United Brachial Plexus Network

Hi everyone,
My heart is aching. Our lawyer called and after giving our records and our accounts of what happened during delivery to an anonymous ob, he said that the firm would not proceed with the case. He said that in the OB's opinion it would be extremely difficult to prove that the doctor was at fault.

(My story...)
My water broke around midnight (early Sunday morning). I was having contractions and given an epidural around 2pm. I was 100% effaced and dialating (with med assisstance). At 10:00 pm I started "practice pushing" as the nurse called it. My OB arrived around midnight, at this point Cole's head was coming out and then going back in...for several pushes. After pulling his hair and making a joke to "stay out", my OB (never used the word stuck)looked at me, cocked her head to the side and said, "he's coming out like this...I need to reach in and turn him." As soon as she did,(seemed to be no excessive force) Cole came out...injured.

Being told it would be difficult to prove just makes me well up with tears. I think I've been partially consoled knowing that she would have to answer to this...but now it seems it is not her fault, which makes me feel as though I am to blame.

My husband says that it is best that they were honest with us, so that we would not spend thousands more than we already have. He always says "Cole is fine. Don't worry." It is true that I am very blessed that his injury is not as bad as it could be...and he is continuing to progress (now reachin to about 105 degrees with minimal compensation), but we still have a long way to go (no supination or external rotation).

Okay...so now I'm rambling. I just wanted to share. I knew you all would understand my tears.
Nicole

If she reached in and turned him without excessive force, then it really does sound like she did the right thing.

But just because it might not be her fault does not in any way make it your fault! Childbirth is rough... the forces and compression are enough to make their little heads deform! It's always traumatic... it's just that usually it doesn't result in injury. But sometimes the baby is too large to rotate properly or they just come down "wrong" and don't pass through without help. It is what it is... I'm sure he will be OK with what happened when he grows up, and you'll eventually come to a place of peace about it, too.

*hugs*

Kate

GET ANOTHER ATTORNEY, also check your docs mal insurance policy. one reason for them to turn down cases is that a doc has little or no insurance. therefore it would not be as profitable for ur lawyer. PLEASE GET ANOTHER OPINION

p/s NOT UR FAULT!!!! u r not to blame! i am serious, with erb's i have found people/lawyers, docs/ are not always honest!

I'm curious as to how you know there was no excessive force? From the doctors notes (not always honest), or did your husband view the extraction and see her pull the baby out correctly?

Also, it's interesting to me that your attorney gave your notes to an Ob and he said you had no case. It's unfortunate but many OBs cover for other doctors.

My advise is to find an attorney well-versed in brachial plexus injury cases. A bpi attorney would most likely not need to have your notes reviewed by an ob before they take or decline your case. They would recognize the strength of your case on their own.

Second opinions are ALWAYS good whether with attorneys or doctors!

Best wishes,
Kim

Thank you for your recent responses. This has been sitting quite uneasy with me...something just doesn't seem right. (As far as the excessive force goes...it was just my observation and my husbands.)_ Actually, in her doctor's notes it said Cole was "spontaneously delivered", which I found untrue, because she needed to "reach in and turn him" in order for him to be delivered. I know this "corkscrew" method is a procedure, but I thought for this that pressure needed to be applied to my belly...which was not the case, and was not documented anyway!
One of the lawyers called today and left a message. I wonder.... I will need to decide soon about wether or not to proceed.

PS We are flying to Philly tomorrow for our appt. with Dr. Kozin on the 9th. Will anyone be there?

Nicole

We will be seeing Kozin on the 11th sorry we will miss you.

I really wanted to post because Maggie is five and I have sent her records to many lawyers over the years and they all said no case so I gave up until this past year at camp someone said to try their lawyer. We called and sent our records and he took our case. So I would say keep trying as long as your states statues arent up.

I always believed Maggie had a case and I am so happy that we finally found a lawyer.

Good luck with Dr Kozin. This will be our first visit and I hear he is a great Dr and a great person, so I cant wait.

The wood's corkscrew and rubin's manuever are bsically same basic thing, you reach in and rotate the shoulders manually it just depends on which direction you rotate the shoulders. But neither one use suprapubic pressure or fundal pressure.

I don't think it is incorrect to say that he was spontaneously delivered after being manually rotated. The rotation SHOULDN'T be to pull the baby out but just to reposition him so he can deliver spontanously.

It really doesn't sound fishy to me. I know I am completely in the minority on these boards but I do think it is possible that the natural foreces of birth CAN cause injury in a baby who descends incorrectly (ends up behind the pubic bone). I think infants CAN be predisposed to injury, perhaps from being a big baby lying in a cramped, head-laid-to-one-side position during the last weeks so that that side of the neck/shoulder is already a shortened, and thus "normal" amounts of traction CAN cause injury.

I know our midwife applied less traction to Joshua than I've seen in some other birth videos - births which resulted in NO injury yet Joshua has a permanent injury. I think that the amount of force to cause injury varies dramatically, perhaps because of pre-position in the womb or any number of other factors.

I don't say this to excuse injuries and say "well, there is nothing that can be done". I think the only thing that can - and SHOULD - be done to reduce BPI is for OB/GYNs and midwives to perform COMPLETELY traction-free deliveries and get hands-on practice with repositioning techniques that don't rely on traction at all. But until that happens, we are going to continue to see injuries because the fact is that these doctors pull MANY babies out of their mother's bodies without injury and so they naturally become convinced that it is the only way to deliver children. There needs to be a better way, that gets babies out and protects against injury.

Kate

I am not a medical doctor but, I have spent hours in research of bpi and have been around the us seeking answers [miami, boston, houston, philly] and i truly believe that bpi can and hopefully one day be a historic injury. in my opinion i think it is always a fault of the ob. misjudgment of the baby. i feel that there should be more info for the doctors to help them stop pulling, twisting or poor judgement. many docs have no malpractice insurance or little. to many docs injure numerous babies without penalty, and it is a cover up all the way. i truly believe that this injury is the docs dirty and most feared emergency. they need to learn more and more awareness need to happen before we see bpi rates lowered. most parents are told everything will be back to normal in 3 weeks with a 95% recovery. b/s really what that means is 5% will never be gained. i urge anyone to seek other opinions when turned down for a suit!

Coles Mom,

Lawyers look at cases very differently based upon many factors, including their level of experience. Brachial plexus cases are very particular and not many lawyers have enough experience to understand the medical issues. If you have not yet found a lawyer, please feel free to contact me and I will be pleased to review your case and take your case myself or help you find a properly qualified lawyer.

Concerning the previous post, it is completely incorrect for a doctor to write in the medical records that a birth was sponateous when there has been a manual rotation. The person posting the note has also confused the medicine. Manual rotation concerns the rotation of the baby prior to delivery. Manual rotation is not the Woods. Most baby's rotate in their own as they descend, but some must be manually rotated. This refers to the position of the baby prior to delivery of the head, LOA, OA, ROA. This maneuver does not relate to shoulder dystocia and is not done to displace the shoulder stuck behind the symphysis pubis. The Woods maneuver is intended to displace the shoulder and while it is a rotation, it is a much different rotation and maneuver than the rotation prior to delivery of the head. The Woods maneuver is intended to dislodge the shoulder and safely deliver the baby.

The concept of "natural forces" causing the brachial plexus injury is a myth created by doctors in an attemot to avoid liability. It is based on "reports" of deliveries where a brachial plexus injury has been reported supposedly without shoulder dystocia. To understand the myth you only read my note about the fraudulent case report where the doctor improperly claimed there was brachial plexus injury without shoulder dystocia.

Infants are not predisposed to injury and being cramped in utero will not cause a brachial plexus injury. The injury is a traction-pulling injury. There must be traction to cause the injury. A large baby in utero will not suffer a brachial plexus injury by being "cramped". The notion that a large baby will have one side of the neck "shortened" is simply nonsense.

I am concerned when I see notes with medically wrong information as someone new to this site may believe this misinformation to be true.

Ken Levine
Klevine@Klevinelaw.com
www.Klevinelaw.com
617-566-2700