Clavicle Injuries

Birth injuries due to medical malpractice can have devastating and long-lasting consequences for both a newborn and his or her entire family. If your baby sustained a clavicle injury during birth, you could be facing significant care needs and costs as a result. A skilled Baltimore birth injury attorney can help determine what happened in your case, and help you hold any negligent healthcare providers accountable if mistakes or carelessness on their part caused the injury.

A clavicle fracture, also known as a collarbone fracture, refers to a break in the clavicle - a long bone located between the ribcage and the shoulder blade. It is the bone that connects the arm to the body. A clavicle fracture in a newborn is a form of birth trauma. The signs of a fractured clavicle may not appear at first. The most common symptom associated with a clavicle fracture in a newborn is fussiness or crying with movement of the affected arm because of the pain in the clavicle. You may also notice a break or hard lump in the clavicle area. In addition, your child may refuse to be picked up.

Clavicle injuries are often the result of a difficult delivery or trauma at birth. For instance, many clavicle injuries are the result of breech – when the child is delivered feet first. Other causes of clavicle injuries may include:

• Use of forceps during delivery;
• Use of vacuum extractors during delivery;
• Force from being pulled through the birth canal.

Clavicle fracture is one of the most common birth injuries resulting from the negligent medical care of medical professionals. If your newborn suffered a broken clavicle during delivery, you may be entitled to compensation through a medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice takes place when a medical professional’s care or treatment falls below the accepted standard of care in the medical community, thereby causing injury to the patient. In order to win in a clavicle injury case, you must establish the following: i) the doctor owed you a duty of care; ii) the doctor breached the duty of care; and iii) the doctor’s breach was a direct and proximate cause of the clavicle injury.

Each of the aforementioned elements must be established before any compensation can be recovered in the case. In addition to demonstrating the elements of malpractice, the case must be filed in the proper manner with proper evidence within the required time frame. As is the case with legal claims in other areas, medical malpractice lawsuits must be filed within a specific period of time referred to as the statute of limitations. Failure to file within this time frame could mean losing your right to compensation altogether.

For most newborns who suffer a clavicle injury at birth, the prognosis is promising if a proper diagnosis is made and treatment is immediately administered. However, if this does not happen, the child may suffer long-term injury, which may be very costly to deal with. Fortunately, Maryland law allows victims of medical malpractice to recover both economic and non-economic damages for items such as medical expenses for medication, doctor’s visits, and rehabilitation, as well as lost wages, pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of quality of life, and compensation for any other losses arising from the malpractice.

If your child suffered a preventable clavicle injury due to a medical professional’s negligence related to use of forceps, a vacuum extractor, or another cause, you might be able to recover damages through a medical malpractice case. At Arfaa Law Group, our experienced Baltimore attorneys understand how to navigate complex birth injury claims, and we proudly represent families throughout the state of Maryland. We are dedicated to determining the cause of your child’s injury and pursuing the justice and compensation you deserve. To discuss your case, call us at 410-889-1850 or contact us online.