Houston Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyer

Trusted Legal Representation for Preventable Birth Injuries

Understanding the Severity of Brachial Plexus Injuries

A brachial plexus injury involves damage to the network of nerves sending signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand, often resulting in paralysis or loss of function. When these nerves are stretched, compressed, or torn during delivery, the physical consequences can range from temporary weakness to permanent paralysis of the affected limb.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the brachial plexus is formed by nerve roots branching from the cervical and upper thoracic spine. Because this nerve network controls nearly all movement and sensation in the upper extremity, even partial damage can significantly affect a child’s ability to use their arm and hand. Our attorneys know that the location and severity of the tear dictate the prognosis.

The severity of the injury depends on how the nerves were damaged. Neurapraxia, a mild stretching of the nerve without tearing, often resolves on its own within weeks or months as the inflammation subsides. At the opposite end of the spectrum, an avulsion, where the nerve root is completely torn away from the spinal cord, typically causes permanent loss of function and may not be surgically repairable. This distinction is critical because while some infants recover full mobility, others face lifelong disabilities requiring extensive intervention.

Injury Type	What Happens	Severity
Neurapraxia	The nerve is stretched but not torn	Mildest; often heals on its own
Neuroma	Scar tissue forms on a partially healed nerve, pressing on healthy tissue	Moderate; may require treatment
Rupture	The nerve is torn but not at the spinal cord	Serious; often requires surgical repair
Avulsion	The nerve root is torn completely from the spinal cord	Most severe; may cause permanent paralysis

Understanding the type and extent of nerve damage is essential for both medical treatment planning and evaluating the long-term impact on your child’s life. In severe cases, the financial and emotional costs can extend across a lifetime, necessitating resources for adaptive technologies, specialized therapy, and long-term assistance.

Types of Conditions Associated with Brachial Plexus Trauma

Two specific diagnoses, Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, are commonly linked to brachial plexus birth injuries. These conditions involve damage to the nerve network during the delivery process. Erb’s palsy typically causes weakness or limited mobility in the shoulder and upper arm. A child with this condition may hold the affected arm against their body and have difficulty lifting or rotating it.

Klumpke’s palsy, which involves the lower nerves of the brachial plexus, primarily affects the forearm, wrist, and hand. This condition is less common but can result in a loss of grip strength and fine motor control. In some cases, a child may experience both conditions simultaneously, depending on the extent of the nerve damage sustained during delivery.

Common Causes of Preventable Birth Injuries in Texas

Most preventable brachial plexus injuries occur when medical staff fail to manage complications like shoulder dystocia or large fetal size, leading to excessive traction on the infant’s head during delivery.

Shoulder dystocia, a complication where the baby’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone after the head has been delivered, is the most common precursor to brachial plexus injuries. This is a recognized obstetric emergency. When it occurs, the delivering physician must act quickly and use specific techniques to free the infant without applying dangerous force.

The problem arises when a provider resorts to excessive lateral traction, meaning they pull too hard or at an improper angle on the baby’s head to deliver the shoulder. This force can stretch or tear the delicate nerves of the brachial plexus. In many cases we review, the injury could have been avoided with proper technique or earlier intervention. Our birth injury lawyers can identify when these actions cross the line into medical malpractice.

Improper use of extraction tools like forceps or vacuum extractors can also contribute to nerve damage. These instruments, when applied with too much force or at the wrong angle, place additional strain on the infant’s head and neck during an already difficult delivery.

Another common factor involves the failure to recommend or perform a Cesarean section (C-section) when risk factors were present before labor began. If prenatal evaluations indicated a large baby, gestational diabetes, or a breech birth, the delivering team has a responsibility to weigh the risks of vaginal delivery against the safety of a surgical alternative. Ignoring these warning signs can suggest negligence if the child suffers harm as a result.

Red flags that our brachial plexus injury attorneys examine in delivery room cases include:

• Documented evidence of a large-for-gestational-age fetus without a revised delivery plan
• Shoulder dystocia lasting longer than 60 seconds without recognized maneuvers being attempted
• Use of forceps or vacuum extraction during a complicated delivery
• Failure to call for additional help or escalate care when dystocia occurred
• No documented discussion of C-section despite known risk factors
• Excessive traction noted or implied in delivery records

As your Houston brachial plexus injury lawyer, our role is to reconstruct what happened in the delivery room and identify where the standard of care may have been violated. Our team, which includes experienced nurses and former defense attorneys, knows how to read between the lines of medical charting and identify gaps that point to preventable errors.

Proving Medical Negligence in Brachial Plexus Cases

To prove negligence, a plaintiff must demonstrate that the healthcare provider deviated from the accepted standard of care, directly causing the infant’s injury, often through expert testimony and medical record analysis. This process establishes liability and confirms that the harm was not an unavoidable consequence of childbirth.

The standard of care refers to the level of treatment a reasonably competent medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances. In a delivery room setting, this means the attending physician should have recognized risk factors, responded appropriately to complications like shoulder dystocia, and used accepted techniques to safely deliver the baby. When a doctor fails to meet this benchmark, questions of preventability arise.

Proving a deviation from this standard is not something families are expected to do on their own. Texas law under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code Chapter 74 requires that medical malpractice claims be supported by a qualified expert who can speak to what the standard of care required and how the provider failed to meet it.

Here is a general overview of how our medical malpractice attorneys build these cases:

1. Obtain and review all medical records. We collect prenatal records, labor and delivery notes, fetal monitoring strips, nursing charts, and neonatal documentation. Texas patients have the right to access their records, as outlined by the Texas Medical Board.
2. Identify the breach. Our in-house medical staff analyzes the records to pinpoint where clinical decisions deviated from accepted protocols.
3. Retain qualified expert witnesses. We work with board-certified obstetricians and specialists who can testify about what a competent provider should have done. Their testimony is critical for connecting the provider’s conduct to the injury.
4. Establish causation. The expert must connect the provider’s specific actions or omissions to the child’s nerve injury, ruling out alternative causes. This step is vital to survive legal challenges from defense counsel.
5. Document the full impact. We build a complete picture of how the injury affects the child’s daily life, future development, and the family’s financial reality.

Because we prepare every case as if it will go to trial, the evidence package we assemble sends a clear message to defense counsel and insurers that we are ready to present the case to a jury if a fair resolution cannot be reached. Our founder, Tommy Hastings, is an ABOTA inductee who uses this trial-ready mindset to handle complex birth trauma litigation. We prepare every case to stand up in court, ensuring no detail is overlooked during the investigation.

Unique Considerations for Shoulder Dystocia Claims

Shoulder dystocia cases, which occur when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during delivery, involve specific clinical protocols that are well-documented in obstetric training. Medical providers must follow specific protocols when a baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during birth. The McRoberts maneuver, which involves flexing the mother’s legs sharply toward her abdomen to widen the pelvic opening, is typically the first-line response.

If the McRoberts maneuver does not work, providers are trained to attempt additional delivery protocols such as suprapubic pressure, delivery of the posterior arm, or repositioning the mother. What we evaluate is whether these maneuvers were attempted, in what order, how much time passed, and whether excessive force was used instead of following established protocols. The absence of documented maneuvers, or evidence that a provider relied on brute traction rather than technique, can be strong evidence of a breach in the standard of care.

Recoverable Damages for Families of Injured Infants

Families may recover compensation for past and future medical expenses, physical therapy, surgical costs, lost earning capacity for the child, and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

When a child sustains a brachial plexus injury due to medical negligence, the financial consequences often extend far beyond the initial hospitalization. Severe cases involving a rupture, where the nerve is torn but not at the spinal cord, or a neuroma, where scar tissue compresses healthy nerve fibers, may require nerve surgery, reconstructive procedures, and years of follow-up care.

The goal of compensation for birth injuries is to ensure your child has access to every resource they need, both now and throughout their life. Our team works with life care planning professionals whose qualifications align with the certification standards recognized by rehabilitation medicine research (PubMed) to project the full scope of future needs. A complete life care plan accounts for every aspect of living with a disability, from daily therapies to home modifications.

Economic Damages:

• Past and future medical expenses, including hospitalizations, surgeries, and specialist visits
• Physical therapy and occupational therapy costs over the child’s lifetime
• Nerve surgery and reconstructive procedures
• Adaptive equipment and assistive devices
• Lost wages for parents who must reduce work hours to provide care
• Lost future earning capacity if the child’s disability limits their ability to work as an adult

Non-Economic Damages:

• The child’s physical pain and suffering
• Mental anguish experienced by both the child and parents
• Loss of enjoyment of life and diminished quality of life
• Disfigurement or physical impairment

In brachial plexus settlements and verdicts, the value of a case depends heavily on the severity of the nerve damage and whether the child faces a lifetime of limited mobility. Permanent injuries that require ongoing care and restrict the child’s independence typically carry significantly higher valuations than injuries that resolve with therapy alone.

Texas Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Claims

In Texas, medical malpractice claims typically have a two-year statute of limitations, but cases involving minors under 12 may allow tolling until the child reaches age 14, though strict statutes of repose still apply.

Under Texas law, the time limit for birth injury lawsuits generally requires that a claim be filed within two years of the date the injury occurred or was reasonably discovered. For adult patients, missing this window typically bars the claim entirely.

Because a minor cannot file a lawsuit on their own behalf, Texas law “tolls,” or pauses, the statute of limitations for children injured before age 12. This generally gives the child’s parents or legal guardians until the child’s 14th birthday to file a claim. This tolling provision recognizes that children should not be penalized for their parents’ failure to act immediately.

A strict hard limit exists that many families may not know about. Texas has a 10-year statute of repose, which acts as an absolute cutoff. Regardless of when the injury is discovered or whether the child is still a minor, no medical malpractice claim can be filed more than 10 years after the date the negligent act occurred.

Waiting too long can also harm your case in practical ways. Medical records may be harder to obtain, key witnesses may become unavailable, and memories fade. Even if your child’s deadline appears to be years away, consulting with an attorney early helps preserve critical evidence and gives your legal team the time needed to build the strongest possible case.

If you are unsure whether your child’s claim is still within the filing window, we encourage you to reach out for a free evaluation as soon as possible.

Contact the Houston Birth Injury Attorneys at Hastings Law Firm Today for Help

Your child’s future care depends on securing the right resources, and your family deserves to know what happened during delivery. Our team is here to help you understand your legal rights after a birth injury. At Hastings Law Firm, our entire team is dedicated to one area of law: medical malpractice. We exist to restore trust for families who have been let down by the healthcare system and to hold negligent providers accountable so the same mistakes are not repeated.

As your Houston brachial plexus injury lawyer, we handle every aspect of the legal process while you focus on your child. Our founder, Tommy Hastings, is Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a credential held by fewer than 2% of attorneys in Texas.

Our consultations are free, and we provide a confidential evaluation of your child’s medical records. You pay no attorney fees or costs unless we recover compensation on your behalf. If you believe your child’s brachial plexus injury was preventable, contact Hastings Law Firm today for the answers your family deserves.