Brooklyn Shoulder Dystocia Lawyers

What Happens During Shoulder Dystocia

Shoulder dystocia occurs when an infant’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone during vaginal delivery. The baby’s head delivers normally, but the body does not follow. This creates a time-sensitive situation that requires a specific, sequenced medical response.

The condition is not rare, and obstetric teams are trained to recognize and manage it. The concern arises not from the emergency itself, but from how the delivery team responds to it.

The Established Response Sequence

Medical guidelines outline a series of maneuvers that delivery teams are trained to perform when shoulder dystocia is identified. These steps follow a recognized order.

The standard maneuver sequence includes:

The McRoberts maneuver, which involves repositioning the mother’s legs to widen the pelvic opening

Suprapubic pressure, where a member of the team applies targeted pressure above the mother’s pubic bone to help free the infant’s shoulder

Rotational maneuvers, such as the Woods or Rubin technique, which involve carefully rotating the infant’s shoulder to release it from behind the bone

Delivery of the posterior arm, a technique used when earlier maneuvers do not resolve the dystocia

Repositioning the mother, including moving to hands and knees, as a last step before considering other interventions

These maneuvers follow a deliberate order. Each step is designed to resolve the situation with the least amount of force and risk. When providers skip steps, apply excessive traction to the infant’s head or neck, or fail to call for additional support, the risk of injury rises significantly.

Finz and Finz accident and medical malpractice attorneys in New York and Long Island

When Shoulder Dystocia Leads to Preventable Injury

Not every shoulder dystocia results in injury. Many deliveries involving this complication proceed without lasting harm when the medical team follows the established protocol. The legal question in these cases is specific: did the delivery team respond appropriately, or did their actions fall below the accepted standard of care?

Several patterns of provider error appear frequently in Brooklyn shoulder dystocia cases.

Excessive Traction During Delivery

Top 10 Personal Injury Attorney, Attoneys and Practice Magazines Badge The most common allegation in these claims involves a provider applying too much downward force on the infant’s head and neck while attempting to free the shoulder. This type of traction places direct pressure on the brachial plexus, a network of nerves running from the neck through the shoulder and into the arm. Damage to these nerves may result in partial or complete loss of arm function.

Failure to Anticipate the Risk

Certain pregnancy and labor characteristics increase the likelihood of shoulder dystocia. When providers do not account for known risk factors during delivery planning, they may be unprepared when the emergency occurs. A delivery team that is not prepared to execute the standard maneuver sequence quickly and correctly faces a higher chance of causing injury through improvised or excessive force.

Delay in Escalation

Shoulder dystocia demands a rapid, coordinated team response. When the delivering physician does not call for additional help immediately, or when nursing staff are not positioned to assist with maneuvers, valuable time is lost. Delays in escalation may lead to prolonged compression and a higher risk of nerve damage or oxygen deprivation.

Why Choose Finz & Finz, P.C. for a Brooklyn Shoulder Dystocia Case?

Understanding how these injuries happen is only part of the picture. Determining whether proper medical procedures were followed requires a detailed legal and medical review, and not every firm has the infrastructure to do that work.

Cheri Finz Finz & Finz, P.C. has handled complex birth injury and medical malpractice cases across New York since 1984. Our founder, former New York State Supreme Court Justice Leonard L. Finz, built this firm to take on cases where families face institutional defendants with significant legal resources. CEO and senior trial attorney Stuart L. Finz has continued that mission, leading a team that includes four former judges and trial lawyers with deep experience in medical litigation.

Our record of more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements reflects decades of preparation and persistence across thousands of cases. For shoulder dystocia claims specifically, we retain obstetricians and neonatologists to review delivery records and provide testimony about the standard of care.

Direct Attorney Involvement From Day One

Every Brooklyn shoulder dystocia lawyer at our firm works directly with the families we represent. We do not delegate birth injury cases to junior staff or refer them elsewhere. From the initial review of delivery records through resolution, families receive consistent, personal attention.

Consultations are always free and confidential. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis, meaning there is no cost to the family unless we recover compensation. Contact our team to schedule an initial case review.

Injuries That Result From Improper Shoulder Dystocia Management

The injuries associated with shoulder dystocia are specific and well-documented in medical literature. From a legal perspective, the type and severity of injury help establish what happened during delivery and whether the provider’s response was appropriate.

Brachial Plexus Injuries and Erb’s Palsy

National Association of Distinguished Counsel 2023 The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that controls movement and sensation in the arm and hand. When excessive lateral traction is applied to an infant’s head during a shoulder dystocia delivery, these nerves may stretch, tear, or rupture.

Erb’s palsy, the most common form of brachial plexus injury, affects the upper nerves and typically presents as weakness or paralysis in the infant’s shoulder and upper arm. Some cases resolve with time and therapy. Others involve permanent nerve damage that affects the child’s arm function for life. The severity depends on the extent of nerve involvement and whether the damage is a stretch, a tear, or a complete rupture.

Hypoxic Brain Injury

In prolonged shoulder dystocia cases, the infant may experience reduced oxygen flow during the time the shoulder remains lodged. If the delivery is not completed quickly enough, oxygen deprivation may lead to brain injury. These cases are less common but carry the most significant long-term consequences.

How Brooklyn Shoulder Dystocia Lawyers at Finz & Finz, P.C. Evaluate These Cases

Birth injury claims involving shoulder dystocia require a detailed reconstruction of the delivery. Our attorneys approach each case by working backward from the injury to determine exactly what happened in the delivery room and whether the medical team followed accepted protocols.

Obstetric Record Review

Labor and delivery records contain critical information about the timing and sequence of events. Nursing notes document when shoulder dystocia was recognized, what maneuvers were attempted, and how long the delivery took from that point forward. Physician notes describe the techniques used and the order in which they were performed.

america's top 100 high stakes litigators Our team reviews these records with obstetric professionals who evaluate whether the documented response matches the standard of care. Gaps in documentation, such as missing notes about which maneuvers were attempted or how much traction was applied, often become significant points in the analysis.

Identifying Risk Factors That Were Known Before Delivery

Certain conditions increase the likelihood of shoulder dystocia. When these risk factors are present and documented in the prenatal record, the delivery team has an obligation to prepare accordingly.

Risk factors that may appear in the medical record include:

An above-average estimated fetal weight, often identified through ultrasound measurements during the third trimester
Maternal gestational diabetes, which may contribute to increased fetal size
History of shoulder dystocia in a prior delivery, which significantly raises the probability of recurrence
Prolonged labor or failure to progress, which may indicate difficulty with vaginal delivery
Maternal obesity, which is associated with higher rates of delivery complications

When these indicators are present and the delivery team does not adjust its approach, the failure to prepare becomes part of the legal analysis. Our Brooklyn shoulder dystocia lawyers work with obstetric professionals to evaluate whether the delivery plan accounted for known risks.

Brooklyn’s Delivery Landscape and Shoulder Dystocia Risk

Brooklyn’s labor and delivery units handle a significant share of New York City’s births. Maimonides Medical Center, NYU Langone Brooklyn, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, and Kings County Hospital each operate high-volume maternity departments serving families across the borough.

The New York State Department of Health tracks maternal and neonatal outcomes at these facilities. The borough’s teaching hospitals, including SUNY Downstate and Kings County, involve residents and fellows in labor and delivery care. The level of attending physician supervision during these deliveries varies, and when residents manage shoulder dystocia without adequate oversight, the risk of protocol deviation may increase.

Families in neighborhoods from Flatbush to Park Slope and Crown Heights to Bay Ridge rely on these institutions for prenatal and delivery care. The NYC Health + Hospitals system, which includes Kings County, serves a large proportion of Brooklyn’s Medicaid-covered births.

New York’s Filing Deadline for Birth Injury Claims

Under CPLR § 214-a, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice in New York is two years and six months from the date of the alleged malpractice. For birth injury claims involving a child, CPLR § 208 may extend the filing deadline. New York tolls the statute of limitations for infants, meaning the clock may not begin running until the child reaches the age of majority. However, claims against public hospitals like Kings County still require a Notice of Claim within 90 days.

These overlapping deadlines make early consultation with a Brooklyn shoulder dystocia lawyer important for preserving the family’s legal options.

FAQs for Brooklyn Shoulder Dystocia Claims

Shoulder dystocia is a specific obstetric emergency where the infant’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone after the head has delivered. A difficult delivery may involve prolonged labor or other challenges but does not necessarily involve this particular obstruction. The distinction matters because shoulder dystocia triggers a defined set of medical protocols.

Providers sometimes describe brachial plexus injuries as unavoidable complications of shoulder dystocia. In many cases, an independent review of the delivery records reveals whether proper maneuvers were followed and whether excessive force was applied. The determination of whether the injury was preventable requires medical analysis, not just the delivering physician’s account.

The labor and delivery record contains timestamped nursing notes, physician documentation, fetal monitoring strips, and sometimes operative reports. Attorneys work with obstetric professionals who review this documentation and evaluate whether the delivery team’s response matched the accepted standard of care. Gaps or inconsistencies in the record often become central to the analysis.

It depends on the employment relationship and the facts. If the delivering physician is a hospital employee, the hospital may share liability. If the physician is an independent contractor, the analysis is more complex. Claims may also involve nursing staff, residents, or the hospital’s supervision and training practices. Each party’s responsibility is evaluated separately.

Some brachial plexus injuries improve over time with therapy, while others involve permanent nerve damage. The long-term prognosis depends on the severity and type of nerve involvement. A legal claim may account for both current treatment needs and potential future care. Medical evaluation of the child’s condition and trajectory is part of the case assessment.

Your Child’s Delivery Record Holds the Answers

The details of what happened during your child’s birth are documented in records that a Brooklyn shoulder dystocia lawyer at Finz & Finz, P.C. is prepared to review. Our team works with obstetric professionals to reconstruct the delivery timeline, evaluate whether protocols were followed, and determine if the injury was preventable.

There is no cost for an initial consultation, and our contingency fee structure means the family pays nothing unless we recover compensation. If your child was injured during a shoulder dystocia delivery at a Brooklyn hospital, we are ready to review the records and explain your options.

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