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Rhinelander Birth Injury Lawyer

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is a form of brachial plexus palsy. It is a birth injury that leads to weakness in a newborn baby’s arm.

Erb’s Palsy is caused by a stretch injury to the brachial plexus, a network of nerves near the neck that give rise to all the nerves in the arm. This branch of nerves provides movement and feeling to the arm, hand, and fingers. 1-2 of every 1,000 babies born has this condition. The vast majority of infants will recover both movement and feeling in the arm. During the treatment and recovery stages, parents must be watchful and also active participants to ensure maximum recovery.

This type of injury occurs during a difficult delivery such as one involving a large baby, a breech baby, or a prolonged labor. Erb’s Palsy may also happen when the person assisting the labor must deliver the baby quickly and exert some force to pull the baby from the birth canal.

There are four main types of Erb’s Palsy. An infant may have one of these or a combination of the four types. They all stem from stretch injuries.

• Shock: This is the most common injury. The nerve is not torn, it is merely shocked. This injury also heals on its own.
• Scar Tissue: The nerves are damaged in a way that creates scar tissue. The scar tissue presses on the remaining healthy nerves. There is generally some recovery that occurs although generally not 100%.
• Rupture: The stretching causes a complete or even partial tear in the nerves. This injury will not heal on its own and might not be possible to repair. If it is repairable, the surgery will use a grafted nerve from somewhere else in the baby’s body to fix the problem.
• Avulsion: This is the most serious form of Erb’s Palsy. In this case, the nerves are torn completely from the spinal cord. It is not possible, at this time, to repair this form of injury.

If your baby has been diagnosed with Erb’s Palsy due to an injury during birth, contact the Rhinelander birth injury lawyers of Habush, Habush, & rottier, S.C. at 1-800-369-5990 to discuss your case and to schedule an initial consultation.