Posted on August 10, 2026
The moment a parent notices something is wrong with their newborn’s arm — that it hangs limply, that it doesn’t move the way it should — the joy of delivery gives way to fear and confusion. For families dealing with a brachial plexus birth injury, the questions come quickly: What happened? Could this have been prevented? What does this mean for my child’s future?
The answers are not always easy to hear. Brachial plexus birth injuries are among the most common birth injuries in the United States, and in many cases, they are the direct result of preventable medical errors. When a doctor or delivery team fails to meet the accepted standard of care, a child may face a lifetime of physical challenges that should never have occurred.
At Weiss & Paarz, our attorneys have spent decades representing families in New Jersey and the Philadelphia, PA area who are confronting exactly this situation. This page is designed to help you understand what happened, what the law says about it, and what your family’s options may be.
The brachial plexus is a complex network of nerves that runs from the spinal cord through the neck and into the shoulder, arm, and hand. These nerves control movement and sensation throughout the arm. When those nerves are stretched, compressed, or torn — as can happen during a difficult delivery — the result is a brachial plexus injury.
The severity of the injury depends on the extent of nerve damage. Some children recover full function within months. Others face permanent weakness, limited range of motion, or paralysis in the affected arm.
The brachial plexus is formed by five nerve roots (C5 through T1) that emerge from the cervical and upper thoracic spine. These roots combine and branch into the major nerves that control the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand. Damage to any part of this network can disrupt motor function and sensation in the arm.
Not all brachial plexus injuries are the same. The type and location of nerve damage determine the extent of the child’s limitations:
Brachial plexus injuries most commonly occur when a baby’s shoulder becomes trapped during delivery — a complication known as shoulder dystocia. When the baby’s head delivers, but the anterior shoulder is caught behind the mother’s pubic bone, the delivery team must act quickly. How they respond to that moment often determines whether an injury occurs.
Shoulder dystocia is a recognized obstetric emergency. Delivery teams are trained to identify it early and respond with specific maneuvers — such as the McRoberts maneuver or suprapubic pressure — that can free the impacted shoulder without injuring the brachial nerves. When those protocols are not followed or when a team is unprepared for complications, the risk of nerve damage increases significantly.
In medical malpractice law, the standard of care refers to the level of skill, care, and treatment that a reasonably competent physician — with similar training, in similar circumstances — would provide to a patient. It is not a measure of perfection. It is a measure of what your doctor was expected to do.
When that standard is not met, and a child is injured as a result, the medical team may be held legally responsible.
Obstetricians, midwives, and delivery nurses are expected to meet well-established standards during labor and delivery. Those standards include:
In a brachial plexus malpractice case, a breach of the standard of care may look like:
Not every brachial plexus injury results from negligence. Some occur despite proper care. But when an injury is the direct result of a physician’s failure to meet the standard of care, your family may have the right to pursue a medical malpractice claim.
To establish a viable case, your legal team must generally prove four elements:
Weiss & Paarz has physicians on staff who review the medical records in each case we evaluate. That in-house medical expertise allows our attorneys to identify deviations from the standard of care with the same level of knowledge a medical expert witness would bring to trial.
Our firm has represented birth injury victims and their families in New Jersey and Pennsylvania for decades. We understand that the legal process can feel overwhelming when you are simultaneously managing your child’s medical care, processing what happened, and trying to plan for a future you didn’t expect.
We handle every aspect of the case — from the initial records review to expert consultations, depositions, and trial — so that your family can focus on what matters most. We work on a no-recovery, no-fee basis, which means you owe us nothing unless we make a recovery for you.
Our case results speak to the outcomes we have achieved for families facing some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable. We encourage you to review those results and to reach out if you believe your child’s injury may have been preventable.
If your child was born with a brachial plexus injury and you believe the delivery team may have contributed to that harm, you have the right to ask questions and understand your legal options. The statute of limitations on birth injury claims in New Jersey and Pennsylvania is limited, so it is important to act before your window closes.
Contact Weiss & Paarz today for a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we win your case. Our team — which includes physicians on staff — will review what happened and help you understand what it means.
Call 1-800-952-8444 or fill out our online contact form to get started.
Typical signs include a limp or hanging arm, an arm held inward in a “waiter’s tip” position, little or no movement in one arm, a weak grip on the affected side, and an absent Moro (startle) reflex on that side.
Doctors begin with a physical exam and reflex checks, then may order imaging like X-rays to rule out fractures and MRI or CT for nerve and soft-tissue detail. Electrodiagnostic tests such as EMG and nerve conduction studies can help determine the injury’s location and severity.
Severity ranges from neurapraxia (stretch injury) to rupture and neuroma (scar-related), and avulsion (nerve root torn from the spinal cord). Clinical patterns include Erb’s palsy (upper plexus), Klumpke’s palsy (lower plexus/hand), total plexus involvement, and Horner’s syndrome with severe avulsion.
If there’s limited improvement in the first few months, specialists may consider surgery or they may choose to continue observing a child over time. Options include nerve grafts or transfers, tendon or muscle transfers, osteotomy to improve alignment, and procedures to stabilize the shoulder.
Large baby (macrosomia), maternal diabetes, breech presentation, prolonged or difficult labor, shoulder dystocia or history of previous shoulder dystocia encounters during past deliveries, abnormal pelvic bone structures that make it difficult for the baby’s shoulders to fit through the birth canal (i.e. an android pelvis, platypelloid pelvis, contracted pelvis, or a traumatized pelvis from prior pelvic fractures), and improper use of forceps or vacuum increase risk. Proper recognition and management of these factors are part of the standard of care.
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Answers may only be a phone call away. Call 1-800-952-8444 or fill out our web submission form and our team will contact you to evaluate whether we can help with your potential claim on your behalf.
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