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Erb's Palsy

Erb's Palsy (Brachial Plexus Injury) Explained
Erb's Palsy (also known as Brachial Palsy and Erb-Duchenne palsy) is a paralysis of the arm (loss of movement or weakness) from damage to the brachial plexus nerves that is most often due to injuries that result from the birthing process. Most often, the injury is the result of shoulder dystocia in the process of an abnormal or difficult birthing process. Erb's Palsy can often be prevented when certain precautions are employed by physicians and their staff at the hospital.

What Causes Erb’s Palsy?
As mentioned above, Erb's Palsy is almost always brought about during a difficult labor and delivery. The physician pulling the head or the neck of an infant to the side when the shoulders are passing through the birth canal can lead to damage to the brachial plexus or Erb's Palsy. Another cause of this injury is from pulling on the shoulder too much in the course of a breech delivery. Pressure on the infant's raised arms in the course of a breech delivery can also cause Erb's Palsy. Such an injury can occur to adults as well arising out of a fall onto the side of the head and the shoulder.

Certain risk factors increase the chance of a difficult delivery resulting in Erb’s palsy, including labor that is prolonged, a breech birth, larger baby size, labor that is induced, the position of the fetus in the birthing canal, a prior shoulder dystocia childbirth, or a small pelvic outlet of the mother.

The symptoms of Erb's Palsy are usually obvious and are observable right after birth or shortly thereafter. Erb's Palsy is characterized by partial or complete paralysis. The resulting nerve damage can be minor to severe, minor bruising to complete tearing. The more common symptoms of Erb’s palsy include a lack of a startle reflex (absent Moro reflex), a flexed arm at the elbow and held directly against the body, limited grip strength, and no spontaneous movement in the arm or hand. If the injury to the brachial plexus is severe, a droopy eyelid can be present on the affected side.

Erb's Palsy occurring during childbirth can affect development and often results in stunted growth in the arm, leaving smaller the shoulder all the way down through fingertips, and causing impaired muscular, nervous and circulatory development. Impaired muscular development results in arm weakness and can result in the inability to lift the arm above the shoulder and result in a contracture of the elbow. The impaired circulatory system development can result in a lack of ability of the arm to regulate its temperature, causing difficulties during cold months. The circulatory system damage also reduces skin healing ability and a propensity for arm infections following cuts without aggressive sterilization. This can present difficulty due to the higher frequency of childhood injuries. The damage to the nervous system can often be the most severe problem arising out of Erb's Palsy.

The paralysis resulting from Erb's Palsy will sometimes resolve itself after a period of time. If the damage to the brachial nerves is severe, however, it can result in the need for physical therapy or possibly surgery.

The parents of a child who has suffered a birth injury often have many immediate questions. Answers to some of your most important questions can be found right here on this website. For more information, you should also download our FREE book, "The Truth About Medical Malpractice Claims, The Ultimate Guide to Medical Malpractice Cases in Missouri and Kansas."

The lawyers at Kansas City Accident Injury Attorneys have been representing victims of medical malpractice including birth injuries for more than 15 years. We are proud to offer FREE consultation with no obligation for the potential victims of medical malpractice and their families. If you believe that your infant may have been injured due to medical negligence, contact our experienced team of medical malpractice lawyers at (816) 471-5111 and we will evaluate your case for free. If we determine that your case has merit, we will fight aggressively and tirelessly to obtain the compensation that your family deserves for your infant's birth injuries.

We understand that birth injuries can be devastating and our Missouri and Kansas birth injury law firm will bring more than 15 years of experience and knowledge and compassion to your case.

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