Free Case Evaluation
Kentucky Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyers
Caring advocacy when birth deliveries harm your newborn
Parents have the right to expect delivery doctors to anticipate the many different types of complications that may arise during a delivery. The risk of injuries, including brachial plexus injuries, is well-known. There are preventive measures that can generally prevent these nerve injuries and specific ways to respond immediately and competently when the possibility of a brachial plexus injury occurs. Our Kentucky brachial plexus injuries work with obstetricians and other medical specialists to show when delivery doctors commit medical malpractice. At Crandall & Pera Law, we demand compensation for all the harm brachial plexus injuries cause newborns and their parents.
Free Case Evaluation
Table of Contents
- What is a brachial plexus injury?
- Why do brachial plexus injuries happen to babies in Kentucky?
- What are the symptoms of brachial plexus injuries?
- How do doctors in Kentucky diagnose brachial plexus injuries?
- How do doctors in Kentucky treat brachial plexus injuries?
- Why should physicians be held liable for brachial plexus injuries in Kentucky?
- Do you have a Kentucky brachial plexus injury lawyer near me?
What is a brachial plexus injury?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine in Maryland, “The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves that stems from nerve roots in the cervical (neck) and upper trunk (torso) sections of the spinal cord (C5-T1), creating a network that connects to the nerves in the arm.” The brachial plexus nerves control your hands, wrists, and arms. They also provide sensory protection – such as helping you know the pot you’re holding is too hot.
The brachial plexus ends in five major nerve types/branches that extend down the arm:
- Musculocutaneous nerves. This nerve type helps you flex the muscles in your upper arm at both the elbow and the shoulder.
- Axillary nerves. This nerve type helps you rotate your shoulder and lift your arm away from your body.
- Median nerves. This nerve branch enables parts of your hand and forearm to move.
- Radial nerves. This nerve branch “controls various muscles in the upper arm, elbow, forearm, and hand.”
- Ulnar nerves. This nerve branch helps with fine motor control of the fingers.
Brachial plexus injuries are a known danger for every delivery. These injuries can occur due to stress, being stretched too far, and pressure. If your newborn has a brachial plexus injury, he/she may lose the ability of the spinal cord to communicate with the hand, wrist, or arm, which can cause your newborn to lose function and sensation in those body parts. While some brachial plexus injuries may heal with appropriate treatment, other brachial plexus injuries cause permanent disabilities.
Brachial plexus injuries are classified based on the type and severity of the nerve damage:
- Brachial plexus neuropraxia. These injuries occur when the nerves are stretched to the point of injury.
- Brachial plexus rupture. Here, “a forceful stretch causes the nerve to tear, either partially or completely.” Ruptures can cause weakness and severe pain in the shoulder, arm, or hand and can even make certain muscles unusable. Surgery can often repair brachial plexus ruptures.
- Brachial plexus neuroma. A neuroma is scar tissue that can create a “painful knot on one of the brachial plexus nerves.” The treatment generally involves removing the scarred nerve tissue surgically and then capping or attaching the nerve to “another nerve to prevent another neuroma from forming.”
- Brachial neuritis. This injury is a “rare, progressive disorder of the nerves of the brachial plexus,” which may be “related to an autoimmune response triggered by infections, injury, childbirth or other factors.”
- Brachial plexus avulsion. This brachial plexus injury involves the complete separation of a nerve from the spinal cord, which can result in complete weakness, loss of feeling, and paralysis.
Why do brachial plexus injuries happen to babies in Kentucky?
The risk of brachial plexus injuries during birth is well known – about one/two in 1,000 deliveries. Obstetricians should know the risk factors, including larger babies, difficult deliveries, and mothers who have diabetes. The injuries occur when the head of the baby is stretched away from the shoulder.
“Babies in breech position (bottom end comes out first) and those whose labor lasts an unusually long time may also suffer brachial plexus injuries.” If the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck under the pubis (shoulder dystocia) during delivery, the baby can suffer a brachial plexus injury.
There are two types of birth brachial plexus injuries:
- Erb’s palsy. This disorder occurs due to injuries to the upper brachial plexus nerves. Erb’s palsy can cause loss of motion and numbness of the shoulder, and “an inability to flex the elbow, lift an arm, or bring objects to the mouth.”
- Klumpke’s palsy. This disorder affects the lower brachial plexus. Klumpke’s palsy can cause “loss of motion and/or sensation in the wrist and hand, such as being unable to move fingers.”
While some children recover on their own or with physical and occupational therapy, others may require surgery. Some children never fully recover. Early diagnosis and treatment do make a difference in your child’s long-term results.
Brachial plexus injuries may also be due to car accidents, falls, and acts of violence.
What are the symptoms of brachial plexus injuries?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, some of the symptoms of brachial plexus injuries include:
- Loss of feeling or numbness in the hand or arm
- An inability of your child to control or move their hand, wrists, arm, or shoulder
- An arm that hangs limply.
- “Burning, stinging, or severe and sudden pain in the shoulder or arm.”
How do doctors in Kentucky diagnose brachial plexus injuries?
Diagnostic tests include neck and shoulder X-rays (to look for fractures or other bone and tissue injuries of the brachial plexus), MRIs and CT scans to examine the brachial plexus nerves, and “tests that use needle electrodes to determine nerve function and electrical activity, including a nerve conduction study and electromyogram.”
Your doctor may need to repeat these tests to monitor your child’s progress.
What are the treatments for a brachial plexus injury?
Nonsurgical treatments (when your child gets older) may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, medications, assistive devices such as compression sleeves and braces, and corticosteroid creams or injections.
Johns Hopkins Medicine states that if your newborn does not improve after three months of occupational therapy, you should consult with a pediatric neurologist and pediatric neurosurgeon to determine if surgery or other treatments can help. About one in ten babies with brachial plexus injury require some type of surgery.
For newborns, the best time for surgery is when your child is between four and nine months. Waiting longer increases the risk that your child’s level of function of the affected body part will be limited.
Surgical treatments include:
- Repairing a torn nerve
- Removing scar tissue from an injured nerve (neurolysis)
- Using a healthy nerve from another body part to connect the ends of a separated nerve (nerve graft)
- Attaching a “less important but still functional nerve to the damaged nerve” (nerve transfer)
- Muscle and tendon transfers
Possible complications from a brachial plexus injury include chronic pain, permanent disability, muscle atrophy, stiffness, loss of sensation, and paralysis.
Why should physicians be held liable for brachial plexus injuries in Kentucky?
Our Kentucky brachial plexus injury lawyers work with experts to show what steps your delivery care doctors and nurses should have taken to prevent your child’s brachial plexus injury, including:
- Failing to review the risk factors for brachial plexus injuries
- Failing to anticipate and respond to delivery conditions that create the risk of a brachial plexus injury
- Failing to respond to the known risk of a brachial plexus injury
- Failing to recommend prompt medical care after a brachial plexus injury occurs
Our skilled Kentucky birth injury lawyers file claims against the hospital where the delivery took place, obstetricians, midwives, nurses, and any other responsible health care providers. We demand compensation for the following:
- All medical bills, including surgeries, hospitalizations, rehabilitative care, medications, and other medical expenses
- Your child’s physical pain and emotional suffering
- Your child’s loss of function of his/her hand, wrist, arm, or shoulder
- Your child’s loss of life’s pleasures
- The cost to care for your child, including time off from work
Any other financial or personal damages
Do you have a Kentucky brachial plexus injury lawyer near me?
Yes. We meet parents and children at our Lexington, Kentucky office located at 201 E Main St., Suite 530. Our attorneys also consult with clients by phone and through online conversations. If your newborn’s injuries prevent you and your child from coming to our office, we can make arrangements to see you in another location.
We understand how concerned and anxious you are. We’re here to guide you through each step of the medical malpractice claims process.
Contact our respected Kentucky brachial plexus injury lawyers today.
At Crandall & Pera Law, we have earned the respect of former clients, insurance companies, and lawyers for our compassion and dedication to our clients – and our impressive record of recoveries for birth injury malpractice, including settlement of a claim involving the failure to respond quickly to warning signs during delivery for $4.65 million.
Please call our birth injury lawyers or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle brachial plexus injury claims on a contingency fee basis.