Category: Birth Injuries

The brachial plexus is a number of nerves running from the spine and proceeding through the neck and armpit region into the arm. The brachial plexus supplies the arm with nerve impulses. If a baby’s head and neck are twisted during natural childbirth, these nerves may be stretched or damaged, resulting in lasting injury, such as partial or complete paralysis of the arm on the affected side of the body. This condition is referred to as Erb’s palsy.

Brachial plexus injury may occur due to medical malpractice on the part of a medical professional involved in the childbirth process. California birth injury lawyer Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is experienced in handling birth injury cases and claims involving brachial plexus injury and can help you seek and recover the monetary compensation that you deserve following this serious injury.

An obstetrician may improperly monitor a pregnancy and, therefore, may misdiagnose a due date or the size of the baby, resulting in a baby being too large to fit through the birth canal. If this is not recognized immediately, the trauma associated with passing through the birth canal can cause brachial plexus injury. There are several measures that a doctor may take in order to prevent this injury, including rotating the baby or performing a cesarean section. Excessive force or the failure to recognize a large baby or breech birth can cause a lifetime of problems for a child.

Erb’s Palsy Attorney in California
If your child has sustained brachial plexus injury or has been diagnosed with Erb’s palsy, medical malpractice could be to blame. Contact California birth injury lawyer Dr. Bruce Fagel as soon as possible to find out more information regarding this serious injury and what you can do to hold the responsible party liable for their actions through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Brachial plexus injury may result in facial paralysis, paralysis of one arm, loss of muscle control in the arm or hand and a number of other serious issues.

During gestation, an unborn child’s brain is vulnerable to a wide range of threats, including placental or umbilical problems, severe illness with the mother, or a difficult delivery. When a newborn is asphyxiated before or during birth, the ensuing lack of oxygen to the brain can result in a condition termed hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE.

The HIE condition evolves over several hours. The initial oxygen and/or lack of blood supply to the brain kicks off a series of other events as the body tries to repair itself. This natural approach is effective when HIE is mild. But in moderate or severe cases, the body’s desperate attempts to repair itself could cause more brain damage.

This damage does not occur immediately. It is the result of a cascade of chemical reactions, and there is a window of several hours before it becomes permanent. Therefore, researchers theorized that maybe it was possible to block the chemical chain reaction and minimize permanent damage. Up until the past couple of decades no intervention seemed to make much difference.

However, now a new and simple technique is giving brain-damaged babies a chance at a normal, healthy life. Recent research suggests that babies who are starved of oxygen at birth have a much lower risk of brain damage if they are given mild hypothermia, a cooling of the body temperature. This is achieved in one of two ways: through a special water-cooled cap or a fluid-filled blanket. Both methods are designed to reduce brain temperature. It has been found that reducing the temperature by 3-4○C for 72 hours after birth seems to switch off many of the damaging reactions. It is believed that cooling slows down chemical reactions, and gives the repair mechanisms inside cells a chance to work.

Brain hypothermia, induced by cooling a baby to around 33○C for three days after birth, has recently been proven to be the only medical intervention that reduces brain damage and improves an infant’s chance of normal survival after birth asphyxia. Brain cooling has become widely used in neonatal units throughout the United States.

Timing is critical. Brain cooling must be initiated within six hours of delivery. After the baby is born, doctors make some quick decisions to determine if he or she is a candidate for brain cooling. The newborn must have sustained moderate brain damage, be full-term or late pre-term (beyond 36 weeks), and be younger than six hours old. International studies report about a 27% decline in deaths and disabilities with brain cooling.

If your child has a brain injury or cerebral palsy, he or she possibly could have been offered brain cooling as a treatment.

When doctors or other medical professionals have reason to believe that a fetus during labor or delivery may be harmed by allowing a vaginal birth to proceed, a cesarean section must be considered as an option. C-section birth is often the safest way to make a healthy delivery in the face of childbirth complications. It is critical that a doctor knows when this must occur, because there are many variables to consider if a cesarean section delivery should be performed. If an obstetrician fails to perform a c-section procedure in a timely manner, complications, severe injury or death could occur.

A Cesarean section, commonly known as a “C-section,” is a surgical procedure where incisions are made through a mother’s abdomen and uterus to deliver a baby. It is normally performed when a vaginal delivery would put the baby’s or mother’s life, or health at risk. A C-section procedure may be necessary when:

The fetus has developed abnormally
There is an abnormal heart rate in the fetus
Problems exist with the placenta or umbilical cord
The baby is too large for a vaginal delivery
Mother has genital herpes or HIV
Failed forceps delivery
Breech position
Multiple births
Fetal distress
Uterine rupture
C-Section Risk Factors
A Cesarean section procedure is sometimes necessary during the birthing process. However, it carries more risk than a normal vaginal delivery. C-section complications are relatively common in the United States. There are many situations that could arise during delivery that complicate the process. Some possible risks to the mother of a C-section procedure include:

Infection of the incision or the uterus
Blood clots in the mother’s legs
Heart or lung problems
Damage to the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, or bladder
Reactions to medication or anesthesia
Heavy bleeding during or after surgery
Damage to the intestines
There are also numerous injuries to the baby that can result from C-sections including infections, lacerations, fractures to the skull and bones, nerve damage, brain injury or even death.

Contact a C-Section Birth Injury Attorney
Medical professionals must always be prepared to act responsibly should a delivery complication arise that requires a C-section delivery. Fortunately, mothers and infants are legally protected with the right to professional medical care, including protection from c-section error. If the standard of care is violated by a obstetrician or other medical staff member, any injuries or damages suffered by the mother or infant can lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit to seek financial compensation.

At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, we have been successfully representing victims of cesarean section and other birth injuries for decades. Dr. Fagel is uniquely qualified to handle your birth injury case because he practiced emergency medicine for 10 years before becoming a medical malpractice lawyer. In fact, he still maintains his medical license in California. He is nationally recognized for his success in obtaining two of the top 100 jury verdicts in 2002 and one of the top 100 jury verdicts in the United States in 2005.

Because of Dr. Fagel’s strong reputation and successful trial record as a medical malpractice attorney, approximately 95% of the claims filed by his office are settled prior to a trial date. With his team of highly experienced birth injury lawyers who share his dedication to aggressively defending victims of medical malpractice or negligence, our firm has obtained more than $1 billion in jury verdicts and settlements.