A kind of matter repeatedly seen by a birth injury attorney is the Erb’s palsy injury. This kind of injury may leave a child with lifelong disability of the arm.

When evaluating these cases an erbs palsy attorney considers a number of issues. One of the factors is if the doctor involved had knowledge suggesting there may be complications in a vaginal delivery and took adequate actions to avoid them.

In a reported case, for instance, the baby’s mother had earlier delivered 2 additional children. The two had been born large . The expectant mother tested borderline for gestational diabetes in the 4th month of her pregnancy. She had disroportionate weight gain while in the pregnancy. The baby had been documented larger than anticipated at 4 months of pregnancy and to be in the ninetieth percentile for weight. Her doctors intended for her to be induced for a vaginal delivery in the 40th week of pregnancy.

Once admitted to the hospital for the scheduled vaginal delivery a number of worrisome signs were detected. When the woman’s membranes ruptured, considerable amounts of meconium came out. Later a monitor revealed early decelerations in the unborn child’s heart rate. Both of these could be signs of fetal distress. However, the doctor did not try to examine the mother one last time for gestational diabetes or to approximate the unborn child’s weight in advance of inducing her. The physician continued with a vaginal delivery.

Hospital documents revealed that shoulder dystocia was present and that subsequent to delivery of the baby’s head, instead of attempting a regularly applied procedure, the physician instead employed suprapubic pressure to aid the delivery. The infant was ten pounds 10 ounces at birth with a head circumference in the 90th percentile. The baby had Erb’s palsy. When she got older her arm atrophied because of her inability to use it. She has developmental delays and she has cerebral palsy. The law firm that handled the case published that the matter settled for $900,000.

The preceeding is not medical or legal advice. You should consult a physician at once in case you believe there is a complication with your pregnancy or your child has a health issue. Consult a medical negligence lawyer in the event you think your child was damaged from an error by a physician or other well being care professional.