps, vacuum extraction, cesarean section, or other more forceful birth methods may face a higher risk of birth trauma.

For others, however, these injuries might have been avoided with the proper care, even with the use of one of these birth methods. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you find answers and even receive compensation for medical expenses, cost of care, and litigation payments.

Filing a Lawsuit Over Shoulder Dystocia After Effects

If your child has suffered from a birth injury that may have been caused by medical negligence, you may be able to file a lawsuit. While filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering from birth injuries, it can help to alleviate the financial burden caused by the related ongoing medical expenses and lost wages from shoulder dystocia after effects or other birth injuries. Compensation may be able to provide support for prolonged or life-long costs associated with raising a child with special needs caused by shoulder dystocia after effects.

Seeking a lawyer with experience in litigation over medical negligence during childbirth can help you determine whether or not your child’s birth trauma was caused by medical negligence during childbirth or something less nefarious. A medical malpractice lawyer can also help your case significantly and help you reach a settlement that can help with medical expenses, care, lost wages, and litigation costs.