If your child suffered a birth injury including cerebral palsy or a brachial plexus injury at birth, it may have been the result of medical malpractice.

Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit if you believe your child was injured during birth by medical practitioners can help you gain compensation for your child’s injury. Lawyers litigate hundreds of birth injury cases each year, and an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine if you have a legal claim. If a brachial plexus injury at birth has already affected your child, the expenses and stress can be too much to bear. 

Not all defects or injuries that arise during birth are the result of medical malpractice, but many are. Babies can be injured during birth are typically injured when a birth is difficult and requires the use of tools like obstetrical forceps, vacuum extraction, or cesarean section. Some of the most common injuries that can result from medical malpractice include:

• Cerebral Palsy
• Oxygen Deprivation
• Mental Retardation
• Erb’s Palsy
• Klumpke’s Palsy
• Brachial Plexus
• Retinopathy of Prematurity

Cerebral palsy is caused by abnormal brain development caused by a brain injury. This can often occur before birth, or during birth. This serious condition can cause difficulty moving, as it affects a person’s control over their limbs. These symptoms appear in early childhood.

Cerebral palsy is chronic, and cannot be reversed. It is one of the most common forms of birth injury, along with other types of brain injury. In some cases, it can take years for symptoms of cerebral palsy to develop, so parents may not know that their child’s condition was the result of an injury incurred during their birth.

Another injury often caused by medical malpractice is a brachial plexus injury at birth. The brachial plexus is the cluster of nerves that run through a person’s neck and arms. These nerves control a person’s upper limbs, including the shoulders, arms, and hands.

A brachial plexus injury during birth can occur if the baby is unable to come out of the mother’s body normally, so a physician has to grab the infant and pull it out manually or using tools. This process can be traumatic to a baby’s delicate body, damaging the nerves in a child’s limbs.

These symptoms can range from minor strains on nerves to severe damage to the never that leaves entire limbs paralyzed, or can result in an arm not able to function entirely properly. This condition can sometimes be recognizable if a child’s hand is left in a “claw” shape.

In many cases, a child can recover from a brachial plexus injury at birth. However, in some cases, they cannot, and are left with a lifelong injury.

Caring for a child with a disability or injury can be costly, requiring caretakers, medical visits, and time. Parents whose child suffered injuries including cerebral palsy or a brachial plexus injury at birth as a result of medical malpractice can often receive compensation by filing a birth injury lawsuit. This compensation can help families manage the costs and strain of caring for a child with a disability or a birth injury.