Ohio Brachial Plexus Injury Attorney
The Cleveland birth injury law firm families trust when they need us the most
One of the most common birth injuries newborn children sustain is a brachial plexus injury. An estimated 2 to 3 out of 1,000 infants experience this type of nerve injury, often during the delivery process, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is why brachial plexus injuries are considered one of the most common neonatal injuries involving newborn infants.
Worst of all, many brachial plexus injuries could have been prevented. That’s because they often occur due to medical negligence. When this happens, medical professionals need to be held accountable for their actions. That’s our job. And we’re prepared to get right to work on your child’s case.
For more than three decades, Cleveland birth injury lawyer John A. Lancione has been helping families demand justice in Ohio and across the country. Attorney Lancione and his dedicated legal team at The Lancione Law Firm only handle birth injury and medical negligence cases. As a result, we have an in-depth understanding of how these complex legal cases work.
Our law firm has a well-earned national reputation for our skillful handling of birth injury claims. Since our law firm was founded, we have recovered more than $350 million and counting for our clients, including one of Ohio’s largest malpractice verdicts. That’s why other lawyers routinely refer birth injury cases to our law firm. We’re the law firm you want when you need us most.
What is a brachial plexus injury?
The brachial plexus is a collection of nerves in the shoulder area that connect the arm and neck and provide feeling in the arms, shoulder and hands. These nerves include four cervical nerve roots (C5-C8) located near the top of the spine in the neck, as well as the first thoracic nerve root (T1) located just below the base of the neck in the spine.
When a brachial plexus injury occurs, these nerves are compressed, stretched, compressed, ruptured or torn. In infants, brachial plexus injuries often occur during delivery. As a result, an infant often has little or no feeling in the arms or shoulder due to nerve damage. Lack of muscle control in the shoulder, arms or hands is also common in brachial plexus injuries.
Types of brachial plexus injuries
Depending on the location and severity of the brachial plexus injury, there are several different types of injuries that often occur. Such injuries include:
- Erb's Palsy – Severe tear of the brachial plexus nerve, especially the C5 and C6 nerve
- Klumpke's Palsy – Severe tear of the lower brachial plexus nerve, especially the C8 and T1 nerve.
- Global palsy – All five brachial plexus nerves are torn, often resulting in complete paralysis in one arm
- Avulsion – Brachial plexus nerve is torn completely from the spinal cord.
- Horner syndrome – Nerve damage to the eye often caused by a root avulsion of the C8 and T1 nerve.
- Neurapraxia – Strained brachial plexus nerve.
- Neuroma – Scar tissue around the nerve caused by a brachial plexus tear.
What are common causes?
There are many reasons why brachial plexus injuries occur involving newborn infants. Many of these injuries occur due to a difficult labor or delivery, including:
- Larger than normal baby (medical condition known as macrosomia) which results in more difficult birth and the brachial plexus nerve being stretched or torn
- Abnormal fetal position during delivery, especially babies born bottom first, which is known as a breech delivery
- Misuse of forceps and extractors during nerve delivery
Pregnant women with diabetes, including gestational diabetes, face a higher risk of having a baby born with a brachial plexus injury.
Doctors need to be aware of different risk factors before a baby’s delivery that could result in a birth injury. They also need to diagnose what’s wrong in a timely manner and take risk factors into consideration when making important medical decisions. In many cases, doctors perform a cesarean section (C-section) or take other preventative measures in order to avoid a brachial plexus injury. Failure to do so may constitute medical negligence. When that happens, it’s important for parents to fully understand their legal rights.
Hold medical professionals accountable for their actions. Contact us
One of the reasons why brachial plexus injury claims can be such complicated legal cases is because the medical professionals who cause such birth injuries often deny doing anything wrong. In fact, they often hire lawyers to defend their actions and deny your claim.
Ohio birth injury attorney John A. Lancione knows how to respond to such situations. As your lawyer, he will conduct an in-depth investigation to determine exactly what happened. He frequently consults with medical experts. He knows how to analyze medical records for errors. He’s prepared to do the work that needs to be done to do the job right.
The legal process involving birth injuries can be challenging. The path to justice can be long. This is why some lawyers avoid such complicated legal cases. Attorney Lancione thrives on them. That’s because he’s committed to making a difference in his clients’ lives.
Discover what The Lancione Law Firm can do for you. Contact us and schedule a free consultation with Cleveland birth injury lawyer John A. Lancione. You can reach us online or call (440) 331-6100 or (877) 515-4369 to schedule an appointment.