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New York Mother Files Erb’s Palsy Lawsuit

mother cradles newborn's foot

Late in 2014, a woman filed an Erb’s palsy lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. The birth injury lawsuit alleges that doctors caused her newborn to suffer severe and permanent nerve and brain damage when delivering a very large child. She seeks $25 million in damages.

The Onondaga County woman initiated the New York birth injury lawsuit on November 25, 2014. She filed her complaint individually and on behalf of her infant daughter. She names as defendants the United States of America and Crouse Hospital.

Birth injury lawsuit alleges doctors overlooked risks

According to the complaint, the plaintiff arrived at Crouse Hospital at about 8:00 a.m. on February 22, 2012, at 37 weeks gestation and with a diagnosis of gestational diabetes. She was seen in obstetrical triage at about 9:15 a.m., when she was already dilated 3 cm, 50% effaced, and her water had already broken.

The triage doctor admitted the plaintiff for labor and delivery, where fetal heart monitors showed signs of fetal distress. The plaintiff’s infant daughter was born just before 11 a.m., approximately three hours after her mother arrived at the hospital and nearly two hours after the triage examination.

Though the doctors were aware of the plaintiff’s gestational diabetes, which is accompanied by a serious risk of dangerously oversized babies, and fetal monitor readings showing signs of distress, they allowed her to continue with labor. In this case, the baby girl was born weighing over 11 pounds and suffered during birth.

Newborn suffered distress, Erb’s palsy

The child was born with an APGAR score of 0 at one minute – a score given in cases of serious distress when the newborn is not breathing, shows no heart rate, muscle tone, reflex reaction, and has pale blue skin. She improved gradually over the next 15 minutes, reaching a score of 7 out of 10, but remained hospitalized for nearly two weeks.

Because of her traumatic birth, the infant suffered asphyxia, birth depression, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, seizures, developmental delay, Erb’s palsy, and other birth injuries.

The complaint alleges that the defendants acted negligently in many ways, including failing to:

  • Properly understand, appreciate, and use fetal monitoring
  • Call promptly for a cesarean delivery
  • Perform maneuvers to avoid shoulder dystocia, and
  • Be prepared with adequate post-delivery care for the child, causing severe and permanent injuries to the newborn.

As a result, the child has suffered permanent nerve and brain damage.

About Erb’s palsy

Erb’s palsy is a type of brachial plexus injury that can result from shoulder dystocia, which occurs when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck in the birth canal as the head is delivered. If the child’s head is tilted, it can place pressure on the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves running through the neck. This decreases the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain. Shoulder dystocia is nearly 10 times more likely to happen when the baby is very large.

There are several types of paralysis that a newborn may suffer due to a brachial plexus injury. Erb’s Palsy is one of these, with both the upper and lower arm suffering paralysis. In some cases, the injuries are temporary, but in others the damage may be severe and life-long.