Articles Posted in Erb’s Palsy

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In a Federal Tort Claims Act lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff’s child sustained permanent injuries to the arm during birth, the district court judge found that the lawsuit was filed after the applicable two-year limitations.

The records show that (1) the doctor told the plaintiff mother that the delivery plan called for her to receive a c-section, but on the day of delivery, a physician delivered the child vaginally; (2) according to the plaintiff, delivery was traumatic in that the child “got stuck” on the way out, and that once the child was born, it appeared that the baby could not move his left arm; (3) shortly after the baby’s birth, the mother raised concerns about the child’s left arm but eventually retained counsel who did not file the instant lawsuit until three years after the date of his birth.

Under the discovery rule, a lawsuit accrued shortly after the child’s birth, since it was at that time that the mother of the child discovered the cause of the baby’s injuries.
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has affirmed a federal court’s exclusion of evidence regarding the defendant physician’s general reputation on internet websites.

In this case, Sheena Dorman, Dillon Ming and their minor child sued obstetrician Dr. Richard G. Welch and his medical practice, Annapolis OB-Gyn Associates P.A., alleging that the defendant physician’s negligence in applying lateral force during the child’s birth led to the development of Erb’s palsy.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendants. The plaintiffs appealed, challenging several of the trial court’s evidentiary rulings.
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