A stuck shoulder.
An injured arm.
Unanswered questions.
Not on his watch.

Three things most families are never told

First: these injuries are usually preventable. The brachial plexus, the network of nerves running from the neck into the arm, is most often injured when a baby's shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother's pubic bone during delivery, a complication called shoulder dystocia. Obstetricians are trained in specific maneuvers for exactly this situation. When those maneuvers are used properly, permanent injury is rare. A child left with lasting arm weakness, an arm that doesn't move, or a diagnosis of Erb's palsy or Klumpke's palsy after a difficult delivery deserves a careful look at what happened in that delivery room.

Second: NICA probably does not bar your claim. Florida's Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association (NICA) replaces lawsuits with a limited administrative program, but only for a narrow category of injuries to the brain or spinal cord. A brachial plexus injury is an injury to peripheral nerves. In most cases it falls outside NICA entirely, which means your family keeps the right to bring a civil claim. Read why NICA usually doesn't apply to brachial plexus injuries.

Third: you likely have more time than you think, but not unlimited time. Florida law contains special protection for injured children: the usual four-year outer limit does not bar a claim brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child's eighth birthday. But other deadlines can still run, and cases get harder to prove as records age. See how Florida's deadlines actually work for birth injury cases.

How this works

You tell me what happened using the free case evaluation. It takes about three minutes. I personally review every submission, usually within one business day. If the case looks viable, we talk, I request the delivery records, and I have them reviewed. There is no fee and no cost to you unless there is a recovery. Complex birth injury cases are sometimes handled in association with experienced trial co-counsel; if that ever applies to your case, it happens only with your written consent, it never increases your fee, and I remain personally responsible to your family throughout.

If your child was delivered outside Florida, I can still review what happened and, with your permission, connect your family with a qualified birth injury attorney in your state.