Local Law Firms Home > Medical Malpractice > Cerebral / Erb's Palsy > Brachial Plexus > Stretch/Neuropraxia/Praxis The brachial plexus, which is a network of nerves, starts in the spinal cord and is responsible for the control of the movement of the shoulder, arm, and hand muscles. Brachial plexus injuries are often caused by injuries during childbirth, and can inhibit function in the arm or leave the arm paralyzed entirely. When the injuries occur as a result of trauma or damage to the neck and shoulder region as with child birth complications, lesions form on the nerves as a way to repair the damaged tissues that make up the nerves within the brachial plexus. These lesions can be classified one of two ways, as a traumatic lesion, or an obstetric lesion. Obstetric lesion occur from mechanical injuries like those suffered to newborn children during difficult labors. Traumatic injuries refer more to the injuries suffered to the nerves within the brachial plexus specifically.
A type of injury called a stretch, neuropraxia or praxis injury is a condition where the nerve is damaged, but not torn. It is accompanied by swelling, bruising, over-stretching and compression. While the amount of damage can vary widely based on the injury seriousness, injuries, such as these are able to recover naturally given a long enough period of time. Many times, this is caused by negligence on behalf of the doctor or medical professional responsible for the wellbeing of the newborn child. When this is the case, those who are responsible for the labor complications may be held accountable through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Did you know? |