Doctors Agree To Pay Parents $900,000 In Case Alleging Doctor's Error Led To Baby's Erb's Palsy

Among the more frequent types of birth injuries is an Erb's palsy injury that relates to the child's shoulder and arm

. This may be a severe injury that in the most serious cases might leave the infant with poor use of the arm even following surgery. In many instances the injury is avoidable. If this happens as a result of malpractice by a doctor in the course of the delivery procedure the parents may follow this with a malpractice case for themselves and their baby.

As an example, think about a reported lawsuit involving a woman pregnant with her third child. The woman was either borderline for or actually had gestational diabetes, abnormal weight gain throughout the pregnancy and had in the past delivered two large babies. About four months into the pregnancy the expectant mother's doctor recorded that the unborn child was larger than expected by the gestational age. 3 months later the pregnant woman was borderline on her blood sugar test for gestational diabetes. An ultrasound after that visit revealed the baby's weight in the 90th percentile. At her final prenatal visit the day before the doctors planned to induce her labor the physician noted the fundal height at forty three centimeters. The expectant mother was 40 weeks pregnant at the time.

The next day she went to the hospital as planned. There, a second physician took over her care. The hospital cchart recorded her prior borderline sugar test and that she was at high risk given earlier "large gestational age" babies. This physician did not, nevertheless, test her sugar amount or make any effort to determine the unborn child's weight before inducing her.

Approximately several hours subsequent to her admission to the hospital her membranes spontaneously ruptured. When this happened a significant quantity of meconium was witnessed. This is usually a sign that the unborn child is in danger and generally requires an emergency C-section. Approximately 40 minutes later the physician performed a vaginal examination. The physician recorded that the woman was 4 centimeters dilated. The physician positioned a fetal scalp electrode which highlighted early decelerations. Even though it was not noted in the case report, certain types of decelerations might be a sign of fetal distress. A little more than one hour afterwards she was fully dilated. The nurse's notes indicated the occurrence of shoulder dystocia, the delivery of the child's head, and the use of suprapubic pressure to aid the delivery.

The newborn weighed 10 pounds 10 ounces at birth. She had a head circumference in the ninetieth percentile. She had an Erb's palsy injury. When she grew her arm atrophied due to her incapacity to use it. She has developmental delays and she has cerebral palsy. The doctors did not monitor the mother for gestational diabetes but had sufficient information that the baby was large preceding birth. But, they failed to plan on a C-section and did not try a standard method before using traction to the baby's head. These steps may have prevented the baby's injury. The parents filed a lawsuit against the doctors and the law firm that handled the case announced that the case settled for $900,000.

by: Joseph Hernandez

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