Sommers Schwartz attorney Matthew Turner filed a birth injury lawsuit on behalf of a newborn who suffered permanent and severe brachial plexus nerve injuries due to the failure of attending medical personnel to properly recognize and address the child’s shoulder dystocia. 

According to the complaint, the mother arrived at the defendant hospital’s delivery room where her unborn child presented with shoulder dystocia. This condition can develop during delivery when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck on the mother’s public bone during the birthing process. Physicians and nurses must use great care when attempting to dislodge and deliver a baby experiencing shoulder dystocia. In this case, the attending physicians failed to identify and properly manage the condition by applying excessive force to the child’s head and neck and pulling too hard for the child’s delivery.

The application of excessive force and traction on the child’s head, neck, and cervical spine/nerve roots resulted in stretching, trauma, and other injuries to the left brachial plexus. As a result of the defendants’ labor and delivery negligence as described above, the child suffered permanent and severe damage to his brachial plexus nerves affecting his left shoulder and arm.

The lawsuit seeks compensation for the minor plaintiff’s injuries, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, lost earning capacity, and ongoing and lifelong expenses for medical care, physical therapy, psychiatric care, and other treatments.