$700,000 Settlement for Shoulder Dystocia and Erb’s Palsy

• Date: Spring 2010
• Attorney: Carol L. Forte
• Settlement: $700,000
• Practice Areas: Medical Malpractice, Shoulder Dystocia, Birth Injury, Erb’s Palsy

Carol Forte obtained a $700,000 recovery on behalf of young girl with a permanent brachial plexus injury she sustained during her birth, which was complicated by shoulder dystocia. Neither the residents nor the attending physician, (who had never before done all of the standard maneuvers developed to handle a shoulder dystocia) could dislodge the stuck shoulder, and, the plaintiff claimed that downward traction on the baby’s head was used to deliver her. The use of this downward traction caused a brachial plexus injury.