If your child was born with Erb’s palsy and their injury resulted from medical negligence, you may qualify for compensation. A Fort Lauderdale birth injury lawyer with Freidin Brown, P.A. can help you pursue medical malpractice damages for you and your child.
Our law firm has over 100 years of combined legal experience that we will use to get justice for your family. Our seasoned attorneys have conducted more than 300 jury trials and won multiple verdicts in excess of $1 million. Call our office today for a free consultation and learn how we can protect your rights and future.
Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Can Seek Compensation for Erb’s Palsy
When medical providers and healthcare facilities make mistakes, the consequences for patients can be severe and life-altering. If your child suffered a birth injury due to medical malpractice, you deserve compensation to pay for their care.
Our Erb’s palsy lawyers serving Fort Lauderdale, FL, will fight for the maximum settlement or verdict possible. In general, awards may include the following:
- Medical expenses: We will seek compensation for medical treatment for Erb’s palsy as well as treatment for injuries sustained by the baby’s mother during childbirth. Medical damages may include surgeries, medications, doctor and hospital fees, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and nursing services.
- Lost income: We will pursue awards for wages, benefits, and earnings lost due to your child’s injury or the mother’s childbirth injury. If your baby’s condition will result in permanent paralysis, we can seek compensation for their lost future earning capacity.
- Pain and suffering: Pain and suffering may include monetary awards for physical pain, loss of mobility, disabling injuries, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, emotional distress, and diminished quality of life.
Why Choose Freidin Brown, P.A. to Handle Your Birth Injury Case?
Florida’s medical malpractice laws are complex, and claimants can run into many pitfalls, especially if they do not have medical or legal experience. When selecting a lawyer, you need a firm with a proven track record of handling these types of cases.
Freidin Brown, P.A. has extensive experience advocating for victims of medical negligence. We have secured million-dollar-plus verdicts in over 20 medical malpractice trials and won more than $100 million in settlements for injured children and their parents.
We Give Clients the Personalized Attention They Deserve
Freidin Brown, P.A.’s small firm advantage means we can give your claim the time and attention it deserves. Unlike large billboard law firms that take on thousands of cases, we carefully select our cases and minimize our caseload to give every client personalized legal representation tailored to their needs.
We know the details of your claim and do not automate services like some competitors. Attorney Philip Freidin oversees every case we handle, and at least two others from our team will oversee planning and strategy sessions during development. We also regularly consult with nursing and medical professionals who can provide their expertise.
We want to do everything possible to relieve your legal burden so you can focus on your child and family. When you hire us, our Erb’s palsy attorneys serving Fort Lauderdale will do the following:
- Investigate the cause of your child’s birth injury and prove it resulted from medical negligence
- Identify liable parties
- Identify and calculate your economic and non-economic damages
- Draft and file medical malpractice insurance claims
- Handle case-related emails, phone calls, and meetings
- Advocate for your best interests, protect you from undue pressure to settle for less than you deserve, and defend you from bad-faith insurance tactics
- Aggressively negotiate for the maximum compensation possible
- Prepare your case for civil court and represent you at trial if necessary
Please call our team for a free consultation. Our personal injury attorneys serve Fort Lauderdale and all of Florida. Connect with a lawyer near you.
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How to Prove Erb’s Palsy Resulted from Medical Negligence
To win your Erb’s palsy claim, you will need to present strong evidence proving your child’s injury resulted from malpractice. Doing this requires building a case based on the following four elements of medical negligence:
- Professional duty of care: Establishing a professional duty of care means showing that a doctor/patient relationship existed between you and the provider, and they, therefore, had a legal obligation to treat you (or your child) according to the medical community’s accepted standards.
- Breach of duty: A doctor breaches their duty of care when they treat patients in a manner most other physicians would not find reasonable. A breach can also include a failure to provide treatment or address complications.
- Causation: You must show that your child’s Erb’s palsy injury resulted from the provider’s breach of duty and would not have occurred with proper treatment.
- Damages: You must demonstrate that the birth injury caused your child and family pain and suffering and financial losses.
Our Erb’s palsy lawyers serving Fort Lauderdale can collect, analyze, and employ the following evidence to prove medical malpractice and support your claim for compensation:
- Medical records
- Doctor’s treatment notes
- Laboratory tests and ultrasound images
- Medical and scientific research
- Eyewitness statements
- Expert testimony
- Bills, estimates, receipts, pay stubs, and other proof of your losses
Causes of Erb’s Palsy Birth Injuries
Erb’s palsy is a nerve condition that affects the shoulder and arm and causes weakness and loss of muscle function. It is the most common type of brachial plexus palsy, also known as Erb-Duchenne paralysis.
Erb’s palsy injuries occur during childbirth, often due to difficult or complicated deliveries. Factors that increase the risk of Erb’s palsy include:
- Prolonged labor
- Breech or other abnormal birth presentation
- High infant birth weight and high maternal weight
- Incompatibility between the baby’s size and the mother’s pelvis
- Birth involving twins or multiples
- Use of medications like oxytocin or an epidural during labor
- Use of forceps or vacuums
- Failure to order a cesarean section when necessary
Treatment for Erb’s Palsy
Babies who suffer from Erb’s palsy may need surgery to repair damaged nerves of muscles. Regaining full motor function may also require physical therapy and rehabilitation.
With treatment, many children with an Erb’s palsy birth injury recover. Without medical care, children may experience lifelong paralysis of the shoulder.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Erb’s Palsy and Medical Malpractice
Our firm can answer common questions you may have about Erb’s palsy claims and medical malpractice cases, like the following:
How Long Do You Have to Pursue a Fort Lauderdale Erb’s Palsy Malpractice Claim?
According to Florida Statutes § 95.11 (4)(c), you generally have two years from the date you discover your child sustained a birth injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit; however, there are many exceptions and you should always first speak with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to help calculate how much time you have to file suit. If the statute of limitations expires, the court will likely refuse your Erb’s palsy case.
What Is the Average Medical Malpractice Settlement?
Because every case is unique, there is no “average” settlement for medical malpractice cases. How much compensation you can recover for Erb’s palsy will depend on various factors, including:
- The severity of your child’s injury
- Whether or not your child will experience permanent loss of mobility and function due to the injured or torn nerve
- The cost of your child’s medical treatment and follow-up care
- The amount of work/income missed due to caring for your child
- Whether or not the child’s mother also suffered an injury during childbirth
- The extent of your child’s and family’s pain and suffering
Will My Erb’s Palsy Case Go to Court?
The majority of medical malpractice cases settle outside of court through insurance negotiations. However, if necessary, our firm will not back down from pursuing a lawsuit. Our team includes two Board-Certified civil trial attorneys, so we are prepared no matter what comes our way.
Contact an Erb’s Palsy Lawyer With Freidin Brown, P.A. Today
At Freidin Brown, P.A., we understand that a birth injury is one of the most devastating things a family can face. We want to help you get justice for the negligent treatment that harmed your child and make doing so as easy and stress-free for you as possible. Let us handle your case so you can focus on caring for your loved ones.
Our Erb’s palsy lawyers serving Fort Lauderdale, FL, can take your case on contingency, meaning you pay no attorney fees until we obtain compensation. Call us 24/7 for a free consultation.