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Tampa Klumpke’s Palsy Lawyers

Caring advocacy when medical malpractice causes birth injuries in Florida

Klumpke’s palsy is a brachial plexus injury that can cause a lifetime of pain for newborns. Obstetricians, hospitals, and other birth delivery healthcare professionals should anticipate this type of brachial plexus injury and take steps to prevent its occurrence. At MattLaw, we have more than 35 years of experience fighting for personal injury victims of all injuries. Our Tampa Klumpke’s palsy lawyers work with physicians who can explain why your newborn’s birth injury was preventable. We demand full compensation for the cost of your child’s medical care and pain and suffering – for as long as your child needs help.

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Call 813-222-2222 now or fill out the form above to receive a free, confidential consultation.

What is Klumpke’s palsy?

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Klumpke’s palsy/paralysis is a lower brachial plexus injury which is often due to a difficult delivery. The condition is named after Augusta Dejerine-Klumpke. Klumpke’s palsy can cause the following brachial plexus injuries:

  • Stretching (neuropraxia)
  • Tearing (called “avulsion” when the tear is at the spine, and “rupture” when it is not)
  • Scarring (neuroma)

While many infants with Klumpke’s palsy recover within six months, some infants never have a full recovery.

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According to the National Institute of Neural Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), Klumpke’s palsy is caused by four types of brachial plexus injuries that cause Klumpke’s:

  1. Avulsion. The nerve is severed from the spine.
  2. Rupture. The tearing of the nerve occurs but not at the spine.
  3. Neuroma. The injured nerve can’t send nerve signals to the arm or hand muscles due to scar tissue.
  4. Neuropraxia or stretching. The nerve has damage but is not torn.

The symptoms of Klumpke’s palsy include a “claw hand” “where the forearm is supinated and the wrist and fingers are flexed.”

Other signs and symptoms of Klumpke’s palsy include:

  • Weakness and loss of movement of the hand and arm.
  • Drooping of the eyelid on the opposite side of the face.
  • A reduced sensation “along the medial aspect of the distal upper extremity along the C8 and T1 dermatome.”
  • Decreased muscular strength, muscular atrophy, and positional deformity.
  • The reflexes are affected.
  • Other injuries include “clavicular and humerus fractures, torticollis, cephalohematoma, and facial nerve palsy.”

Other symptoms may include “tumors (neuromas, rhabdoid tumors), intrauterine compression, hemangioma, and exostosis of the first rib in the child.”

What causes Klumpke’s palsy in newborns in Tampa?

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Some of the risk factors for Klumpke’s palsy include:

  • Excessive birth weight
  • Mothers who have diabetes
  • A difficult delivery
  • Shoulder dystocia
  • A vacuum extraction or forceps delivery
  • A breech position
  • A prior pregnancy involving obstetric palsy
  • “Multiparity”
  • “Intrauterine torticollis”

How is Klumpke’s palsy diagnosed?

According to the Mayo Clinic, brachial plexus injuries (which include Klumpke’s palsy) are diagnosed in the following ways:

  • X-ray. This test can show if your child has any broken bones that are causing their pain.
  • Electromyography (EMG).This diagnostic test uses needle electrodes to examine “the electrical activity of the muscles when they tighten and when they're at rest.”
  • Nerve conduction studies.These tests are usually done during the EMG test. They help show how well your newborn’s nerves are working.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).This diagnostic test helps to show the level of the brachial plexus injury. “New types of high-resolution MRI, such as magnetic resonance neurography or diffusion tensor imaging, may be used.”
  • CT (computerized tomography) myelography.This diagnostic test uses multiple X-rays to look for spinal cord and nerve root issues. This test is sometimes used after an MRI.

Some of these diagnostic tests may need to be delayed until your child is old enough – but not too old – because surgery for brachial plexus injuries like Klumpke’s palsy generally works better if conducted in the first six months.

What are the treatments for Klumkpe’s palsy in Tampa?

The treatments for Klumpke’s palsy vary. Normally, during the first six months, exercises and physical therapy are used. If surgery is required, it may take years to know if the surgery was successful because nerve tissue grows very slowly.

The Mayo Clinic identifies the following types of nerve surgery for brachial plexus injuries such as Klumpke’s palsy:

  • This surgical procedure separates scar tissue from the nerves.
  • Nerve graft. This surgical procedure uses nerves from another part of your infant’s body to replace the damaged brachial plexus nerve. “This creates a bridge for new nerve growth over time.”
  • Nerve transfer. “When the nerve root has been torn from the spinal cord, surgeons often take a less important nerve that's still working and connect it to a nerve that's more important but not working. This allows for new nerve growth.”
  • Muscle transfer. This surgical procedure involves a neurosurgeon removing “a less important muscle or tendon from another part of the body, such as the thigh, transferring it to the arm, and reconnecting the nerves and blood vessels to the muscle.”

The pain from a brachial plexus injury usually goes away in about three years. For others, the pain can last a lifetime. In some cases, your child may need pain medications or pain surgery – with the caveat that there are dangers if the improper use of pain medications.

How do you fight for infants who have Klumpke’s palsy?

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Our Tampa Klumpke’s palsy lawyers work with obstetricians and other physicians to show what steps your delivery doctors should have taken (or failed to take) to prevent your child’s birth injuries. We also work with neurologists and other doctors to verify your child has Klumpke’s palsy, what treatments can help your child, the cost of your child’s medical care, and every way your child’s birth injury is and will affect your child’s health and happiness.

We file medical malpractice claims against all responsible parties, including the hospital, obstetricians, nurses, and other healthcare providers who have committed medical malpractice.

Our Tampa Klumpke’s palsy lawyers demand compensation for all your child’s medical expenses, pain and suffering, and any other financial and personal damages.

Do you have a Tampa, Florida Klumpke’s palsy lawyer near me?

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MattLaw meets parents and newborns at our Tampa, Florida office located at 304 S Plant Ave., Tampa, FL 33606. We also have an office in St. Petersburg. Our birth injury attorneys meet clients who can’t come to our office at their homes and healthcare facilities. We also discuss cases by phone and online conferences.

Our attorneys are ready to answer your questions and guide you calmly and clearly through each step of the claims process.

Talk with our accomplished Tampa, Florida birth injury lawyers today

Your child deserves to live the best life possible. At MattLaw, our trial lawyers are skilled at holding negligent physicians and other healthcare providers accountable when their mistakes fail your child. We’ve helped many children and families obtain strong recoveries for their personal injuries. Call our Tampa Klumpke’s palsy lawyers or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis.