Attorney Carol L. Forte, Esq. from the law firm Blume Forte recently obtained a settlement of $750,000 on behalf of an 18-year-old girl who has a permanent brachial plexus injury she suffered during a birth which was complicated by shoulder dystocia.
Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency that occurs during an infant’s delivery when either of the child’s shoulders becomes stuck behind the pubic sypmhsis. When this occurs, and the doctor fails to properly perform maneuvers designed to atraumatically free the baby’s shoulder and/or exerts excessive traction on the baby’s head during the delivery, there is a significant risk of injuring the brachial plexus nerves, that control hand, wrist, shoulder and arm movement and sensation. An injury to these nerves can result in a permanent disability.
Despite increased risks for the occurrence of shoulder dystocia that were present in this case, the mother of the girl was not offered the option of a C-section – which would have greatly reduced the likelihood of the child being born with a birth injury. Those risk factors included that the mother became diabetic during the pregnancy and previously had a pregnancy complicated at birth by shoulder dystocia. In addition, the day before the delivery, the mother had a fetal ultrasound which indicated that the baby was large for her gestational age.
The New Jersey Erb’s Palsy attorneys at Blume Forte have obtained numerous favorable results in cases involving birth injuries, as well as medical malpractice that resulted in injuries to an infant after birth. If your child has suffered from a birth injury, call us at 973-845-4421 for a no-cost evaluation of your potential claim.