Chicago Brachial Plexus Birth Injury Lawyers
A brachial plexus birth injury can leave a baby with weakness, limited movement, loss of feeling, or paralysis in the shoulder, arm, wrist, or hand. Some infants improve with therapy. Others face surgery, permanent disability, developmental challenges, and years of medical care. When this type of injury follows a difficult delivery, shoulder dystocia, excessive traction, delayed C-section, or poor response to warning signs, parents may need legal help to determine whether medical negligence played a role.
At Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC, our Chicago birth injury lawyers help families investigate serious delivery-related injuries. We review prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, operative reports, neonatal records, therapy records, and expert opinions to understand what happened and whether the injury could have been prevented. Call 312-243-9922 for a free consultation.
What Is a Brachial Plexus Birth Injury?
The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that carries signals from the spinal cord through the neck and shoulder into the arm and hand. These nerves help control movement and sensation. During birth, the brachial plexus may be stretched, compressed, torn, or, in the most severe cases, pulled away from the spinal cord. When that happens, the baby may lose normal movement or feeling in part or all of the affected arm.
Neonatal brachial plexus palsy may appear immediately after delivery or soon afterward. Parents may notice that the baby moves one arm less than the other, keeps the arm limp, has a weak grip, or does not show the same reflexes on both sides. Because some injuries improve and others become permanent, early evaluation is important.
Why Brachial Plexus Injuries May Involve Medical Malpractice
Not every brachial plexus injury is caused by malpractice. Some injuries may occur even when the medical team acts appropriately. However, a legal claim may exist when a doctor, nurse, midwife, hospital, or delivery team fails to recognize risk factors, fails to choose a safer delivery plan, uses excessive force, delays an emergency C-section, or mishandles a shoulder dystocia emergency.
These cases often fall within the broader field of medical malpractice and birth injury law. The key question is whether the providers followed the accepted standard of care before, during, and immediately after delivery. A careful legal review can help determine whether the injury was unavoidable or whether it resulted from preventable medical negligence.
Common Delivery Problems Linked to Brachial Plexus Injuries
Brachial plexus birth injuries are often associated with difficult deliveries. The injury may occur when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck after the head delivers, when the baby is large for gestational age, when labor is prolonged, or when providers use forceful pulling instead of safe obstetrical maneuvers.
Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia happens when the baby’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone after the head has delivered. This is an obstetrical emergency. The medical team must act quickly, calmly, and correctly. If providers pull too hard on the baby’s head or neck instead of using accepted maneuvers, the brachial plexus can be stretched or torn.
Excessive Traction During Delivery
Excessive traction means forceful pulling. In a difficult delivery, traction on the head, neck, shoulder, or arm can damage the brachial plexus. A provider may claim that traction was necessary, but the records, witness testimony, delivery notes, and the baby’s condition after birth may tell a different story.
Failure to Plan for a High-Risk Birth
Some risk factors may be known before delivery. These may include maternal diabetes, suspected fetal macrosomia, prior shoulder dystocia, prolonged labor, abnormal fetal position, or concern that the baby may be too large for a safe vaginal delivery. When warning signs are present, the delivery team may need to discuss risks, prepare for complications, or consider whether a C-section is safer.
Delayed C-Section
A timely C-section may prevent some delivery-related injuries when the medical team recognizes that vaginal delivery has become unsafe. Delay can matter when fetal distress, obstructed labor, shoulder dystocia risk, or other complications appear. A delayed C-section may also overlap with claims involving surgical negligence, anesthesia issues, or hospital staffing failures.
Types of Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries
The severity of a brachial plexus injury depends on which nerves were affected and how badly they were damaged. Medical providers may use several terms to describe the injury.
- Neuropraxia: The nerve is stretched or compressed, but not torn. This is often the mildest form and may improve with time and therapy.
- Neuroma: Scar tissue forms around an injured nerve and may interfere with nerve signals.
- Rupture: The nerve is torn, but not at the spinal cord. Surgery or nerve grafting may be considered in some cases.
- Avulsion: The nerve root is pulled away from the spinal cord. This is one of the most severe forms of injury.
- Erb’s palsy: This usually affects the upper brachial plexus and may limit shoulder and elbow movement.
- Klumpke palsy: This usually affects the lower brachial plexus and may affect the hand and wrist.
The old page used the term “neurogenesis” as a category of injury. For medical clarity, the replacement page avoids that wording and uses the commonly recognized nerve-injury terminology that parents are more likely to encounter in medical records.
Signs Parents May Notice After Birth
Parents often know something is wrong before they know the medical name for the injury. A newborn may have one arm that looks limp, moves less, or rests in an unusual position. Sometimes the difference becomes more obvious during feeding, bathing, dressing, or pediatric follow-up visits.
- Weakness in one arm, shoulder, wrist, or hand
- Little or no movement in the affected arm
- Weak grip on one side
- Absent or reduced Moro reflex on the affected side
- Arm held against the body or rotated inward
- Difficulty bending the elbow
- Reduced sensation or response to touch
- Delayed use of the affected arm
- Need for physical or occupational therapy
- Recommendation for nerve testing, imaging, or surgical consultation
If your child shows these signs after a difficult delivery, request copies of the prenatal, labor, delivery, and neonatal records. These documents can be critical in determining whether the injury resulted from unavoidable birth trauma or from preventable negligence.
Medical Treatment and Long-Term Needs
Treatment depends on the severity of the injury. Some babies are monitored and treated with range-of-motion exercises, stretching, and physical or occupational therapy. Others may need evaluation by pediatric neurologists, orthopedic specialists, peripheral nerve surgeons, or rehabilitation specialists.
In more serious cases, treatment may include nerve grafts, nerve transfers, tendon transfers, muscle releases, splinting, braces, Botox injections, orthopedic surgery, or long-term therapy. Even when function improves, the child may face weakness, limited range of motion, pain, abnormal growth, contractures, shoulder problems, or difficulty with school and daily activities.
When a brachial plexus birth injury causes permanent impairment, the case may also involve a catastrophic injury claim because the injury can affect the child’s future independence, medical care, education, activities, and earning capacity.
How Our Lawyers Investigate a Brachial Plexus Injury Case
A strong birth injury investigation requires more than a short summary of what happened in the delivery room. Our legal team may need to reconstruct the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and neonatal course in detail.
- Prenatal records and maternal risk factors
- Ultrasound measurements and estimated fetal weight
- Gestational diabetes screening and management
- Labor progress notes and nursing documentation
- Fetal monitoring strips and timing of warning signs
- Delivery notes and shoulder dystocia documentation
- Use of forceps, vacuum extraction, or other assistance
- C-section discussions, timing, and decision-making
- Neonatal examination findings
- Pediatric neurology and orthopedic records
- Therapy records and developmental evaluations
- Expert medical opinions on standard of care and causation
These records may show whether providers identified risk factors, communicated with the family, responded appropriately to complications, used safe maneuvers, and documented the delivery accurately. They may also reveal inconsistencies between what the family was told and what actually appears in the chart.
Proving Negligence in a Chicago Brachial Plexus Birth Injury Case
To pursue a brachial plexus malpractice case, the family generally must prove that the healthcare provider owed a duty of care, violated the applicable medical standard, caused or contributed to the injury, and produced damages. In Illinois, medical malpractice cases often require expert review before filing.
Possible negligence may include failure to recognize shoulder dystocia risk, failure to offer or timely perform a C-section, excessive traction, improper use of delivery instruments, failure to follow shoulder dystocia protocols, poor documentation, or failure to respond to fetal or maternal warning signs. Some cases may also involve emergency care mistakes if the mother or baby needed urgent treatment and the hospital failed to act properly.
Damages Available for a Child With a Brachial Plexus Injury
The financial and emotional cost of a serious birth injury can be substantial. A child may need care for years, and parents may need to rearrange work, transportation, school planning, and household routines. Compensation depends on the facts, the medical prognosis, and the evidence.
- Past and future medical expenses
- Physical therapy and occupational therapy
- Specialist care and surgical treatment
- Braces, splints, adaptive devices, and medical equipment
- Pain, suffering, and loss of normal life
- Permanent weakness, scarring, or disability
- Developmental and educational support
- Future care needs
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Parent time away from work when legally recoverable
If a birth injury causes severe neurological harm, the claim may overlap with traumatic brain injury issues. If medical negligence causes a baby’s death, the family may need to consider a wrongful death claim.
Illinois Medical Malpractice Deadlines and Expert Requirements
Illinois medical malpractice cases have strict time limits and special filing requirements. Claims involving minors may have rules that differ from adult cases, but parents should never assume they have unlimited time. Evidence can disappear, memories can fade, providers may move, and legal deadlines can still bar a claim.
Illinois also requires attorney review and, in many malpractice cases, a report or affidavit from a qualified healthcare professional. This makes early investigation important. Waiting too long can make it harder to obtain records, consult experts, and protect the child’s rights.
Why Choose Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC?
Birth injury cases are highly defended. Doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies may argue that the injury was unavoidable, that the baby would have suffered the same outcome regardless of the delivery, or that the family is misunderstanding a complex medical situation. Families need a legal team prepared to investigate carefully and explain the case clearly.
Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC represents families in serious medical negligence and birth injury matters throughout Chicago and Illinois. We know these cases require medical analysis, persistence, and attention to detail. Our role is to determine what happened, identify responsible parties, preserve evidence, and pursue the compensation available under Illinois law.
You can also review information about our case results on the verdicts and settlements page. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes, because every case depends on its own facts.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brachial Plexus Birth Injury Claims
Does every brachial plexus injury mean malpractice occurred?
No. Some brachial plexus injuries may occur even with appropriate care. A legal claim depends on whether the medical team failed to meet the standard of care and whether that failure caused or worsened the injury.
What records are most important in these cases?
Prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, delivery summaries, operative reports, neonatal records, therapy records, and specialist evaluations are often critical. These records help show what providers knew, when they knew it, and how they responded.
Can shoulder dystocia cause a brachial plexus injury?
Yes. Shoulder dystocia is one of the delivery complications most commonly associated with brachial plexus injuries. The legal issue is often whether the medical team handled the emergency properly and avoided excessive traction.
What if my child improves with therapy?
Improvement is important, but it does not automatically mean there is no claim. Some children recover partially but still have weakness, limited movement, pain, or long-term functional problems. The medical prognosis should be reviewed carefully.
How much does it cost to speak with a lawyer?
The consultation with Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC is free. If we accept the case, we charge no attorney fees unless we are successful in recovering compensation.
Talk to a Chicago Brachial Plexus Birth Injury Lawyer
If your child suffered a brachial plexus injury, Erb’s palsy, Klumpke palsy, arm weakness, or loss of movement after a difficult delivery, you deserve clear answers. A hospital may not voluntarily explain whether the injury could have been prevented. A legal investigation can help your family understand what happened and what options may be available.
Contact our Chicago brachial plexus birth injury lawyers today or call 312-243-9922 for a free consultation. Sexner Injury Lawyers LLC can review your situation and help you determine whether your child’s injury may support a medical malpractice claim.
