Queens Brachial Plexus Injury Attorneys

Watching your newborn struggle to move one arm while the other moves freely is something no parent is prepared for. A brachial plexus injury at birth affects the network of nerves that controls movement and sensation in your baby’s shoulder, arm, and hand.

While not every brachial plexus injury results from medical negligence, these injuries frequently occur during difficult deliveries when traction is applied to the baby’s head and neck, and medical literature has long recognized the connection between the manner of delivery and the resulting nerve damage.

A Queens brachial plexus injury attorney at Finz & Finz, P.C. reviews your child’s delivery records to determine whether the medical team’s actions fell below the accepted standard of care. If your baby was diagnosed with a brachial plexus injury, Erb’s palsy, or Klumpke’s palsy after birth at a Queens hospital, contact Finz & Finz now for a free case evaluation.

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Why Do Queens Families Choose Finz & Finz for Brachial Plexus Cases?

Brachial plexus birth injury cases require a legal team that understands the biomechanics of delivery, the medical standards governing how physicians must manage difficult births, and the long-term implications of nerve damage in a newborn.

For parents who are already navigating early intervention therapies, specialist appointments, and the emotional weight of their child’s diagnosis, having a legal team that handles the investigation allows the family to focus on what matters most. Finz & Finz, P.C. has represented families in birth injury cases across New York for more than four decades.

Medical Knowledge That Matches the Complexity of These Cases

Lawyers of Distinction 2024 Justice Leonard L. Finz, a former New York State Supreme Court Justice, established the firm in 1984. Stuart L. Finz, CEO and senior trial attorney, now leads a team of four former judges, trial attorneys with significant birth injury litigation experience, and nurse consultants who review labor and delivery records with clinical training.

The firm has recovered over $1 billion in total verdicts and settlements across all practice areas. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

For families in Jamaica, Flushing, Astoria, Forest Hills, Elmhurst, Bayside, and across Queens, the firm’s network of obstetricians, neonatologists, and pediatric orthopedic specialists allows it to evaluate brachial plexus cases from both the medical and legal perspective.

How the Firm Investigates a Brachial Plexus Birth Injury

Every brachial plexus case at Finz & Finz begins with a detailed reconstruction of the delivery timeline. The goal is to understand what happened, when it happened, and whether the medical team’s response met the standard of care. The investigation includes:

Obtaining the full labor and delivery chart, including fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, physician orders, and the delivery summary documenting any complications
Reviewing prenatal records for risk factors such as fetal macrosomia (large baby), gestational diabetes, or a history of shoulder dystocia in a prior pregnancy
Engaging independent obstetricians to evaluate whether the physician applied excessive traction, used improper technique, or failed to perform the appropriate maneuvers before resorting to force
Consulting pediatric neurologists or orthopedic specialists to assess the type and severity of the nerve injury and its connection to events during delivery
Working with life care planners to project the long-term cost of therapy, potential surgeries, and any permanent limitations the child may face

Families pay nothing upfront. The firm handles brachial plexus injury cases on a contingency fee basis, and the initial case review is free.

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

What Is a Brachial Plexus Injury and How Does It Happen During Delivery?

The brachial plexus is a network of five nerves (C5 through T1) that runs from the spinal cord through the neck and into the arm. These nerves control all movement and sensation in the shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. When these nerves are damaged during delivery, the result may be weakness, loss of sensation, or paralysis in the affected arm.

According to the National Library of Medicine, brachial plexus birth injuries most commonly occur during difficult vaginal deliveries, particularly when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone, a complication known as shoulder dystocia.

How Delivery Forces May Cause Nerve Damage

During a delivery complicated by shoulder dystocia, the physician must use specific maneuvers to free the trapped shoulder. When a physician applies lateral or downward traction to the baby’s head and neck, particularly before performing the proper release maneuvers, the forces on the neck may stretch or tear the brachial plexus nerves.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that these injuries occur when the baby’s head and neck are pulled to the side during delivery of the shoulders, and that the severity depends on how much force is applied and whether the nerves are stretched, ruptured, or torn from the spinal cord.

It is worth noting that brachial plexus injuries may occasionally occur without apparent negligence, and some injuries have been reported even during cesarean deliveries. However, the majority of birth-related brachial plexus injuries are associated with the forces applied during vaginal delivery, which is why a thorough review of the delivery records is the most reliable way to determine whether the medical team’s conduct played a role.

What Are the Different Types of Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries?

The type of brachial plexus injury a newborn sustains depends on which nerves are damaged and how severely. The differences between the three main types help medical reviewers and attorneys connect the injury to specific delivery room events.

Erb’s Palsy, Klumpke’s Palsy, and Total Plexus Palsy

The three classifications of brachial plexus birth injuries correspond to different nerve root levels and produce distinct patterns of impairment:

Erb’s palsy (C5-C6) affects the upper arm and shoulder, causing the arm to hang limp with the hand rotated inward, a position sometimes described as the waiter’s tip posture, and is the most common form of brachial plexus birth injury
Klumpke’s palsy (C8-T1) affects the lower arm and hand, causing a claw hand deformity with weakness or paralysis of the wrist and fingers, and may be accompanied by Horner syndrome (drooping eyelid and smaller pupil on one side)
Total plexus palsy (C5-T1) involves damage to all five nerve roots of the brachial plexus, resulting in complete loss of movement and sensation in the entire arm, and carries the highest risk of permanent disability

The severity of each injury also varies based on the type of nerve damage. A neurapraxia (nerve stretch without tearing) often heals within weeks to months.

A rupture (nerve torn apart) may require surgical repair. An avulsion (nerve torn from the spinal cord) is the most severe form and may result in permanent impairment even with surgical intervention.

Many families find some comfort in knowing that a significant number of mild brachial plexus injuries do resolve with physical therapy over time, though the uncertainty of the early months is understandably difficult.

Signs in Your Newborn That May Indicate a Brachial Plexus Injury

Brachial plexus injuries are typically visible shortly after birth. If your baby exhibits any of the following symptoms, the delivery records may warrant review by an attorney and independent medical professionals:

One arm hangs limp at the baby’s side while the other arm moves normally
The baby holds the affected arm in an inward-rotated position with the palm facing backward
The baby lacks the Moro reflex (startle reflex) on one side but responds normally on the other
The baby’s hand curls inward with the fingers flexed in a claw-like position
The baby shows drooping of one eyelid or a smaller pupil on one side, which may accompany more severe injuries

These symptoms do not prove negligence on their own, and some brachial plexus injuries occur without any departure from the standard of care. But they do indicate that nerve damage occurred during or around the time of delivery, and a qualified medical and legal review of the delivery records is the best way to determine whether the injury may have been preventable.

What Delivery Room Errors May Cause Brachial Plexus Injuries in Queens?

When a brachial plexus injury results from a departure from the standard of care during delivery, the errors involved typically fall into recognizable categories. Families in Queens whose children sustained nerve damage during birth may recognize one or more of these patterns in their delivery experience:

Applying excessive downward or lateral traction on the baby’s head and neck rather than using gentle axial traction during delivery of the shoulders
Failing to perform the McRoberts maneuver, suprapubic pressure, or internal rotation maneuvers before applying traction when shoulder dystocia is present
Using forceps or vacuum extraction during a delivery complicated by shoulder dystocia without first attempting manual release maneuvers
Failing to recognize prenatal risk factors such as fetal macrosomia, maternal diabetes, or prior shoulder dystocia and plan accordingly for the delivery
Applying fundal pressure (pushing on the top of the uterus during delivery), which is contraindicated during shoulder dystocia because it may worsen the impaction

Not every difficult delivery that results in a brachial plexus injury involves malpractice. But when the delivery records show that the physician departed from established protocols, applied more force than the situation called for, or failed to anticipate known risk factors, the injury may reflect a failure to meet the accepted standard of care. An independent medical review is the most effective way to make that determination.

What Filing Deadlines Apply to Queens Brachial Plexus Injury Claims?

New York law sets specific deadlines for birth injury and medical malpractice claims involving children. Missing these deadlines may permanently bar the case, so families in Queens need to be aware of the applicable timelines.

Statutes and Requirements for Brachial Plexus Claims

Several overlapping filing requirements govern brachial plexus birth injury cases in New York. The specific deadlines that apply may vary depending on the circumstances of the delivery and where it occurred:

Under CPLR § 208, the infancy toll pauses the statute of limitations while the child is a minor, but medical malpractice claims are subject to a 10-year cap from the date of the malpractice under CPLR § 214-a
If the delivery occurred at a public hospital in Queens, such as a facility within NYC Health + Hospitals, a Notice of Claim must be filed within 90 days under General Municipal Law § 50-e
A certificate of merit under CPLR § 3012-a must accompany the complaint, confirming that a licensed physician reviewed the case and found a reasonable basis for the malpractice claim

The 10-year cap means that a child born in 2020 with a brachial plexus injury generally faces a filing deadline around 2030, though the specific deadline may vary depending on the circumstances, including whether continuous treatment or other tolling provisions apply.

Early legal consultation gives your family the strongest position to preserve evidence and meet all filing requirements.