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Home  >  Articles  >  Brachial Plexus Injuries

Brachial Plexus Injuries

The nerves that control the movement and feeling in your arm originate from the spinal column. The bundle of nerves called the brachial plexus connects to your spinal cord and stretches up and over your shoulder and down your arm, all the way to the fingers. Thus, when this nerve bundle is injured, it can affect the entire arm.

While brachial plexus injuries frequently occur in contact sport accidents, motor vehicle wrecks, and other such incidences, they can also occur to babies during the delivery process through a condition called shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs when an infant’s anterior shoulder gets caught against the mother’s pubic bone.

Normally, specialized maneuvering can help the baby slip out unharmed. However, if the doctors or medical staff assisting in delivery act too aggressively or with too much force, it can pull too strongly at the shoulder, tweaking or tearing the brachial plexus.

Palsies Caused by Harm to the Brachial Plexus

Thankfully, many brachial plexus injuries heal on their own, and the temporary loss of feeling or motion in the arm goes away after a few days or months. However, when the nerves are torn or pulled too hard, it can cause permanent damage. Two lifelong injuries that can occur in such cases are called Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy.

The two palsies differ only in the area of the nerves that are affected. With Erb’s palsy, the nerves controlling the upper part of the arm are damaged. This can prevent a person from having the ability to lift his or her arm. Klumpke’s palsy affects the lower part of the arm, which can result in a person losing the ability to make a fist or control wrist movements.

You should be able to trust your doctor and his or her medical staff to deliver your baby with care. However, if your physician fails in his or her duty to you, your precious newborn may be left with permanent disabilities.

Contact Us

If a brachial plexus injury has occurred to you or someone you know, you should speak to an attorney about your legal options. For more information regarding medical malpractice, contact the experienced New Jersey birth injuries attorneys of Levinson Axelrod, P.A., today by calling 800-346-5529.