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For any parent, nothing is more devastating than learning that their newborn suffered a preventable injury at birth. Among the most serious and life-altering birth injuries are brachial plexus injuries—nerve injuries that can impair movement, strength, and sensation in a baby’s arm, shoulder, or hand. While some cases resolve with therapy, others result in lifelong paralysis or disability.
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., our attorneys represent families throughout Arizona—from Phoenix and Tucson to Flagstaff, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, and beyond—whose children have suffered brachial plexus injuries due to medical negligence. With decades of experience in complex birth injury cases, we work tirelessly to hold healthcare providers accountable and to secure the financial resources families need for treatment, therapy, and long-term care.
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The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that begins at the spinal cord in the neck and runs through the shoulder, controlling movement and sensation in the shoulder, arm, and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched, compressed, or torn.
In newborns, this usually happens during difficult deliveries when the baby’s shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone—a complication known as shoulder dystocia. If too much force is applied during delivery, the delicate nerves can be injured.
According to leading neurological specialists, there are several distinct types of brachial plexus injuries, ranging from mild stretching of the nerves to complete detachment from the spinal cord.
The most severe type, where the nerve is completely torn away from the spinal cord. No natural recovery is possible.
The nerve is torn, but not at the spinal cord level. Surgical repair may be required, though outcomes are often limited.
The nerve is stretched but not torn. This is the most common type of brachial plexus injury and usually heals with therapy.
The axons within the nerve are damaged, but the surrounding structures remain intact. Recovery is possible but slow and incomplete.
The entire nerve is severed. Prognosis is very poor without advanced surgical intervention.
A growth of scar tissue forms around a damaged nerve, preventing full regeneration. Depending on the percentage of axons affected, recovery may be partial or limited.
Affecting the upper brachial plexus nerves, leading to weakness or paralysis in the shoulder and upper arm.
Affecting the lower nerves, often leading to weakness or paralysis in the wrist, hand, and fingers.
Brachial plexus injuries most often occur in the context of difficult or mismanaged deliveries. Common causes include:
This occurs when the baby’s shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone after the head has been delivered. To resolve dystocia, doctors may attempt specific maneuvers, but if they use excessive force on the head, neck, or shoulders, brachial plexus nerves can be damaged.
Babies weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces are at higher risk for shoulder dystocia and related injuries. Physicians should recognize this risk, especially in mothers with gestational diabetes, and consider whether a C-section is safer.
When babies are delivered feet-first or buttocks-first, their arms can be stretched overhead or compressed in awkward positions, putting the brachial plexus nerves at risk.
Forceps and vacuum extractors are sometimes necessary to assist with delivery, but misuse or excessive force can damage the brachial plexus.
If doctors fail to order a timely cesarean section despite obvious risk factors—such as large fetal size, prolonged labor, or signs of distress—the baby may suffer avoidable trauma during vaginal delivery.
In many cases, brachial plexus injuries are the result of doctors using too much traction on the baby’s head or neck during delivery, or failing to follow established safety protocols for high-risk labors.
The signs of a brachial plexus injury are often visible soon after birth. These may include:
Doctors can confirm the injury through physical examinations and imaging studies, including MRIs, CT scans, or nerve conduction tests.
The long-term effects of brachial plexus injuries depend on their severity:
These physical consequences often come with emotional and financial costs for families. Children may require:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that lifetime costs of caring for a child with a severe birth injury can reach into the tens of millions of dollars.
Brachial plexus birth injury claims require a careful review of the labor and delivery timeline, shoulder dystocia response, delivery maneuvers, fetal monitoring records, and newborn findings. At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., our case review process includes input from an in-house medical provider with extensive OB nursing experience who helps our attorneys analyze these details from a clinical perspective.
This background is especially important in brachial plexus cases because the key questions often involve what the medical team knew before delivery, how risk factors were handled, whether a C-section should have been considered, and how the delivery was managed when the baby’s shoulder became lodged.
By reviewing these records with medical insight from the start, our team can better understand whether the injury may have been preventable, what clinical questions require further review, and how the child’s long-term care needs may affect the family’s claim.
Most obstetric brachial plexus injuries are preventable with appropriate medical care. Doctors and nurses must anticipate risks and follow accepted protocols to protect the newborn. Prevention includes:
When these safeguards are ignored, newborns pay the price and families may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Treatment options vary depending on the type and severity of the injury.
Most recover with physical therapy, massage, and range-of-motion exercises.
May require surgery such as nerve grafts, transfers, or microsurgical repair.
Often lead to permanent disability, even with surgical intervention.
Early intervention improves outcomes. Physical therapy typically begins within weeks of diagnosis, and surgical options are considered if no improvement is seen within the first several months.
Determining liability requires careful analysis of medical records, delivery notes, and expert testimony. Potential examples of negligence include:
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we work with leading obstetric and neurology experts to investigate whether the medical team followed proper standards of care. When negligence is proven, families may recover compensation for medical costs, future care, pain and suffering, and more.
Our legal process involves:
Collecting and analyzing hospital records, fetal monitoring strips, and delivery notes.
Consulting with specialists in obstetrics, neurology, and neonatology.
Working with life-care planners to project long-term costs for therapy, surgeries, and adaptive care.
Pursuing fair settlements or taking cases to trial to secure justice.
Arizona’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is strict. Families should contact an attorney as soon as possible to preserve their rights.
For more than 40 years, Snyder & Wenner, P.C. has been recognized as one of Arizona’s leading medical malpractice firms. Families trust us because:
We work on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing unless we win.
If your child suffered a brachial plexus injury due to medical negligence, you deserve answers and accountability. At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we are honored to fight for families across Arizona, from Phoenix and Tucson to Flagstaff, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, and every community in between.
Call us today at (602) 224-0005 to schedule a free, confidential consultation with an experienced Arizona birth injury lawyer.
To understand how a brachial plexus injury occurs, it helps to first understand what the brachial plexus is. It is a group of nerves that sends signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hand. These signals allow the shoulder, arm, and hand to move.
A brachial plexus injury most often occurs when this group of nerves is stressed, compressed, or torn from the spinal cord. In adults, this type of injury is usually caused by significant trauma such as a serious fall or a sports injury.
In newborns, however, the injury can occur during delivery when the doctor delivering the baby pulls too forcefully, causing trauma to the nerves. Brachial plexus injuries are unfortunately common during childbirth when providers fail to recognize that the baby’s size may cause the baby to become stuck in the birth canal.
If this happens, the doctor may attempt to pull the baby out, which can cause the head to stretch away from the shoulder. A brachial plexus injury does not occur only when a baby is extremely large. It can also happen when a baby is normal-sized but the mother is small or has a narrow birth canal.
Brachial plexus injuries typically result in two diagnoses: Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, which affects the lower brachial plexus and can cause loss of motion or sensation in the lower part of the arm.
If the medical team (doctor, nurses, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and/or CRNA) does not timely recognize the potential for a brachial plexus injury and continue the vaginal delivery, the provider(s) may be liable for the injuries that occur. To hold the provider(s) responsible, we must prove that they were negligent, and if they had acted appropriately, the injuries would likely not have occurred.
The prognosis for a baby with a brachial plexus injury depends on the severity of the damage to the nerves. If it is a minimal stretch injury, most babies fully recover without any neurologic injury. If the nerve is severely stretched, compressed, or severed (cut), though, the injuries will likely be permanent. The baby will require extensive physical therapy to try to regain some movement and control of the arm. Ideally, the therapy will help, but often times it does not. Surgical intervention can also be attempted, but if the nerve damage is too severe, the surgery will likely not work, either. Brachial plexus injuries often result in life-long impairment, which can cost millions of dollars to the family for treatment.
For birth injury cases, there are multiple statutes of limitations to be aware of. The first applies to the child. For that claim, you have two years from the child’s 18th birthday to file a lawsuit. In other words, you have until the day the child turns 20 years old.
The parents’ claim has a much shorter deadline. For that claim, you have two years to file a lawsuit from the date you knew or should have known of the facts that would put you on notice to investigate the cause of the injuries. In most cases, this clock starts on the day of birth. Using that date, the parents’ claim must be filed by the child’s second birthday.
It is also important to note that if the baby was born at a state-run facility, such as Banner UMC Tucson or Banner UMC Phoenix, there may be a six-month deadline to file a Notice of Claim. This deadline may or may not apply. If it does, the baby’s Notice of Claim must be filed by the time the child turns 18 and six months old, and the parents must file their Notice of Claim within six months of the date of birth.
