Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton devote their legal careers to protecting Maryland families whose newborns suffer preventable birth injuries. We practice out of Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A., 1211 St Paul St, Baltimore, a short drive from Catonsville, and we take pride in being the first call local parents make after a life-changing delivery.
Call Catonsville Erb’s Palsy attorneys Jonathan Schochor or Kerry Staton at (410) 234-1000 for a free, no-obligation case review so we can explain your options and fight for the resources your child deserves. No fee unless we win.
Erb’s palsy, also called Erb-Duchenne palsy, is a brachial plexus injury that weakens or paralyzes a baby’s shoulder and arm. It happens when the nerves that run from the neck to the arm stretch or tear, usually during shoulder dystocia when the baby’s shoulder lodges behind the mother’s pelvic bone. Even a moment of excessive traction or a delayed cesarean section can cause permanent damage. Early therapy may help, but many children face surgeries, contractures, and lifelong restrictions.
What Common and Uncommon Erb’s Palsy Scenarios Do We Handle?
Many cases begin with predictable obstetric red flags. Large babies, prolonged labor, breech or transverse positions, and rushed use of forceps or vacuum extractors all raise the likelihood of shoulder dystocia. When a physician pulls too hard on a baby’s head, fails to employ gentle maneuvers such as McRoberts positioning, or delays an indicated C-section, the result can be a torn brachial plexus. Our Catonsville Erb’s palsy attorneys at Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea regularly litigate these classic malpractice patterns.
We also see rare, highly complex injuries. Bilateral Erb’s palsy can leave both arms flaccid. Klumpke’s palsy damages the lower plexus and causes clawed fingers. Some infants suffer total plexus avulsion or a combination of Erb’s palsy and Horner’s syndrome.
In extraordinarily unusual deliveries, nerves may stretch during a cesarean section because of awkward fetal positions. Catonsville brachial plexus injury lawyer Jonathan Schochor has successfully resolved claims involving each of these scenarios, proving that no case is too specialized for our courtroom experience.
What Can Happen to My Child, and What Compensation Can I Seek?
Erb’s palsy robs a child of strength, range of motion, and sometimes basic independence. Muscles weaken, joints stiffen, and bones grow unevenly. Daily therapy, Botox injections, nerve-graft surgery, and tendon transfers become part of family routine. Parents miss work for appointments, retrofit homes for accessibility, and shoulder extraordinary costs: financial, emotional, and physical.
Maryland law allows recovery for every harm directly tied to medical negligence. Damages can include past medical bills, projected costs of therapy and surgeries, home modifications, adaptive equipment, pain and suffering, and diminished earning capacity if a parent leaves the workforce.
We often retain economists and life-care planners to document lifelong needs in today’s dollars. Catonsville Erb’s palsy lawyer Kerry Staton pursues verdicts that fully fund those plans so families never choose between care and cost.
Who Can You Hold Responsible, and How Do You File a Claim?
Medical malpractice means a provider breached the standard of care owed to mother and child. Responsible parties may involve the delivering obstetrician, assisting nurses, anesthesiologists monitoring fetal distress, and the hospital itself if staffing or policy failures contributed. Our initial investigation secures fetal heart-rate strips, delivery records, and witness statements before memories fade.
Maryland imposes strict deadlines: a malpractice action must be filed within five years of the injury or three years from when it was discovered, whichever is earlier (Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109). For minors, the clock often extends until a child’s 21st birthday under § 5-201. A claim seeking more than $30,000 must also pass through the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office, and plaintiffs must file a Certificate of Qualified Expert attesting to negligence. Catonsville Erb’s palsy attorneys at Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea manage every procedural step, from expert selection to mediation, so parents can focus on their child’s health.
Our process begins with a free, confidential consultation. We review medical records at no cost, engage nationally recognized obstetric and pediatric neurology experts, and advance all litigation expenses. You owe nothing unless we recover compensation.
