The doctor is now telling you that your child has a birth injury called Klumpke’s palsy. You are now learning this for the first time because when you left the hospital you were given little to no answer as to why your child’s arm is paralyzed. Are you wondering what is this and how could it have happened? Want to hear more about this condition? Stay tuned.
Hello I’m Maryland medical malpractice attorney Marcus Boston and I would like to talk with you today about Klumpke’s palsy. To understand how this can develop, you need to be aware of a delivery complication called shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs when a child’s shoulder is trapped behind the pelvis during delivery. When this happens doctors must work to free the child because if too much time passes the child can die.
If doctors panic and use force to the child’s head, injuries to the brachial plexus, or nerves in the neck and shoulder, can ensue. Also, if a shoulder dystocia condition is present, and the doctors apply pressure to the mother’s upper abdomen, this can also cause injuries to the brachial plexus. This type of pressure is called fundel pressure and is never to be used in a shoulder dystocia situation.
Klumpke’s palsy can be the result of damage to the nerves in the neck and shoulder during delivery and as I said earlier, can lead to paralysis in the arm. So why am I explaining this to you today? Because you want answers to the questions you could not get when you left the hospital after delivery. Because you now know it is time to speak to someone about this. Here’s what you can do. Pick up the phone and give me a call. I can be reached at 301-850-4832. Or, if you think that email is best, email me at medicalinjury “at” bostonlawllc.com (Remember to replace the “at” with @). We answer questions like yours all the time and we would be glad to hear your story.
