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Kansas Shoulder Dystocia Attorneys
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Kansas Shoulder Dystocia Lawyer Fights for Your Rights in Birth Trauma Cases

Law firm holds health care practitioners accountable for negligence

Shoulder dystocia is a medical emergency that occurs when a newborn’s shoulders get stuck during vaginal delivery. In efforts by doctors to free the shoulders and complete delivery, babies may suffer nerve and muscle damage, paralysis, fractures to the arms and collarbones, Erb’s palsy, and, in rare instances, Horner’s syndrome, which is a neurological disorder that affects the eyes and face.

While shoulder dystocia cannot always be predicted, there are risk factors that make it more likely to happen, such as when a baby is extremely large or labor is prolonged. Doctors should understand if their patients are at high risk. If children are injured because doctors fail to take appropriate steps to prevent shoulder dystocia in high-risk cases or if they don’t use correct methods to free the shoulders when it does occur, they can be held liable for negligence.

Why Choose Our Law Firm?

You Will Receive Honest, Responsive, and Compassionate Representation

Our attorneys at the Palmer Law Group are not only experienced legal advocates, we are also compassionate people. We have helped many parents in Kansas navigate emotionally difficult birth injury cases and achieve beneficial outcomes. When you choose us to handle your case, you can trust that we will work with you with understanding of what you are going through and be available to quickly address your questions and concerns. You can also trust that our attorney team has the knowledge that it takes to negotiate or litigate successful results in injury claims.

  • We have won over $100 million for clients in settlements and verdicts.

  • Our lawyers have more than 60 years of combined experience.

  • We have many happy clients as you can see from these testimonials.

  • We have received numerous awards for our skill and professionalism.

  • Our firm works on a contingency basis, so you only pay us when we win your case.

When you meet with a Kansas shoulder dystocia attorney from our law firm in a free consultation, you will learn whether you may have a case against your doctor. If you do, we will strongly advocate for your right to compensation. And if we don’t believe there is sufficient evidence in your case to move forward with a claim, we will tell you that, too. We are honest and ethical attorneys who will always be straight with you.

Has your child been injured by a medical professional and is now suffering from shoulder dystocia? If so, our medical malpractice lawyers are ready to help you get justice. Call us for a free consultation with our team and learn what we can do for you.

Causes of Shoulder Dystocia

As mentioned, shoulder dystocia is caused when a baby’s shoulder becomes trapped behind the pelvic bone of the mother during delivery. The issue becomes one of medical malpractice when a doctor or other medical professional fails to act or treat the matter according to acceptable standards of care.

Common examples of medical malpractice resulting in infant shoulder dystocia include:

  • Improper monitoring for signs

  • Labor and delivery preparation errors

  • Excessive, unreasonable force

  • Pushing baby’s head too far from the shoulder

  • C-section errors

  • Lack of proper training and experience.

In many shoulder dystocia cases, the actual medical malpractice may have been committed by more than one party. In these cases, our team works diligently to ensure that liability is shared by all appropriate parties.

Choosing Appropriate Shoulder Dystocia Treatment

Doctors and labor professionals have various techniques to deal with shoulder dystocia. These techniques form the basis upon which medical malpractice issues in these cases are decided. If a medical professional chooses a method to deal with an episode of shoulder dystocia, they are required to execute the treatment according to acceptable standards. They must also properly choose a technique to use. In other words, the technique they decide to employ to deal with shoulder dystocia must be appropriate for the specific circumstances occurring.

How Our Kansas Shoulder Dystocia Attorney Can Help You

Bringing a successful malpractice claim against a doctor is a complex and stressful undertaking. Your doctor is not going to readily admit fault. So it must be proven that the doctor failed to provide the accepted standard of care that another doctor would have under similar circumstances.

You should be able to focus on your child and family at this time and not worry about fighting with a health care provider and their insurance company. As highly experienced medical malpractice attorneys, we know what it takes to resolve birth injury claims. We will take on the battle for you.

We will investigate all of the evidence. Types of evidence will include medical records, your doctor’s background and whether there have been previous claims filed against him or her, and eyewitness statements. We will also seek the testimony of medical experts with similar experience and training in obstetrics.

Our Kansas shoulder dystocia lawyer will fill out and file claim paperwork. We will assess what your claim may be worth and work to negotiate a fair settlement with the insurer. If a settlement cannot be reached, and depending on the facts involved and your goals, we will advise you about going to trial and represent you in the courtroom.

This is only an overview of how we can help you. There are many other steps in a claim that we will handle for you. We will guide you throughout the entire process.

Palmer Law Group is relentless in its efforts to hold medical professionals accountable for the harm they cause patients. 

Important Timing Issues With Filing Malpractice Lawsuits

If your child has experienced medical malpractice resulting in shoulder dystocia, numerous damages may be available to help your family weather the difficulties. However, there are important timing considerations to be aware of if you are interested in pursuing maximum compensation.

Statute of Limitations

A statute of limitations is a deadline for taking legal action. In medical malpractice claims in Kansas, the statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits is two years from the date an injury becomes reasonably evident. When the injury is not apparent, the statute of limitations is tolled.

When the plaintiff in a case is a minor, different statute of limitations rules apply. Minors do not have the same jurisprudence rights as adults in civil cases. As such, the statute of limitations is tolled for a longer period of time — eight years — for minors.

When the parent is the claimant, the normal two-year rule applies. Whether a parent, a child, or both file a lawsuit depends on the unique circumstances of each case. In any instance, valuable damages are available to help families make it through the tough times ahead.

The key takeaway is that regardless of who the plaintiff is, prompt action is crucial to meeting the deadline of the statute of limitations. Once the statute of limitations expires, so does the right to compensation.

Evidence Challenges

Swift legal action for compensation is necessary to avoid evidence issues that often arise as time passes after an act of medical malpractice. The sooner a victim hires counsel, the sooner their attorney can investigate the incident and collect and preserve crucial evidence.

The longer one waits, however, the more potential evidence problems may develop, such as:

  • Lost or missing evidence

  • Deleted video footage

  • Unlocatable witnesses

  • Foggy witness testimony.

A case with weak evidence can lead to only one of two results — reduced compensation or an outright claim rejection or denial.

Palmer Law Group medical malpractice attorneys diligently investigate and preserve the valuable evidence their clients need to get paid what they deserve.

Palmer Law Group Answers FAQs

As medical malpractice lawyers, we receive many questions about the claim’s process. Here are broad answers to some of them.

How do you prove shoulder dystocia was due to malpractice?

There are several steps to proving negligence and malpractice. They include establishing that your doctor owed you a duty of care; they failed in that duty, which directly caused your child’s injuries; and you suffered damages due to the injuries. We will not leave any stones unturned in investigating the evidence in seeking to prove negligence.

I am afraid of testifying against my doctor–what are the chances my case will go to court?

The majority of medical malpractice cases reach settlements with insurance companies. We will work hard to settle your claim for a fair amount. If a settlement cannot be reached and it is in your interests and goals, we will take your case to court. We always thoroughly prepare as if we are going to trial so that insurers can see how serious we are and that we are ready to go all the way, which can serve to encourage settlement.

How much money can I get in a malpractice claim?

How much your case may be worth depends on injury severity, the strength of the evidence against the doctor, and your damages. Damages you may claim include medical costs, lost quality of life of your child, pain and suffering, disability and more. Once our Kansas shoulder dystocia attorney assesses your case, we can advise you about its possible value.

How long does a shoulder dystocia case take to resolve?

The length of each case involving shoulder dystocia is dependent on the precise facts and circumstances present during the incident. In some shoulder dystocia cases, compensation can be settled within a matter of months. For cases involving complexities, the time to resolution could be much longer.

When Palmer Law Group takes a case, we work diligently to get it resolved and our clients paid as promptly as reasonably possible.

Should I accept the insurance company’s settlement offer?

If an insurance company has made you a settlement offer for a shoulder dystocia case, you are strongly advised to meet with a lawyer before accepting the offer or agreeing to anything else. You deserve to have your case evaluated by a professional looking after your best interests. Insurance companies are beholden to shareholders and focused on profits and, therefore, try to get away with paying as little as possible.

Insurance companies also know that medical malpractice victims and their families often face financial difficulties after an injury and need compensation fast. Because of this, adjusters cut quick but lowball checks in the hopes that claimants’ desperation leads them to accept the substandard offer. In other words, insurance companies play off the desperation of victims and their families.

Your lawyer, on the other hand, will fiercely protect your right to be properly compensated for medical malpractice harms and aggressively pursue a total that adequately compensates the losses your child and family have incurred.

What are some of the long-term consequences of shoulder dystocia?

For many children, the long-term effects of shoulder dystocia can be devastating, while for others, there are no real long-term effects. For those who do have lasting effects, many experience Erb’s palsy, which occurs from significant upper-arm and shoulder stretching during labor and delivery. Brachial plexus injury may also occur, which takes place when a baby’s neck nerves are overstretched.

Both Erb’s palsy and brachial plexus injury can lead to difficulties engaging in even the most basic tasks, such as:

  • Grasping and holding objects

  • Writing and typing

  • Riding a bicycle

  • Engaging in physical education and sports

  • Engaging in basic gainful employment.

Long-term sufferers of these conditions frequently find themselves facing employment difficulties. Some are so injured that they can never engage in gainful full-time employment.

For answers specific to your case, please contact our firm to speak directly with one of our attorneys.

Contact a Kansas Shoulder Dystocia Attorney for a Free Consultation

For the Help You Deserve

If your baby suffered injuries during birth, reach out to us to learn your options for filing a legal claim. You could collect significant compensation to pay medical costs for your child and other damages.

For a free consultation with a shoulder dystocia lawyer who cares, contact Palmer Law Group today. Learn how our medical malpractice team can help you get the money you deserve.

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