Erb’s Palsy Lawyer in Indiana

One of your newborn’s arms isn’t moving the way the other one is. The doctor called it Erb’s palsy. You want to know what went wrong and whether it could have been prevented.

Erb’s palsy is one of the most preventable birth injuries on record, yet it still occurs in roughly 1 to 2 of every 1,000 deliveries in Indiana and across the United States. In many of those cases, the cause is not an unavoidable complication. It is excessive traction applied to a baby’s head and neck during a difficult delivery, often when the provider had both the warning signs and the recognized maneuvers to avoid it.

At Langer & Langer, our Indiana birth injury attorneys have represented families across Indiana in birth injury and medical malpractice cases since 1980. Founding partner Steven L. Langer still leads the firm’s serious Indiana medical malpractice claims today. We know how to evaluate an Erb’s palsy claim under Indiana law, work through the mandatory Medical Review Panel process, and pursue the compensation a child may need for years of care.

• 46+ years protecting Indiana families.
• 4.8 rating across 150+ verified reviews.
• Two-Time Trial Lawyer of the Year (ITLA).
• Available 24/7.
• No recovery, no fee.

Call (219) 464-3246 for a free, no-obligation consultation.

What Is Erb’s Palsy?

Erb’s palsy is a form of brachial plexus injury that affects the network of nerves controlling the shoulder, arm, and hand. The injury usually involves the upper nerve roots, most often C5 and C6, and sometimes C7, which can disrupt movement and sensation in the affected arm.

In more severe cases, the injury can involve the entire brachial plexus and cause broader paralysis of the arm. A related condition, Klumpke’s palsy, affects the lower nerve roots and more often impacts the hand and wrist.

Erb’s palsy affects about 1 to 2 of every 1,000 live births in the United States.

Signs and Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy in Indiana

Parents often notice Erb’s palsy immediately after birth or shortly afterward. The signs can vary depending on how severe the nerve injury is, but they often include:

• A limp arm on one side of the body.
• Limited movement in the shoulder, elbow, wrist, or hand.
• Reduced sensation in the affected arm.
• A waiter’s tip posture, where the arm turns inward and the wrist bends downward.
• A weak or absent Moro reflex on the affected side.
• Uneven arm movement during crying, startle response, or voluntary movement.

Early diagnosis matters because treatment is often more effective when started quickly. A pediatric specialist can help determine the extent of the injury and whether surgery may be needed.

Types of Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is not a single injury. The severity depends on how badly the nerves were damaged during delivery.

• Neuropraxia: Neuropraxia is the mildest form. The nerve is stretched, but it is not torn. Many children with this type recover within a few months with therapy and home exercises.
• Neuroma: A neuroma occurs when the nerve is injured and heals with scar tissue at the damaged area. That scar tissue can interfere with nerve signals and limit recovery. Some children with this type need surgery.
• Rupture: A rupture means the nerve was torn, but it did not detach from the spinal cord. Ruptures do not heal on their own and often require surgical repair.
• Avulsion: Avulsion is the most severe form. The nerve root is pulled completely away from the spinal cord. Because the injury occurs at the spinal attachment point, it cannot be directly repaired, and the child may have permanent limitations.

How Is Erb’s Palsy Diagnosed?

Diagnosis usually begins in the delivery room when a clinician notices reduced arm movement, abnormal posture, or a weak Moro reflex. From there, a pediatric neurologist or orthopedic specialist confirms the injury and measures its severity using several tests.

• Physical examination. The clinician assesses muscle tone, reflexes, range of motion, and the posture of the affected arm.
• Electromyography (EMG). EMG measures the electrical activity inside the muscles and shows whether the nerve is sending signals.
• Nerve conduction studies. These tests measure how quickly and completely signals travel through the brachial plexus nerves.
• MRI. Magnetic resonance imaging shows nerve damage and surrounding tissue injury in detail.
• CT myelography. This specialized imaging is used in severe cases to identify nerve root avulsions near the spinal cord.

For a malpractice claim, these diagnostic records do more than confirm the injury. EMG and nerve conduction findings, paired with the delivery record, help an expert identify when and how the brachial plexus was damaged. Early imaging often shows whether the injury is a stretch, a rupture, or a full avulsion, which directly affects the lifetime care projection and the damage model.

What Causes Erb’s Palsy in Indiana Births?

Erb’s palsy is often caused by excessive traction on the baby’s head and neck during delivery. When that force stretches or tears the brachial plexus nerves beyond their limit, the result can be a permanent birth injury.

Shoulder dystocia is the most common delivery complication linked to Erb’s palsy. It happens when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone after the head is delivered. In that situation, the medical team should use recognized maneuvers such as the McRoberts maneuver and suprapubic pressure rather than applying dangerous traction to the baby’s head.

Additional causes and contributing factors include:

• Excessive force or improper downward traction during a difficult delivery.
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction.
• Failure to order a timely C-section when risk factors are known.
• Macrosomia, or a larger-than-average baby.
• Prolonged or stalled labor.
• Breech presentation.
• Maternal diabetes or gestational diabetes.

Is Erb’s Palsy Always Malpractice?

Not every Erb’s palsy case is caused by negligence. Some deliveries involve genuine emergencies, and injury can occur even when the provider acts appropriately.

Many cases do involve a failure to meet the applicable standard of care. Indicators that a claim may exist include:

• Known risk factors were present, but the delivery plan was not adjusted.
• The provider used downward traction instead of recognized delivery maneuvers.
• Forceps or vacuum extraction was used improperly.
• A C-section was medically indicated, but vaginal delivery continued instead.
• The delivery record and fetal monitoring show signs of distress that were not addressed in time.

If communication failures between the delivery team contributed to the outcome, or if hospital system errors created the conditions for the breach, those may be separate grounds for a claim against the institution.

The medical record and expert review are what determine whether an injury was unavoidable or preventable. That review is the first step our attorneys take on every file.

What Indiana Law Requires You to Prove

To establish an Erb’s palsy malpractice claim under Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act (IC 34-18), four elements of a birth injury case must be proven.

Causation is where Indiana defense teams concentrate their efforts. They argue the nerve injury resulted from the baby’s size, position, or an unavoidable complication, not from the delivery team’s conduct. Expert reconstruction of the delivery sequence is how that argument is answered.

Records and EHR amendment histories are easier to preserve early than to recreate later. Free case review – call (219) 464-3246 or schedule online.

Indiana’s Statute of Limitations and Damage Cap

Indiana’s Medical Malpractice Act sets a two-year deadline from the date of the injury. For children under six at the time of the malpractice, the claim may be brought until the child’s eighth birthday.

Under Indiana’s 2019 malpractice law changes, total recovery for occurrences after June 30, 2019, is capped at $1.8 million per occurrence under IC 34-18-14-3, with individual providers liable up to $500,000 and the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund covering up to $1.3 million above that threshold.

Indiana follows a comparative fault system under IC 34-51-2. Defense teams routinely argue that the mother’s pre-existing conditions contributed to the outcome. Recovery is reduced proportionally if comparative fault is attributed, but recovery is not eliminated unless fault exceeds 50 percent. Addressing comparative fault begins at the Panel submission stage, not at trial.

Indiana’s two-year clock starts at the date of injury.

For children under six, the deadline runs until the child’s eighth birthday. Call (219) 464-3246. No fee unless we recover.

The Indiana Medical Malpractice Process

Indiana is one of a small number of states that requires every medical malpractice claim to pass through a Medical Review Panel before a lawsuit can be filed. Families pursuing an Erb’s palsy claim need to understand this process.

The process works as follows:

1. The attorney files a Proposed Complaint with the Indiana Department of Insurance.
2. The panel is formed.
3. Both sides submit records, expert opinions, and supporting evidence.
4. The panel issues a non-binding opinion on whether the provider failed to meet the standard of care.
5. The lawsuit may then proceed in court.

Under Indiana law, the panel has 180 days from the selection of the last panel member to issue its written opinion (IC 34-18-10-14). Because this process must be completed before filing suit, and because delivery records and fetal monitoring data must be preserved from the outset, engaging an attorney early is not optional. It is a practical requirement.

What an Erb’s Palsy Claim May Be Worth

Recoverable damages in an Indiana Erb’s palsy malpractice claim can include:

• Past and future medical expenses, including all surgeries performed to date.
• Physical and occupational therapy costs, including projected lifetime treatment.
• Adaptive equipment, home modifications, and assistive technology.
• Lost future earning capacity, calculated through economic expert analysis.
• Pain and suffering.
• Other injury-related out-of-pocket costs.

Because Erb’s palsy can involve decades of ongoing care, documenting each damage category thoroughly is one of the most important tasks in building the claim. Economic and life care planning experts provide the foundation for that documentation.

In cases involving catastrophic injury with permanent functional loss, or in wrongful death cases where a birth injury results in the loss of the child, additional damages categories apply under Indiana law.

How We Build an Erb’s Palsy Case

We approach every Erb’s palsy file through five parallel tracks from day one.

• Full delivery record audit. We request every document in the encounter: prenatal records, triage and admission notes, fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, physician orders, and electronic health record (EHR) amendment histories. Amendment histories reveal post-delivery edits that do not appear in the printed chart and are often the most significant evidence in the file.
• Delivery sequence reconstruction. Using the records and an independent obstetric expert, we rebuild the delivery sequence against the applicable standard of care. The reconstruction identifies what maneuver was required at each stage, what was done instead, and precisely when the deviation occurred.
• Independent expert review. Our medical expert is board-certified in obstetrics or maternal-fetal medicine, practices outside the delivery system involved, and is engaged before Panel submission. The Panel filing is built around that expert opinion from the first draft, not assembled afterward.
• Lifetime care documentation. For children with permanent nerve damage, we work with life care planners and economic experts to document projected therapy, surgical, adaptive equipment, and lost earnings costs across the child’s expected lifetime. These projections are built before the Panel issues its opinion, so they are part of the damages foundation from the start.
• Panel submission prepared to trial standard. What opposing counsel receives at the Panel stage shapes their liability assessment for the entire life of the case. We write every submission as though it is going to a jury.

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Why Families Choose Langer & Langer

Steven L. Langer founded Langer & Langer in 1980 and is the only Indiana attorney to win ITLA Trial Lawyer of the Year twice. He is joined on birth injury cases by Sara A. Langer, Heather Gilbert, Jon F. Schmoll, and Holly S. Wojcik Rooth.

Who we are:

• 46+ years handling Indiana medical malpractice, including birth injuries.
• Super Lawyers 2008-2024; Top 50 Indiana; Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers; AV Preeminent.

How we work every Erb’s palsy file:

• Full delivery record audit, including EHR amendment histories not visible in the printed chart.
• We engage an independent OB expert before Panel submission, and build the filing around that opinion from day one.
• The Medical Review Panel submission was written to the trial standard from the first draft.
• Lifetime care costs are documented through life care planners and economic experts before the Panel issues its opinion.
• Contingency fee only, no attorney fee unless we recover.

Our results:

• $9.05 million in a single recovery.
• 17+ verdicts and settlements at or above $1 million.
• See our full case results.

Treatment and Long-Term Outlook

Treatment depends on the severity of the nerve injury and how much function the child recovers in the first months of life. Options include:

• Physical therapy to maintain the range of motion.
• Occupational therapy to support arm and hand use.
• Daily stretching and home exercises.
• Nerve graft surgery in rupture cases.
• Muscle transfer surgery for older children with persistent weakness.
• Botulinum toxin injections in some cases.

Recovery varies widely. Mild cases may improve within months. Severe injuries can require years of treatment and may leave lasting limitations. Early intervention often determines the long-term outcome. Families facing permanent injury should document treatment costs carefully from diagnosis forward, as those records form part of the economic damages case.

Related Birth Injuries We Handle in Indiana

Erb’s palsy is part of a broader group of serious birth injuries that can result from medical negligence during labor and delivery. Our firm also represents families in cases involving:

• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• Cerebral palsy lawsuits
• Brachial plexus birth injury
• Injuries during labor and delivery

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Erb’s Palsy Happen Without Shoulder Dystocia?

Yes. Shoulder dystocia is a common trigger, but it is not the only one. Improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction, excessive pulling during a non-dystocia delivery, or failure to perform a timely C-section can all produce the same brachial plexus injury. The central question in any claim is whether the delivery team followed the recognized standard of care, given what they knew at the time.

How Long After Birth is Erb’s Palsy Diagnosed?

Most cases are identified in the delivery room or within the first day. When a newborn cannot move one arm normally or holds it in a waiter’s tip position, the clinical presentation is usually clear to a pediatric or neonatal specialist. In milder cases, reduced movement may not become obvious until the infant is a few weeks old and is expected to be reaching or responding to stimulation.

What Evidence Proves Erb’s Palsy Malpractice?

The core evidence is the delivery record, which documents what maneuvers were used, in what order, and how long shoulder dystocia lasted, if it was documented at all. Fetal monitoring strips show whether the baby was in distress before the nerve injury occurred. Nursing notes often capture details that the attending physician’s notes omit. Medical expert review ties those records to the applicable standard of care and identifies where the breach occurred.

Does Indiana’s Cap Apply to Birth Injury Cases?

Yes, Indiana’s damage cap applies to qualifying birth injury malpractice claims. For occurrences after June 30, 2019, the cap is $1.8 million per occurrence, with individual providers liable up to $500,000. Whether the Indiana Patient’s Compensation Fund pays the remainder depends on whether the provider qualifies as a qualified healthcare provider under Indiana law.

Can Parents Recover Damages for an Erb’s Palsy Claim in Indiana?

Parents may recover medical expenses they have paid on the child’s behalf, out-of-pocket costs tied to the injury, and in some circumstances, other damages recognized under Indiana law. The specific damages available depend on the facts of the claim, the posture of the case, and whether the claim is structured as the child’s claim, the parents’ claim, or both. An Indiana birth injury attorney can review those distinctions in the context of your family’s situation.

What Makes an Erb’s Palsy Case Strong?

The strongest cases have three things working together: delivery records that document what happened without gaps or ambiguities, a qualified medical expert who can identify specifically where the provider deviated from the standard of care, and evidence that the nerve injury was a direct result of that deviation, not an unavoidable outcome. Cases where shoulder dystocia lasted longer than the record reflects, or where nursing notes conflict with physician notes, often produce the clearest evidence of a breach.

Contact Langer & Langer Today

If your child was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy, the most important step is having an experienced Indiana birth injury lawyer review the delivery record as soon as possible. Evidence is easier to preserve early. Indiana’s two-year statute of limitations begins from the date of the injury, not the date of discovery.

Call (219) 464-3246 or schedule a free case review to speak with Langer & Langer. There are no upfront fees and no charge for the consultation.