Of the 233 firms that show birth injury work on our 92 city lists in the United States, Wapner Newman Attorneys At Law scores highest on malpractice focus, published results, client reviews and experience, followed by Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf and Kramer, Dillof, Livingston & Moore. Each firm keeps its best score from the cities it serves; open a city for its full list.
Best Klumpkes Palsy Lawyers in the United States
Feature your firm first on this page
This spot goes to one firm for a year. It's shown first, above everyone below, and labeled Featured.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.6115 Google reviewsRated 4.6 out of 5 on Google from 115 reviews
Best for: Cerebral palsy and HIE claims
For a Brooklyn child with cerebral palsy, Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf publishes a $90,939,857 verdict. Placental abruption went undiagnosed in that case.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.8181 Google reviewsRated 4.8 out of 5 on Google from 181 reviews
Best for: Birth injury and hospital negligence
In its published cases, Schochor, Staton, Goldberg, and Cardea, P.A. describes oxygen deprivation during delivery and Erb’s palsy; it also publishes verdicts involving deaths after hospital care.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
4.6102 Google reviewsRated 4.6 out of 5 on Google from 102 reviews
Best for: Birth injury and malpractice claims
Among the results Hastings Law Firm publishes is an $8 million birth injury settlement. Because it reports that result and focuses on medical malpractice, the firm takes the top spot in this ranking.
We order firms by how much of their work is medical malpractice, the results they publish, what their clients say, their experience, their standing with the regulator and the recognition they have earned, all from public records and the firms' own sites. How lists are made
Klumpkes palsy lawyers by state
The rules change from one state to the next, so the lawyers near you are the ones to call.
The hand and wrist are affected by Klumpke's palsy. You may have questions about your child's care at birth because this lower brachial plexus injury is usually associated with excessive traction during delivery. A diagnosis alone doesn't establish that malpractice occurred. A lawyer would need the delivery records to assess the care against the applicable standard, then determine whether any failure to meet it caused your child's injury.
Put your child's care first. If you've noticed weakness or lost movement, tell the treating clinician about it and ask for an explanation of the diagnosis. Ask for medical help without waiting for answers to the legal questions.
What Klumpke's palsy means
You may also hear Klumpke's palsy called Klumpke paralysis. The National Organization for Rare Disorders describes it as a type of brachial palsy in newborns. Signs include weakness and loss of movement in the arm and hand; Osmosis describes the hand paralysis as the result of nerve damage.
Location is important. According to a case report in Clinical Case Reports, Klumpke's palsy is an isolated lower brachial plexus injury affecting the eighth cervical and first thoracic nerve roots (C8 and T1). The nerves have these labels. Don't read them as severity scores.
Eighth cervical nerve root identified in the case report's definition of Klumpke's palsy
If your child's chart names Klumpke's palsy or a broader term such as brachial plexus injury, have the clinician explain what that wording means for your child. A description of hand weakness isn't enough to diagnose your child's injury.
How the injury happens and what families may notice
Excessive traction during delivery is the concern associated with this lower brachial plexus injury when it happens at birth. A legal review requires someone to look at what happened during your child's delivery, asking whether the circumstances meant the clinicians should have provided different care.
According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders, the arm and hand may show weakness and lost movement. Hand paralysis is also identified by Osmosis. Although those descriptions may make the diagnosis clearer, you can't diagnose the injury from a photograph or a brief account of what happened at birth.
Tell the clinician exactly what's worrying you. Describe the movements that concern you, including when you first noticed something had changed. Write down any explanation you remember the delivery team giving you, keeping their actual words separate from your own thoughts about what they meant.
Don't fill in missing details. Remembering a difficult moment doesn't necessarily tell you what the clinician was doing at the time or why they did it. Rather than treating that moment as the cause, make clear what you don't know.
When a birth injury may be malpractice
An injury by itself doesn't tell you that care failed. A lawyer reviewing possible malpractice compares the care with the applicable standard, then asks whether failing to meet that standard caused your child's injury. The harm it caused also matters. To understand how these requirements fit your child's circumstances, ask a lawyer who practices in your state.
What the delivery circumstances required is the standard-of-care question. You can't settle that question with words such as “traction” or “difficult birth” alone. When you speak with the lawyer, ask how they'd review the delivery notes and whether a medical expert would need to explain the care those notes describe.
Don't discount your memory of delivery. Because your account may leave questions open, a useful review checks it against the chart without treating either one as the complete story.
Causation
To establish causation, the care in question must have caused the injury. You can't identify the action that caused it from a Klumpke's palsy diagnosis. Before the lawyer forms a view, ask what they'd need to investigate and which evidence might link the care to the injury.
Harm
How your child's injury actually affects them needs to be part of the review. When asking how current treatment records would document the harm, keep the clinician's description of weakness or lost movement separate from predictions about your child's future.
Prepare the records without trying to prove the case yourself
Contacting a lawyer doesn't require you to make a legal argument. After writing a clear account of the delivery, note when someone first talked with you about your child's arm or hand symptoms. You'll offer a more useful account.
A practical starting point
1
Ask about the medical diagnosis
Have the clinician walk you through the chart's diagnosis and the movements affected, then explain what the current care plan requires. If they give you written instructions, keep them.
2
Request the relevant records
To gather the records, request delivery notes and your child's injury records. Once you've told the lawyer what you already have, ask what else they'd need to review the care.
3
Write a short account of the birth
Record the known dates. When you name whoever explained things to you, flag any details you aren't sure of. Keep your original account if you remember more later on.
4
Check the legal deadline
Contact a lawyer who practices in the state where your child received care. Besides the deadline, ask whether another timing requirement could affect the claim. You can't tell from ongoing treatment.
5
Ask what the review will involve
Ask how the lawyer will review the records before choosing them, including whether another medical assessment might be needed. Have the lawyer explain the fee agreement before you sign it.
When you first contact the lawyer, it's fine to say you don't have the chart. While you're waiting for records, ask whether they can talk through your concern. To show the lawyer what you've asked the hospital to send, keep a copy of the request you made.
Deadlines differ by state
A Klumpke's palsy malpractice claim doesn't have one national statute of limitations. The deadline depends on the state. Once you've found the relevant jurisdiction through the state pages, ask a lawyer there to explain how its rules affect your child's delivery and injury.
Tell the lawyer the delivery date, along with when you first learned what your child's diagnosis was. Your child's age doesn't mean you have unlimited time. Ask the lawyer which deadline applies to your child's case, rather than relying on a date you've heard about from another family's claim.
Choosing a lawyer for a Klumpke's palsy review
Ask what birth-injury work the lawyer has done, without the legal jargon. Our Birth Injury page offers a broader starting point, and you can read the Obstetrical Malpractice page if you're worried about the delivery care.
Ask the firm about claims it's handled that involved lower brachial plexus injuries. If you're interested in a result published on its site, ask what makes that case different from your child's. You can't judge whether your child's claim is viable by another case's published result.
When someone reviews the delivery chart, who'll do it and explain the findings to our family?
What evidence would you need to show that this care caused my child's injury?
If we sign this proposed agreement, what fees or expenses could our family owe?
When is the applicable deadline, and what do we need to do before then?
You should be able to ask about what's still unsettled during a consultation. Ask whether the lawyer has reviewed records to reach a conclusion or is giving you an initial impression. The Misdiagnosis & Delayed Diagnosis page may help you describe a separate concern if you think clinicians also failed to recognize the injury.
Keep treatment questions separate from the claim
Ask your child's treating clinician about surgery or exercises, and bring up any questions you have about sleeping positions. The National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report don't provide enough here to recommend treatment for your child. Your child needs instructions for the injury they've been diagnosed with, not advice written for someone with a different brachial plexus condition.
Keep those instructions and any later clinical assessments so they're available for the legal review. Write down questions you still have. You can ask someone to explain your child's medical care without also asking them to review the delivery for possible malpractice.
What causes brachial plexus symptoms in Klumpke's palsy?
Osmosis describes the hand paralysis in Klumpke's palsy as something that results from nerve damage. Excessive traction during delivery is associated with this lower brachial plexus injury in the birth-injury context, but that doesn't tell you what caused the symptoms in your child's case. Ask your child's treating clinician to explain the diagnosis to you. If you suspect negligent care, ask a lawyer to review the delivery records.
How is a brachial plexus injury repaired?
The treatment details provided here by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report aren't enough to recommend a repair procedure for Klumpke's palsy. Ask your child's clinician which findings support a procedure they're considering and have them explain what they have in mind. What remains uncertain about what it would do? A review of the delivery for possible malpractice can't tell you which medical treatment your child should receive, even if someone is examining the care.
What exercises can help with brachial plexopathy?
The National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report don't identify an exercise program here that you could follow for Klumpke's palsy. Ask your child's clinician for instructions that fit the diagnosed injury before trying any movements, making sure you know which ones are appropriate and which to avoid. General online exercise advice isn't a plan tailored to your child. Bring the questions you have about your saved written instructions to your child's next appointment.
Are treatments for brachial plexus neuritis appropriate for Klumpke's palsy?
Advice written for brachial plexus neuritis isn't necessarily appropriate for a child who has been diagnosed with Klumpke's palsy. Although the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report describe Klumpke's palsy as a lower brachial plexus injury, they don't compare treatments for these diagnoses here. Ask the treating clinician to explain the diagnosis in your child's chart, then check whether advice you've found fits that injury before you follow it.
What type of doctor treats a brachial plexus injury?
You won't find a particular physician type identified for your child's treatment here by the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report. When you speak with the clinician who diagnosed the injury, ask who should oversee follow-up care and whether a referral is needed. Don't confuse choosing a treating doctor with choosing a lawyer who'll review the care for possible malpractice. Have someone clearly explain who will answer the questions you have about treatment.
What is the best sleeping position for a brachial plexus injury?
You won't find a recommended sleeping position for Klumpke's palsy here from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Osmosis and the case report. When asking your child's clinician for instructions, make sure they address the injury and your child's age. Don't use arm-pain advice for adults as guidance for a newborn. At the appointment, explain what's worrying you about positioning, then ask for written instructions you can follow at home.
