Illinois Doctor Sued for Malpractice After Child Born with Brachial Plexus Injury
Earlier this month in Madison County, Illinois, a woman sued her doctor for his alleged malpractice in delivering her now three-year-old child who was born with a serious brachial plexus injury. According to a report by one local news source, the child recently appeared in court to show the members of the jury how her left arm does not work properly.
Evidently, during childbirth the attending physician noted a shoulder dystocia and experienced difficulties delivering the baby’s anterior shoulder. After trying several different maneuvers, the physician turned the child over and then delivered her. When she was born, the parents noticed that her left arm was “floppy.”
Since then, the child has been diagnosed with permanent nerve root damage to her left arm. The mother claims that–due to the large size of the child–she should have been delivered via a Cesarean section, rather than through a traditional vaginal birth.
To support her claim, the mother had the director of the Division of Pediatric and Developmental Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis testify that the injury was not curable and that any subsequent surgery the child had would be to prevent reversal of any gain in progress. On cross-examination, the doctor also conceded that there are other potential causes of this type of injury, including several that would not place the delivering doctor at fault.
Delivery Room Errors Can Affect a Child’s Life Forever
Tragically, the young girl in the case above will never regain full use of her arm. While it is possible that the cause of her injury had nothing to do with the delivering doctor’s decision not to suggest a C-section, it very well may have prevented the young girl’s injuries.
In cases like this, where it is uncertain how the injury was caused, the best thing for the parents of the child to do is to file a medical malpractice action while they still can. This will let a jury decide who should be held responsible after hearing all the relevant evidence.
Some of the most important evidence that a jury can hear comes from an “expert witness” who has experience in the field. These expert witnesses are retained by counsel and testify on their understanding and opinion of how these injuries occur.
Would You Like to Discuss Your Case with an Attorney?
If you recently gave birth to a child who was born with an irreversible birth injury that you believe may have been preventable and caused during the delivery process, you should speak to a dedicated birth injury attorney as soon as possible. Depending on the specific circumstances of your situation, you may be entitled to monetary damages based on the delivering physician’s malpractice. To learn more about malpractice as it applies to delivery-room errors, click here, or call 410-998-3600 to schedule a free consultation with an attorney today.
