Baby suffers with Erb's Palsy following excessive force at birth

Sally (name changed to protect client confidentiality)

The Incident

Sally is a young girl who sustained an Erb’s palsy injury. She was almost completely paralysed in her right arm and required intensive physiotherapy, particularly from her mother, for the first 8 months of her life. Sally then started to use her arm more frequently but continued to experience weakness in her arm. She had difficulty with dressing, brushing her hair and lifting heavy objects and suffered numbness and aching in her arm and shoulder. Sally was also not able to put her right hand behind her head.

The Case

Although Sally sustained an injury at her birth, it was not clear whether this was an Erb’s Palsy injury that could have been avoided. Having obtained the medical records, expert evidence was sought from a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist. His expert opinion was that excessive traction had been applied during Sally’s assisted instrumental delivery. The medical records also noted the right arm was anterior at the time of delivery which is often a sign that an Erb’s Palsy injury is more likely to have been caused by inappropriate actions from medical staff. Further, there was a relatively lengthy final stage of labour where Sally was born about 8 minutes after delivery of the head. Excessive traction was likely to have been greater along with the time it took for the delivery to be performed.

The Outcome

The claim was not defended by the Hospital and it was possible to reach a negotiated settlement that was also approved by the Court. This ensured Sally was appropriately compensated for the Erb’s palsy injury which she had sustained at birth.