Paralysis in Phoenix, Arizona Infants – Birth Injury Lawyers of Phillips & Associates

Paralysis describes the loss of sensation or movement in a body part, usually due to spinal cord or nerve damage. When facial or limb paralysis occurs during a baby’s birth, the injury may have been caused by medical malpractice and should be investigated. If you live in Phoenix, Arizona and your child has sustained a paralysis birth injury, the lawyers of Phillips & Associates can advise you on the proper course of action to take.

How is a Paralysis Birth Injury Caused?

When a Phoenix, Arizona doctor is found to be at fault for paralysis birth injury, our lawyers usually discover one of two underlying causes. The first is failure to take quick action during a breech (legs first) or otherwise difficult delivery. Any delay in recommending a cesarean section or other emergency action may result in loss of blood flow to the baby’s brain, thereby causing cerebral palsy and paralysis.

The second common cause of paralysis birth injury is inappropriate delivery technique that causes damage to the nerves in the arms, legs, or spinal cord. This generally occurs in the case of shoulder dystocia or any other situation in which the child is forcefully removed from the birth canal.

What Kinds of Paralysis are Caused by Medical Malpractice?

Depending on the area and extent of the baby’s birth injury, paralysis may occur in any part of the body and may vary from mild to complete paralysis. Below are some of the most common types of paralysis cases that our Phoenix, Arizona birth injury lawyers have successfully represented.

• Quadriplegia – the most severe form of paralysis, in which both legs and arms are rendered immobile. Depending on the extent of paralysis, the child might be on a ventilator as well.
• Hemiplegia – affects an arm and leg on the same side of the body.
• Diplegia – paralysis of either both arms or both legs. Diplegia of the legs is very common in many cerebral palsy cases.
• Brachial Plexus Palsy – paralysis of the brachial plexus, or area of nerves that controls the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand.
• Erb’s Palsy – a form of brachial plexus palsy that affects only the shoulder and upper arm.
• Klumpke’s Palsy – a form of brachial plexus palsy that affects only the lower arm, wrist, and hand.

Parents who have a child with paralysis or another birth injury will find that their baby will require a lifetime of medical care and physical therapy. Financial and emotional difficulties are also very common for both the parents and the child as he or she becomes an adult.

If you live in Phoenix or elsewhere in Arizona and your child suffers a birth injury, it is important to remember your rights. At first, you may not want to consult lawyers with what already seems like an overwhelming problem. However, you need to take action as soon as possible after a birth injury; lawyers are bound by the Arizona statute of limitations, and have a limited timeframe within which to form a lawsuit.

Although physical injury to your child cannot be reversed or cured, it is possible to recoup some of the financial costs of treating and raising a child with a serious birth injury. For excellent medical malpractice representation in the Phoenix, Arizona area, contact the birth injury lawyers of Phillips & Associates.

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