Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit

Fact Checked

Most children with Erb’s palsy recover and have no lasting effects. For some, though, the damage causes lasting and permanent disabilities. An Erb’s palsy lawsuit is an option if you believe your child’s condition resulted from medical negligence and should have been prevented.

What Is an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit?

An Erb’s palsy lawsuit is a legal action that helps parents of children harmed by medical malpractice seek justice and compensation. Erb’s palsy can be a lifelong disability that requires ongoing care and treatment. A lawsuit can provide a settlement or jury award for parents to cover the costs of care.

What Is Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s palsy is nerve damage characterized by weakness, loss of sensation, and paralysis in the arm. It can occur in any part of the arm or the entire arm, and the symptoms may be mild or severe, including total loss of sensation and movement.[1]

Some children with Erb’s palsy live with permanent disabilities. Most who suffer nerve damage have mild symptoms that resolve as the nerves heal.

How Do Babies Get Erb’s Palsy?

The condition is caused by damage, ranging from mild to severe, to the nerves of the brachial plexus. These nerves run from the spine to the arm, where they connect with smaller nerves and provide sensation and the ability to move all parts of that limb.

The general cause of Erb’s palsy is damage to one or more of the five brachial plexus nerves. Pulling on the arm, shoulder, or neck stretches those nerves. There are many ways that a pulling action can be strong enough to damage a baby’s nerves during childbirth.

Risk factors for Erb’s palsy include difficult or prolonged labor, an unusually large baby, or breech position during birth.[2] 

Does Medical Malpractice Cause Erb’s Palsy?

Medical malpractice can cause Erb’s palsy. If a doctor or other caregiver makes a mistake during childbirth or fails to provide adequate monitoring or care for complications, nerve damage can occur.

For example, a doctor may pull too hard if a baby gets stuck in the birth canal. A doctor might be negligent in not addressing complications that are risk factors for Erb’s palsy. They could be considered negligent if a C-section was appropriate based on the presence of complications but not used, for instance.

An Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit Can Cover Expenses

If the damage caused by brachial plexus injury is moderate to severe, a child may need a lot of treatment. Even with treatment, some children may not recover fully, depending on the severity of the condition.

While many babies born with Erb’s palsy will heal, others will need physical therapy, surgeries, and possibly therapy and adaptive devices for life.

If your child faces multiple surgeries and other treatments, medical expenses can pile up quickly. Depending on your situation, an Erb’s palsy lawsuit may be a way to get the compensation needed to care for your child.

Medical Malpractice and the Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit

You should file an Erb’s palsy lawsuit if you feel like your child’s injury could and should have been prevented. Even if you don’t think your doctor actively did something to hurt your child, not taking action can be equally negligent.

For instance, if your baby was in the breech position, your labor showed signs of complications, and doctors failed to take action, they could be held accountable for any birth injuries sustained.

Another example of potential malpractice may occur if your doctor used too much force to help your baby out of the birth canal.

A common cause of Erb’s palsy is when the baby’s head gets stuck, and the delivering physician pulls too hard. Nerves can get stretched and damaged when doctors use too much force when delivering a baby.

Should I File an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit?

A lawsuit is a way to get justice for your child living with a disability. It may not heal the child’s arm, but a sense of justice and accountability can be a powerful way to heal emotionally.

In more practical terms, a lawsuit can provide your family with compensation that will help pay for your injured child’s care.

Your child may need multiple surgeries to correct the damage, which is expensive. You could also lose money because you can’t go to work. You may need to stay home to care for your child.

Additionally, your child may need ongoing rehabilitation, therapy, and care and may need adaptive equipment to function normally.

If you are struggling because your baby has an injury that resulted in permanent Erb’s palsy, you have the legal right to file a lawsuit.

How to File an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit

The first step in filing an Erb’s palsy lawsuit is finding an experienced birth injury lawyer. These experts have experience and are knowledgeable. They should have a proven track record of winning settlements and awards for parents of children with disabilities caused by medical malpractice.

What to Expect When Filing an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit

A lawyer will explain the process and take all the necessary steps to file a lawsuit and ensure you have the best chance of getting compensation for your child:

• Investigating. Your lawyer will first investigate the situation to determine if you have a case for malpractice and recovering damages. They rely on experts to find evidence.
• Filing the Lawsuit. The next step in a lawsuit is a filing. Your lawyer will take this step, which notifies all the defendants involved. They have a chance to respond within a certain period of time.
• Discovery. Once the defendants respond, the discovery period begins. Both sides build their cases with evidence, depositions, medical records, and medical experts.
• Negotiating a Settlement. The easiest and quickest way to resolve a lawsuit is in negotiations. Your lawyer will negotiate with the defendants’ lawyers to get a fair amount of compensation for you and your child.
• Trial. If negotiations break down, you can take the case to trial. Lawyers for both sides argue their case in court. A jury decides if the defendants owe you damages and in what amount.

Most of these cases end in settlements. It’s the best option for getting compensation quickly. If a case goes to trial, you can get more compensation, but you might lose the trial and get nothing.

When Should I File an Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit?

Talk to a lawyer as soon as possible after your child’s birth injury. The sooner you start a lawsuit, the sooner you’ll have the funds you need to get the necessary treatments.

Every state sets a time limit on filing medical malpractice lawsuits, called a statute of limitations. Most states allow a few years but talk to a lawyer immediately to ensure you don’t miss your opportunity.

Examples of Erb’s Palsy Lawsuits

Many parents have demanded accountability and justice for medical mistakes that harmed their children. In one example, a lawsuit brought in New York in 2013 resulted in $2.1 million in compensation for the child affected by Erb’s palsy.[3]

The child’s mother claimed that medical professionals failed to give her appropriate prenatal care and that the midwife delivering her baby pulled too hard on the infant’s head.

The case eventually went to trial. After three weeks, six members of the jury agreed with the mother and her lawyers that medical negligence had occurred.

Not all Erb’s palsy lawsuits go to trial. Most will end in settlements to save the time and cost of a court case. If a solution is unsatisfactory for the plaintiffs, it may go to trial.

Let a lawyer with experience in birth injury cases help you take the next steps to file an Erb’s palsy lawsuit.